Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology

Unit Outline
[ICT80003]
[Professional Project]
Semester 2 2016
Please read this Unit Outline carefully. It includes:

PART A

Unit summary

PART B

Your Unit in more detail

PART C

Further information

PART A:

Unit Summary

Unit Code(s)

ICT80003

Unit Title

Professional Project

Duration

Sem 2 2016

Total Contact Hours

5 Hrs

Requisites:

Pre-requisites

Must be in final semester of I091 Master of Information

Technology or I0901 Master of Information Technology
(Professional Computing) or I061 Master of Technology
(Information Technology).

Co-requisites

None

Concurrent prerequisites

None

Anti-requisites

INF30002 CBISS, INF30007 Industry Project

(Analytical)

Assumed knowledge

See Pre-requisites

Credit Points

12.5

Campus/Location

Hawthorn

Mode of Delivery

On campus

Assessment Summary

Problem Definition and Plan

Student Contribution Statement
Presentation
Major Project Material
Reflective Weekly Written Statement
Peer Review

Aims
This unit is designed for students to.
1. Have experience working on an IT project with a tangible outcome such as a
software product or requirements document or report on a detailed usability study
2. Have an understanding of Australian organisational culture
3. Know how to conduct themselves professionally in a business situation
4. Be able to read, write and present to an acceptable professional standard
5. Be able to communicate effectively within a business
6. Have a deep understanding of the benefits and difficulties of working in a team
7. Understand how to facilitate teams working effectively and what to do when
problems occur within teams.
8. Understand the importance of taking a human-centred approach to software
development and deployment

Unit Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this Unit should be able to:
1. Identify user problems and a user domain.
ABC12345_Unit Outline_TPx_yyyy
Version: Unit of Study Outline_V1..7 20150501

Page 2 of

Students will be able to interview, summarise and explain a user's IT problem

and user group to interested parties.
2. Gather and document requirements.
Students will research and prepare a formal project plan with details of the
requirements of an appropriate IT solution.
3.

Develop an IT solution which satisfies a requirements specification for a specific

user domain.
The solution could take the form of a software product, a software specification
or other forms of document or design.

4.

Test and evaluate a solution.

Students may perform requirements testing (black box), code review (white
box), usability testing, or other appropriate analysis of a solution.

5.

Report and present findings.

Students will prepare a test or analysis report (which may form part of a project
plan and design document) and present it to their peers and clients at a formal
presentation.

6.

Function effectively in a team.

Students will record their meetings, work habits, and reflections on team
members and themselves. Students will actively participate in team decisions,
provide mutual support and share workload equitably.

7.

Manage time and workload effectively.

Students will plan and allocate tasks and document their activities and time use
using log books and update a summary in their team documentations.

Key Generic Skills

You will be provided with feedback on your progress in attaining the following generic skills:
1. analysis skills,
2. problem solving skills,
3. communication skills,
4. ability to tackle unfamiliar problems
5. report writing skills

Content
Students will work in a team of 4 to 6 to complete a project for a client. The client may be
external to the university.
The project may be software development, systems analysis, detailed usability study or
similar.
The final milestone involves a formal oral presentation of the completed product or solution
at which the client may be present.
The following topics will be covered in the lectures. Topics may be delivered by guest
lecturers or full-time staff.

Project management techniques

1. Interacting with real clients
2. Presentation, reporting and teamwork skills
3. Time management skills
ABC12345_Unit Outline_TPx_yyyy
Version: Unit of Study Outline_V1..7 20150501

Page 3 of

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Working in a team
Application of software engineering techniques
Formal management plans
Technical documentation
Analysis of project requirements

PART B:

Your Unit in more detail

Unit Improvements
Feedback provided by previous students through the Student Survey has resulted in
improvements that have been made to this unit. Recent improvements include:
The overall response from the previous students regarding the delivery and expectations of
this unit was very positive with very little recommendations for improvement. The main
adjustment is the restructuring of the weekly reporting method during the tutorials to be more
efficient and the use of the lecture time to follow up on some of the issues and concerns
being experienced with the groups.

Unit Teaching Staff

Consultation
Times

Name

Role

Room

Phone

Email

Graham Farrell

Unit Convenor

EN 509a

9214 8743

gfarrell@swin.edu.au

Ryszard Kowalczyk

Unit Co-Convenor

EN 511b

9214 5834

rkowalczyk@swin.edu.au
Email for
appointment

Ron Bartels

Supervisor

EN 505b

9214 4874

rbartels@swin.edu.au Email for

appointment

Email for
appointment

Learning and Teaching Structure

Activity

Total Hours

Hours per Week

Teaching Period Weeks

Lectures

12 hours

1 hour

Weeks 1 to 12

Tutorials

24 hours

2 hour

Weeks 1 to 12

Workshops

24 hours

2 hours

Weeks 2 to 12

Week by Week Schedule

Week

Week
Beginning

Aug 1

Aug 8

Teaching and Learning

Activity

Workshop Topics

Introduction, unit outline,

Not running week 1
documentation, team leaders,
project topics

Discussion on project plan,

meeting behaviour (note
taking, active listening,

ABC12345_Unit Outline_TPx_yyyy
Version: Unit of Study Outline_V1..7 20150501

Peer review of
project plans.

