uni proj

[Pranav]

hi

i am on a computng course and need to do a final year uni project..but cant think of whatto do.....it has to have some sort of practical problem solving element to it ...can someone please guide me as t oany links that may hekp me?

 

[karym6]

is it a generic computing course, or a specialised one?

 

[Pranav]

its a computing degree with business

 

[karym6]

ok, so you could do something along the lines of a B2B data passing model. Put together a fictional database of products that are offered to a set of fictional companies, have your system report MI back to see who is selling how much of what.

V simple and a practical application.

 

[Purity]

Might be a bit basic, but what about something like changing a manual invoice based business to a computer based business.

This could involve quite a lot:

1) Kitting out the company with equipment, networking
2) Relational database for replacing the manual invoices

etc etc?

 

[karym6]

its not quite degree level though is it?

 

[mozr]

Are we talking about coding a piece of software, or just implementing computer technology in a business scenario?

If its the latter, then a database solution for customers/products/stocktaking might be good?

IE, 'Digital Worldz corp. 'Homeade Pies': A solution to remote monitoring of stock levels at numerous sites'

Or introducing a web presence with on-line ordering?

'Digital Worldz corp. 'Homeade Pies': Technological solutions for business expansion'

Just an idea.

 

[karym6]

If this is a final year project for a degree, it isnt good enough just to write a peice of code and say here you go.

You need to explore a certain technology and assess it benefits, when it comes to the final submission it isnt even important that it works, you just need to be able to explain why it didnt work.

Have you got a supervisor yet? Many of your possible supervisors will have project ideas in mind. See what is on offer and see what you would like to do. Go and have a chat with a few of the supervisors to get a better picture.

 

[mozr]

I would agree with that karym.

But, given it is a final year dissertation, I have taken things like assessment of problem, analysis of available solutions, market research, application of solution(s) as read.

As you have said, whether the solution works is almost irrelevant. What is important is that the legwork is comprehensive, and that you can scientifically analyse where it went right/wrong, what you have learned from the experience, and how you could make it better. Oh, and presentation is a major component at this level. It has to look one micro-level below.

Admittedly, my expertise is not in computer science, but a dissertation is a dissertation. The objects of knowledge applied by a subject are by and large the only major difference.

 

[karym6]

exactly, but unfortunately if he rocks up with a database driven inventory system, his assesors wont spend much time looking. This is pretty common place, so unless there is something radically different with his implementation, or he highlights a flaw in the system that has been hitherto unknown, the it wont get such a good mark.

Given that a dissertation is an academic peice of work, industrial applications are not normally given much credit unless you are doing it for a sponsor.

 

[mozr]

I would have to agree and disagree.

I agree that originality would help his mark, as the marker is after all only human. But that is not always achievable.

I have to disagree regarding your concern over implementing/associating your dissertation with practical commercial processes. After all, very likely the next step is the 'real world'. So actually immersing yourself in the problems of a real company, or at the very least a fake company with real issues, would to my mind help a lot.

For example, I just helped my brother through a music technology dissertation last year. We created a website for a faux business selling expertise in music technology, sound recording, tuition. He got very high marks for the written work (his tutor was very impressed that we started getting emails from the private/public sectors asking for help), but his presentation let him down.

There is also the theoretical approach as I think you are alluding to. By doing fundamental research, and creating/developing, or even just theorizing regarding the implementation of IT into business could help, and might lead easily into MSc work.

Let's see what the chap has to say.

 

[karym6]

agreed. It is, of course, up to him.

I do feel however, that the meat of any good dissertation is in the written aspect more than the practical aspect. For my undergrad dissertation, the actual code I created was to emphasise a point in the written work itself, they both complimented eachother.

 

[Pranav]

hi....

i agree with karym but see your point too.....basically i get around90% of my marks for the written work...the practical element of it is just to highlight the point and the coding etc is just to show thhat it is possible etc ......i dont have to even fully create it - it can be a prototype of something..

what im confused on is that i dont know what topic to choose.....i was thinking of doing an online ordering system for a client i have however im not sure whether this would be good....and give me highest maxium marks?.....what technologies would you recommend me to use in this?....(because if i used ASP.NET and C# then if i start creating it on my Desktop i cannot work on it on any other PC because ISS etc would all be installed on there right? - im not sure about this it would help if someone cleared it up?)

But anyway in terms of the topic if i do do a website with a back end DB for this client to sell online .....what would be so unique about it?...i need to have some sort of element which is unique and a difficult fucntionality which will get me marks right?

thanks i hope you can help....

 

[karym6]

Do you have win xp pro? If so, this can use IIS and the .Net framework - so you can develop on your own machine etc with no problems. Your Uni should be able to provide you with a IIS server for you to work on etc.

An ordering system for a client etc has been done to death - the web is full of them, so if you were to choose that topic you would need to highlight what is wrong with current implementations, which would be difficult as you do not have access to proprietary systems, you would be stuck comparing third party systems only which again has been tackled over and over already.

One tip, if you want to do something based on the internet, take a look at current trends. For instance, the concept of web2.0, communities etc. Also have a look at affiliate merchants to see how they use communities to sell their products and the technologies they use. But in saying this, ecommerce from a technical viewpoint wont get you a good mark imo.

Maybe you need to look at bleeding edge ideas at the moment, like platforms and interoperability etc.

Also, have a very good chat with the supervisors on offer, the chances are they already have work they would like done.

 

[Pranav]

hi thats scared me more....so ecommerce idea is not good and wont get me high marks......when you say look at other ideas like platforms etc and interoperability what do you mean by these?>....what culd i do with a platform?....thanks

 

[karym6]

Platforms enable others to work with you.

Take, for example Currys, PCWorld and Dixons - all the same organisation. They would, I assume, use a platform to manage stock. Each company has its own front end to the platform as do its parteners and suppliers.

This gives them a centralised management system where they can get MI out on their products etc.

 

[Pranav]

right i see...yes but how could i implement that in a project....that would mean firstly i would need more then one client to create a platform .....what was the inoperability idea you refered to?.....

 

[karym6]

You would just create a series of imaginary clients with a generic front end to exemplify what it is you are trying to prove.

Dont forget that a dissertation isnt just about making something - you are trying to prove/disprove a certain topic and you do this by illustrating examples.

 

[Pranav]

yes i understand that....what is the inoperability idea you refered to?

 

[karym6]

the management platform itself, the platform that holds all of the data...

digicell - go and make a few appointments to speak with some supervisors. If they dont like your idea, then find out what topics they have on offer.