Report Outline: Artifact Building

• The following outline is intended as a guide only
• See Understanding The Report Structure for more information
  • Remember that each chapter is interconnected – Video or Simple Image
• You will need to submit a report (research) proposal, which forms most of chapter one
• Remember there are two parts:
  • The report and the deliverable (the deliverable, in this case, is the artefact)
• If you are not sure about your project read this and look at this report outline
• Most universities will require you to undertake a midpoint assessment

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Research Title

• Creating A Project Artifact Title

Prologue

• Report\ Project Overview
• Acknowledgement
• Statement of Authenticity
• Table of Content
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
  • Using Captions, Tables, Figures & Appendices

Chapter One – Introduction

• Introduction
• Statement of The Problem
• Aim, Objectives and Outcomes
• Deliverables
• Project Success Criteria
• Resources
• Planning
• Ethics
• Assumptions, Limitations & Delimitations (Scope)

Chapter Two – Literature Review (Background)

• Plan Your Literature Review
  • Consider a planning tool
  • (LR Matrix Examples, Spreadsheet Style, ConnectedPaper)
• Finding Research
• Writing the review
• Comparing Software
• Top Tips
• Summary – Indicate key findings related to the artefact

Chapter Three – Research Methods

Part One – Formal Research Approach

• Research Approach
  • See, Data Collection tools (below) and Data Collection and the Artefact

Part Two – Equipment Required

• Coding Language, International Standards and Best Practice
  • Software Development Approach
  • Software Professional Standards

• Design Approach
  • Software Design Cycle

• Software Requirements
  • Software Tools

• Data collection and control
  • Data Collection Tool(s)
  • Operationalising the Data
  • Visualising Data Collection and the Artefacts
  • Questionnaires and Interview
  • Address Research Bias
  • Sample Methods

• Planning Implementation
  • Development Model: Action Plan

Chapter Four – Implementation

• Layout overview using a linear model
• Layout overview using a non-linear model

General requirements for any implementation

• Requirements
  • User Requirements
  • Software Requirements
  • System Requirements
  • Feasibility

• Design
  • Design Documents
    • Screen mock-ups
    • System diagrams (UML)
    • Database structure (ERD)
    • Design patterns (1, 2, 3)
    • Etc…
  • You also need to consider the software users (Population, Sample)
  • You need to provide enough documentation which will allow someone to recreate your artefact
  • If you modify someone else’s algorithm or create your own you need to produce a computational map with associated justification based on your test data

• Testing
  • • Tests data is used to:
      • • Prove your artefact works
      • • Improve your artefact
      • Evaluate your artefact in the critical evaluation section
  • • Remember: Start Value – Prove It Works – Refine It – Finish Value
  • Testing Evidence: keep evidence of every test which you complete
    • The more evidence (tests) you have the better your critical evaluation
  • Summaries your testing findings/ results

• Deployment

• Maintenance

Chapter Five – Critical Evaluation

• Understanding the Critical Evaluation
  • Identify strength and weakness in your research, artefact and results
  • Discuss your result in relation to your requirements or problem (Fit for purpose)
  • Link your results to theories and practices in your literature review
  • Link your result back to your aims, objectives and deliverables

Chapter Six – Recommendations & Conclusions

• Writing Your Recommendations
• Writing Your Conclusion

Chapter Seven – Future\ Further Research

• Writing Your Further Research

Chapter Eight – Critical Reflection

• You need to show that you have developed as a person during completing the project
  • The easiest way of doing this is by:
    • Identifying what you found difficult
    • Explain with examples how it impacted on the project and you
    • Explain how you overcame the difficulty (develop skills and knowledge)
    • Explain with examples how this new knowledge and skills will help you in the future (job)

Chapter Nine – References

• Use a reference manager Mendeley
• Very quick reference sheet
• Interactive Version