Student Task or
Assessment

Icebreaker, Team
Formation and
registration
Topic preferences
Teams allocated to
projects, supervisor
meeting, client first

Page 4 of

inclusion).

Discussion of
common flaws.
Client problems.

contact

Aug 15

Requirements Analysis
Network facilities

Active listening
Identify strengths /
weaknesses

Team meeting, supervisor

meeting

Aug 22

Report Writing 1:
Common mistakes in
English usage / grammar /
spelling.

Disinterested team
members.
Assessment: Quiz.

Team meeting, supervisor

meeting

Aug 29

Report Writing 2:
Plagiarism, referencing.

Mini-presentations:
agile talking.

Team meeting, supervisor

meeting

Sept 5

Challenges of Leadership

Leadership Exercise

Team meeting, supervisor

meeting

Sept 12

Mid Semester Break

Sept 19

Usability

Library tour - Level 3

conference room,
library
Referencing activity

Team meeting, supervisor

meeting

Sept 26

Presentation skills: 1
Nerves, voice, body, eyes,
appearance, gestures, hair,
posture, questions, visual
aids,
Introductions, BehaviourMeetings, court, public
meetings

Instructions:

Team meeting, Usability

Testing

Oct 3

Debating Video

Project progress
review/issues

Team meeting, Usability

Testing

Oct 10

Presentation Skills: 2
Structure, content, memory,
practice, chunking.

Usability / code
review

Usability Testing

11

Oct 17

Report Writing 3:
Technical documentation
and reports.

Debate

Presentation Rehearsals

12

Oct 24

Presentations

Presentation

Presentations

10

Paper folding / cards

Assessment
a)

Assessment Overview

Tasks and Details

Individual or
Group

ABC12345_Unit Outline_TPx_yyyy
Version: Unit of Study Outline_V1..7 20150501

Unit Learning
Outcomes that
this
assessment
task relates to

Weighting

Assessment Due
Date

Page 5 of

Project plan and design

document

Group

1-8

20%

End of week 5

Debate, informal
presentations

Individual

5, 6, 7,8

0%
(compulsory
participation
)

End of week 7

Student Contribution
Statement

Individual

6, 7,8

5% ***

During Week 12

Peer assessment

Individual

6, 7

+10 **

Solution (software,
documentation, poster
etc.)

Group

3, 4

50%

End of Week 12

Final presentation

Individual

1, 4, 5

15%*

Weekly

Failure to present could result in a grade of N or NA for this unit.

**

If peer assessments indicate a poor work ethic or indicate you have not contributed
to the project may be awarded a grade of N for the unit.

***

If your work log doesnt provide sufficient evidence of active participation in classes
and/or the project you may be awarded a grade of N for the unit.

b) Minimum requirements to pass this Unit

As the minimum requirements of assessment to pass a unit and meet all ULOs to a
minimum standard, a postgraduate student must have achieved:
an aggregate mark for the unit of 50% or more
Standards expected for different grades

Final subject assessments will reflect the amount of original work included in each
software solution.

Consideration will also be given to the level of difficulty of the project, the number of
students in the team, how well the software / solution satisfies the client / software
requirements, and the overall quality of the finished product.

For a team to achieve High Distinctions, the software or solution must be produced ontime, bug-free and be of a quality consistent with commercially available software. All
supporting documentation (help files, manuals) should be in clear, precise and correct
English.
Software should include an installer which works without error messages on a variety of
different computers with different operating systems and installed software. Web
applications should be easily installable without modification and should connect to
relevant databases. Server and database server URIs, user/password, and connect
strings should be stored in easily accessible configuration files. The team will have
anticipated software requirements not specified by the client and will have incorporated
these into the software after relevant consultation with the client.

ABC12345_Unit Outline_TPx_yyyy
Version: Unit of Study Outline_V1..7 20150501

Page 6 of

For a team to achieve a Distinction, the software or product should satisfy the
requirements of the client and software should be installable with only minor
modification. The software / manuals should be of a standard acceptable to the client but
not necessarily professional. Software should operate without bugs. Software should be
installed on the clients computer by the team.

For a team to achieve a Credit, the software (or prototype) or solution should satisfy
almost all of the requirements of the client. Software may be installed in the clients
computer (if the client wants to use it). Software should operate correctly but may have
known bugs which can be avoided or worked around. Further development may be
required by a future team to fix and improve the software.

