Final Year Project Proposal Mark Sheet

Final Year Project Proposal Mark Sheet

School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering

Name: / Date:
Marker:
Presentation
/5 / Comments
Project Summary
/10 / Comments
Introduction
/10 / Comments
Research Plan/Process
/10 / Comments
Project Timeline (Gantt Chart)
/10 / Comments
Risk Management
/10 / Comments
References
/5 / Comments
Total
/60

School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering

Final Year Projects 2012

Project Proposal Grading Guidelines – 60 Points Total

Presentation – 5 points

·  Cover page

·  Is the template format used (2.5 cm margins all round, 12 point times font, single line spacing, Header and footer as in this scheme)?

·  Professionalism of expression

·  Spelling & punctuation

·  Grammar

On length – students were given a guideline of 4-6 pages, but it was not enforced as a hard limit. Therefore points should not be deducted if this limit is exceeded.

Project Summary – 10 points

·  The project summary should provide a clear, concise summary of the project for a busy reader. Does the summary identify;

-  The reasons for undertaking the project?

-  The objectives of the project?

-  The approaches to be used to achieve the objective?

·  The abstract should conform to length requirements (250 word maximum)

Project Description

Introduction – 10 points

·  Summary of reasons for undertaking the project and description of the prevailing environment;

-  Reasons for undertaking the project?

-  Why is the project important?

-  Is the environment/context of the project clearly described?

-  Is the motivation of the organisation involved described?

·  Description of the state of the art;

-  Is the state of the art clearly described?

-  What is the depth of the description? Is much thought evident in the proposal?

·  Description of the project objectives;

-  Are the objectives clearly defined?

-  Do the objectives advance the state of the art?

-  Is the scope of the current project clearly identified (if it is part of an ongoing effort)?

Research/Design/Model Development/Investigation Plan – 10 points

·  Has the project been broken down logically into a set of specific tasks?

·  Has the student discussed the proposed approach with the supervisor?

·  Are these tasks described clearly, and is the approach to be used to accomplish each task described?

·  Are the proposed approaches reasonable (for example – is the necessary equipment available)?

·  Does the proposed scope of the project appear reasonable for a final year project?

Note – students were given the following suggestions for describing tasks;

“For experimental tasks, describe the experimental equipment and specific techniques that will be employed. For modelling tasks, identify the software packages and computing resources that will be used, or the platform for the development of any new software. For theoretical tasks, identify the approaches under consideration or that will be developed. For design tasks, identify the tools or approaches to be used for each task. For literature review tasks, identify the databases/indexes and bodies of literature that will drive the review. Obviously, a single project may include examples of each of these tasks.”

Project Timeline – 10 points

·  Has the student provided a clear description of the project timeline (note – a graphical description is recommended)?

·  Is the timeline realistic?

·  Have the items on the critical path been identified?

·  Evaluate the quality of the graphical representation of the timeline – is it clear to the reader?

Progress to Date

Many students may have made significant progress by the time of writing the project proposal, and they have been encouraged to summarise any results obtained to date. This section is not mandatory, and thus will not be awarded points separately – if it is present, it should be marked as an additional element of the introduction and/or research plan (as appropriate). In other words, the reporting of significant progress would be grounds for increasing the score in one or both of those sections.

Risk Management – 10 Points

Students are required to identify and describe risks affecting their projects, and must then describe risk management strategies to eliminate or mitigate the consequences of these risks. Grades should be assigned based on the following criteria;

·  Has the student provided a thorough assessment of the likely risks?

·  Are the risks described plausible?

·  Has the student provided descriptions of risk management strategies to eliminate or mitigate the risks discussed?

·  Are the proposed risk management strategies plausible/reasonable?

Note – There will be some risks that cannot be eliminated or mitigated. In such cases, look for the student to provide alternate pathways for the project.

Note – Students are required to attach their project safety induction form (scanned and signed) as an appendix. Five marks should be deducted for failure to do so.

References – 5 points

·  Are references cited properly in the main text?

·  Has the proper (Harvard) reference format been used?

<Student Name, Student Number>