Central Washington University Project Documentation Reportmain content
Assignment Learning Objectives
Be able to
- Use a Microsoft Office Word template to format a technical report
- Use sections and page breaks to break up and format a multi-page document
- Use Microsoft Word's automatic table of contents to generate and update table of contents for a technical report based on headings
- Use tables with captions and row/column headings to effectively present information
- Use the inverted pyramid style of writing to present key information and conclusions first
- Write paragraphs that begin with strong topic sentences, demonstrate unity, and flow logically and smoothly from one to the next
- Use Microsoft Office Visio to prepare software engineering diagrams to help communicate the project requirements
- Document the use Agile Method practices
Assignment
Use Microsoft Word to create your Project Documentation Report. Structure the Project Documentation Report so that it will eventually become the external documentation for your program's requirements, design, testing, user manual, and maintenance manual.
While the contents of the document will depend on the project and will evolve and change as the project changes, you may wish to begin with the following sections: Note: while some of these sections may not contain very much content at midterm, they should be complete by the conclusion of your project.
- Title Page
- Include your team name & logo, project name, and date
- Include the names of the document editor and list as authors the team members who wrote content for this document
- Do not list as authors the team members who did not write content
- Include your client and faculty advisor names
- Table of Contents
- Use Word's built-in automatic table of contents feature
- The first page of the Introduction Section should appear as page 1
- Do not include page numbers on the Title Page or Table of Contents page
- Do not include the title or table of contents section in the Table of Contents
- Introduction: This section provides an overview of the entire document
- Project Overview: Briefly describe the real-world problem
- Project Scope: Briefly mention the most important features and constraints of your program
- Document Preview: Describe the purpose, scope, and intended audience of this document. Preview the major sections that follow.
- Project Overview: This section elaborates on the topics introduced in the Introduction Section and provides background information on the factors effecting the scope of the project and its requirements
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) previewing and summarizing the section's contents
- Identify the client, stake holders, and the intended users of your system
- Explain background information on the general factors that affect the product and its requirements
- Provide a complete description of the problem being solved
- Justify a computer solution to this problem and explain why a program needs to be developed rather than just bought
- Describe the main features of your proposed system
- Requirements
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) previewing and summarizing the section's contents and its intended audience
- Include a list of user stories implemented in your solution
- Each user story should have a 2-3 sentence description, an effort estimate, a client priority (or iteration number), and completion status
- Explain the non-functional requirements
- Typical nonfunctional requirements deal with hardware, compatibility, interfaces to other systems, efficiency, reliability, portability, memory size constraints, response time, problem size, and so on.
- Architectural Design
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) previewing and summarizing the section's contents and its intended audience
- Present a high-level system view showing the major components
- Explain the database design
- Explain the website design and navigation (if appropriate)
- Detailed Software Design
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) previewing and summarizing the section's contents and its intended audience
- Explain the software design patterns used (if any)
- Explain the detailed design for your program's code
- Explain the typical program flow
- Explain the file structure and hierarchy
- System Testing
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) previewing and summarizing the section's contents and its intended audience
- Unit Testing
- Explain the framework, process, code, and results you used for unit testing
- Acceptance Testing
- Include the details of the acceptance testing process, criteria,and results
- Performance Testing
- Include the details of your performance testing process and results
- Operational Manual
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) previewing and summarizing the section's contents and its intended audience
- Explain how the website administrative functions work from a non-technical point of view
- Maintenance Manual
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) previewing and summarizing the section's contents and its intended audience
- Detail web server requirements and installation
- Discuss recommended maintenance activities
- Discuss client browser compatibility issues
- Conclusion
- Conclude with a status report of the project and a to do list of items (if any) the client would still like to see
- Appendices
- System block diagrams
- Entity-Relationship or Database Model diagrams (for projects involving databases)
- Website maps (for Web projects)
- UML class and sequence diagrams (if appropriate)
- Acceptance and other test reports and data
- Others as appropriate (optional)
Grading criteria
Your grade will be based on both your demonstrated writing proficiency and on the contents of the document.
Two scoring rubrics will be used in assessing this document: a content scoring rubric [PDF] and a writing proficiency scoring rubric [PDF]. You are encouraged to print these rubrics and use them as check lists for expectations, writing guidelines, and quality assurance.
You may wish to examine the previous years' CS 480-481 Project Documentation Reports kept in the computer science department. Ask LaVelle to show you where the binders containing the documents are stored. Note: These binders are not to leave the department office.
Honor code: The work needs to be your own. You may wish have someone from outside the team help by proofreading a draft version and identifying problems, but the words and content contained in the documents should be your own.
Submission Guidelines
Turn in two printed copies of your Project Documentation Report. One copy is graded and returned to you; the other copy is archived in the computer science department's files.
Include a link to your Project Documentation Report (saved as a *.doc(x) file) on your team's Web site. I will download the file from your site to help with my grading.
Ask, and if desired, provide your faculty advisor and/or client with a printed copy of your Project Documentation Report.