For a team to achieve a Pass, the prototype software should satisfy the majority of the
functional requirements specified by the client or obtained during requirements
elicitation. The software should be demonstrated to work on its development
environment (Swinburnes or a students computer) and be usable as a proof of
concept or as a prototype for further development by a future team or external software
engineering company. Documentation should be understandable but need not be in
precise English.

A team or members of a team will receive a Fail grade if they have failed to produce
working software or have failed to address the clients problems or requirements. The
team will fail if the software or design is of a standard considered (by the convener)
similar in difficulty or content to that of an assignment in an undergraduate subject of the
Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies.

If a team member contributes significantly less original work than other members of the
same team, that student may receive a different and lesser grade than other students in
the team. This contribution will be assessed by the convener through consultation with
the team supervisor, through log book entries and through peer review reports prepared
by relevant students. A team members mark may be up to 50% lower than the marks of
other members of the team.

Conversely, if a student makes an outstanding original contribution to a team (as

assessed by peer review reports) that student may receive a different and greater grade
compared to the rest of the team. A team members mark may be up to 10% higher than
the marks of other members of the team.

If a team member fails to make a significant original contribution to a software or design

project, that student will receive a Fail, regardless of the quality of the software produced
or the grades of the other students in the assigned team. This contribution will be
assessed by consultation with the subject lecturer, and team supervisor, and client.

If a student fails to join a team or work with a team to which the student has been
allocated, that student will receive a Fail.

c) Examinations
This unit does not have an examination
d) Submission Requirements
Assignments must be submitted in hardcopy and softcopy on DVD or CD_ROM in an A4
folder, with a copy of the Assignment Cover Sheet fixed securely to the outside on the
front of the folder. Assignments submitted without the cover sheet and peer review
form will not be marked. The standard Assessment Cover Sheet is available from the
Current Students web site (see Part C).

ABC12345_Unit Outline_TPx_yyyy
Version: Unit of Study Outline_V1..7 20150501

Page 7 of

Assignments submitted without the cover sheet will not be marked.

All disks should be placed in an envelope and secured to the assignment folder.
Group members are indicating, by signing the cover sheet, that they agree that each
member of the group made a fair and reasonable contribution. In cases of doubt or
dispute, individual members of the group may be required to undergo an oral
examination regarding their contribution to the assignment or project.
Students are responsible for keeping copies of their assessable work. Disk failures,
viruses and other disasters are not grounds for late submissions.
Assignments should be submitted to the tutor during the tutorial session on the week the
assignment is due. Students should keep a spare copy of each assignment, as a
safeguard in disputes over missing assignments
e) Extensions and Late Submission
Late Submissions - Unless an extension has been approved, late submissions will result
in a penalty. You will be penalised 10% of the assessments worth for each calendar day
the task is late, up to a maximum of 5 working days. After 5 working days a zero result
will be recorded.
f) Referencing
To avoid plagiarism, you are required to provide a reference whenever you include
information from other sources in your work. Further details regarding plagiarism are
available in Section C of this document.
Referencing conventions required for this unit are: Harvard
Helpful information on referencing can be found at
http://www.swinburne.edu.au/lib/studyhelp/harvard-quick-guide.pdf
g) Groupwork Guidelines
h) A group assignment is the collective responsibility of the entire group, and if one
member is temporarily unable to contribute, the group should be able to reallocate
responsibilities to keep to schedule. In the event of longer-term illness or other
serious problems involving a member of group, it is the responsibility of the other
members to immediately notify the Unit Convenor or relevant tutor.
i) Group submissions must be submitted with an Assignment Cover Sheet, signed by
all members of the group.
j) All group members must be satisfied that the work has been correctly submitted. Any
penalties for late submission will generally apply to all group members, not just the
person who submitted.

Required Textbook(s)
None

PART C:

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information on any of the below topics, refer to Swinburnes

Current Students web page http://www.swinburne.edu.au/student/.

ABC12345_Unit Outline_TPx_yyyy
Version: Unit of Study Outline_V1..7 20150501

Page 8 of

Student Charter
Please familiarise yourself with Swinburnes Student Charter. The charter describes what students
can reasonably expect from Swinburne in order to enjoy a quality learning experience. As students
contribute to their own learning experience to that of their fellow students, the charter also defines the
University's expectations of students.

