Evaluation of Projects

The department takes the evaluation of projects very seriously, as they are a substantial contribution to the student's final mark. The following are part of the project assessment.

1. On Thursday June 4, a symposium will be organised which all academic staff and Honours students will attend. Each student will be given approximately 10 minutes to describe their project and how they plan to attack it. A short question and comment time will follow. This seminar is intended to give experience in such presentations and to provide for input from other academic staff concerning your plan and approaches.
2. An interim report is due by 12 noon Tuesday 9th June. By this time the student is expected to have read sufficient literature to be able to form a fairly good plan of how to attack the chosen problem. Thus, this report typically contains a description of the project undertaken and plans for the solution of the associated problems. A time-table accompanies the said plans. Completion of the interim report to a satisfactory standard is a hurdle requirement. A submission must be made by the due date and handed in to the General Office. Re-submission will be requested for unsatisfactory interim reports. Failure to submit a satisfactory report will result in a project grade of zero.
3. The final report is due by 12 noon Tuesday 3rd November, Melbourne Cup Day. This is followed by a Chicken and Champagne lunch. The final report provides the basis of the project assessment and is examined by at least two staff members, one of whom is usually the supervisor of the project in question. It may be appropriate to demonstrate your project to your examiners.
4. The final talk will be presented as part of the Department's Industry Week (dates still to be arranged). Each student will be given approximately 15 minutes to present their results. A question and comment time of five minutes will follow. Examiners take the seminar presentation and fielding of questions into account when assessing a project. Representatives from local and international companies and research organisations will also be invited to the second symposium, giving you the chance to impress potential future employers. It is compulsory for you to attend all final talks.

After the second symposium, the staff meet and each project is discussed individually. The final grade is determined from the marks assigned by the two examiners, although their recommendations are often changed by consensus to ensure that all projects are fairly marked. The examiners take into account each of the above, with emphasis given to the final report. If the two examiners' marks differ significantly, then a third or even fourth detailed examination may be called for. The final grades for the project and overall grade for the year are determined at a staff meeting after all components of the assessment have been marked. An external assessor will also independently examine selected projects and will be present at the staff meeting so as to ensure objective marking.

Most projects have a significant practical content, involving hardware and/or software development. It is important that by the time of the first symposium you have reached some agreement with your supervisor about the extent of this practical work. It is equally important that by the time you hand in your final report this practical work has been completed, as you are likely to lose marks for incomplete work. Your practical work will be judged for its quality in at least the following categories;

• correctness and completeness,
• sound, modular design,
• testing,
• ease of use.

Some projects will have a large theoretical component. Theoretical work will be judged for its quality in at least the following categories;

• formal correctness,
• problem understanding,
• innovative and independent problem solving,
• conceptual elegance and simplicity.