Student behaviour and wellbeing

Swinburne has a range of policies and procedures that govern how students are expected to conduct
themselves throughout the course of their relationship with the University. These include policies on
expected standards of behaviour and conduct which cover interaction with fellow students, staff and
the wider University community, in addition to following the health and safety requirements in the
course of their studies and whilst using University facilities.
All students are expected to familiarise themselves with University regulations, policies and
procedures and have an obligation to abide by the expected guidelines. Any student found to be in
breach may be subject to relevant disciplinary processes. Some examples of relevant expected
behaviours are:

Not engaging in student misconduct

Ensuring compliance with the Universitys Anti-Discrimination, Bullying and Violence and
Sexual Harassment requirements

Complying with all Swinburne occupational health and safety requirements, including
following emergency and evacuation procedures and following instructions given by
staff/wardens or emergency response.
In teaching areas, it is expected that students conduct themselves in a manner that is professional
and not disruptive to others. In all Swinburne laboratories, there are specific safety procedures which
must be followed, such as wearing appropriate footwear and safety equipment, not acting in a manner
which is dangerous or disruptive (e.g. playing computer games), and not bringing in food or drink.

Blackboard
You should regularly access the Swinburne Course Management System (Blackboard) available via
http://ilearn.swin.edu.au. Blackboard is regularly updated with important Unit information and
communications.

Communication
All communication will be via your Swinburne email address. If you access your email through a
provider other than Swinburne, then it is your responsibility to ensure that your Swinburne email is
redirected to your private email address.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the action or practice of taking and submitting or presenting the thoughts, writings or
other work of someone else as though it is your own work. Plagiarism includes any of the following,
without full and appropriate acknowledgment to the original source(s):

The use of the whole or part of a computer program written by another person;

the use, in essays or other assessable work, of the whole or part of a written work from any
source including but not limited to a book, journal, newspaper article, set of lecture notes,
current or past students work, any other persons work, a website or database;

The paraphrasing of anothers work;

The use of musical composition, audio, visual, graphic and photographic models,

The use of realia that is objects, artefacts, costumes, models and the like.

Plagiarism also includes the preparation or production and submission or presentation of assignments
or other work in conjunction with another person or other people when that work should be your own
independent work. This remains plagiarism whether or not it is with the knowledge or consent of the
other person or people. It should be noted that Swinburne encourages its students to talk to staff,
fellow students and other people who may be able to contribute to a students academic work but that
where independent assignment is required, submitted or presented work must be the students own.

ABC12345_Unit Outline_TPx_yyyy
Version: Unit of Study Outline_V1..7 20150501

Page 9 of

Enabling plagiarism contributes to plagiarism and therefore will be treated as a form of plagiarism by
the University. Enabling plagiarism means allowing or otherwise assisting another student to copy or
otherwise plagiarise work by, for example, allowing access to a draft or completed assignment or
other work.
Swinburne University uses plagiarism detection software (such as Turnitin) for assignments submitted
electronically via Blackboard. Your Convenor will provide further details.
The penalties for plagiarism can be severe ranging from a zero grade for an assessment task through
to expulsion from the unit and in the extreme, exclusion from Swinburne. Consequently you need to
avoid plagiarism by providing a reference whenever you include information from other sources in
your work.

Student support
You should talk to your Unit Convenor or Student Services, for information on academic support
services available for Swinburne students.

Special consideration
If your studies have been adversely affected due to serious and unavoidable circumstances outside of
your control (e.g. severe illness or unavoidable obligation) you may be able to apply for special
consideration (SPC).
Applications for Special Consideration will be submitted via the SPC online tool normally no later than
5.00pm on the third working day after the submission/sitting date for the relevant assessment
component.

Special needs
Sometimes students with a disability, a mental health or medical condition or significant carer
responsibilities require reasonable adjustments to enable full access to and participation in education.
Your special needs can be addressed by Swinburne's Disability Services, who can negotiate and
distribute an 'Education Access Plan' that outlines recommendations for university teaching and
examination staff. You must notify the University Disability Liaison Officer of your disability or condition
within one week after the commencement of a unit of study to allow the University to make reasonable
adjustments.

Review of marks
An independent marker reviews all fail grades for major assessment tasks. In addition, a review of
assessment is undertaken if your final result is a marginal fail (45-49) or within 2 marks of a grade
threshold.
If you are not satisfied with the result of an assessment you can ask the Unit Convenor to review the
result. Your request must be made in writing within 10 working days of receiving the result. The Unit
Convenor will review your result to determine if your result is appropriate.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcomes of the review you can lodge a formal complaint.

Feedback, complaints and suggestions

In the first instance you may discuss any issues with your Unit Convenor. If you are dissatisfied with
the outcome of the discussions with the Unit Convenor or would prefer not to deal with your Unit
Convenor, then you can complete a feedback form.

Advocacy
You are advised to seek advice from the staff at the Swinburne Student Amenities Association (SSAA)
if you require assistance with any academic issues.

ABC12345_Unit Outline_TPx_yyyy
Version: Unit of Study Outline_V1..7 20150501

Page 10 of