Junior Seminar (CMPSC 580) Own Project Repository

Semester: Spring 2024

Final Proposal and Prototype DUE: by 11:59PM on 3 May 2024

This repository contains materials for the proposed project of your own idea, including project proposal with references to literature related to the proposed project, and the implemented prototype with data, if relevant, and all steps necessary to run the prototype. Your project proposal is to be written in the project_proposal.md document and must contain all sections provided in the project_proposal.md template and described below.

Please make sure that your project relates to your major. Please consult departmental faculty as necessary during their office hours about your project. The following are baseline outcomes/products expected for each major. Computer Science majors following "old" curriculum (academic bulletin prior to 2023), can select a project in CMPSC, DS, or SE areas.

• CMPSC: integration of theory and practice OR integration of hardware and software
• DS: dashboard that utilizes machine learning with big data (application-focused) OR a comprehensive extension of an existing framework of data analysis (method-focused)
• INFM: integration of disciplines (humanities, political/environmental science, or health) with technology AND/OR critical engagement demonstrating the impact of technology in selected area
• SE: working, well-tested, production-quality, deployed software

Double majors need to select a project idea that incorporates both of their majors.

Timeline

Students are encouraged to follow the below timeline to ensure timely completion of their project. All students must present their proposed project in class on April 15th and 17th. The pitch presentation slides must be finalized by 1:30PM on 15th April. The final prototype, including a demo video, and the proposal must be submitted by 11:59PM on 3rd May 2024.

Week	Activity
1-5 April	Start prototype development and proposal writing.
8-12 April	Continue the development of the prototype and proposal writing.
15-19 April	Project Idea Pitches. Prototype evaluation and continue proposal writing.
22-26 April	Project enhancement based on feedback. Preliminary results from the prototype.
29 April - 3 May	Finalize and submit proposal, prototype, and a prototype demo video.

Requirements

To complete this assignment, you are required to:

1. complete a proof-of-concept prototype with all source code (and data if relevant) stored in the \src directory and submitted in own_project repository by the deadline,
2. create a demo video showing the key features of your prototype and submit using the provided Google form by the deadline,
3. write a project proposal with all sections outlined in project_proposal.md completed and submit in own_project repository by the deadline,
4. prepare slides for a presentation of the proposed project in Proposed Project Pitches Slide Deck before 1:30PM on 15th April and pitch the proposed project to all faculty in the department in class on 15-17 April.

Prototype

While the proof-of-concept prototype does not have to fully implement the artifact of the proposed project, it needs to contribute to the project goals and it must clearly demonstrate the feasibility of the project. The prototype needs to also produce some results that you can examine and discuss. For example, if you propose a creation of a specific software, your proof-of-concept prototype might implement some but not all of its features. Then, you can conduct evaluation (e.g., testing) and small set of experiments to produce preliminary results for discussion.

Prototype Demo Video

A 1-2 minute video (in an MP4 format) demonstrating key features of your developed prototype must be submitted by the final project deadline via the provided Google Form.

Project Proposal

The project proposal needs to contain the following five sections: Introduction, Literature Review, Prototype, Preliminary Results and Outcomes, and Conclusions and Future Work. The requirements of these sections is detailed in the "Assessment" section below and additional information can be found in the project_proposal.md document.

Project Pitch

Prepare three slides on your proposed project in the Google Slides Deck. Your presentation should describe your proposed project, its goals and motivation behind it, state-of-the-art in the area of your proposed project, your developed prototype and how it demonstrates project feasibility, and future steps to complete the proposed project.

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Assessment

For specific details about the general evaluation rubric for minimum requirements please refer to the following list. Please note that these are only baseline requirements and it is expected that an exceptional project will exceed these requirements.

• General Project Requirements
  • The project prototype and proposal were submitted on time on GitHub
  • The pitch slides were submitted on time via the Google Slides
  • The prototype demo video was submitted on time via the Google Form
  • The GitHub repository of the project contains evidence of many commits (multiple commits each week)
    • The GitHub repository of the project has a passing build status in GitHub Actions
  • The proposal has the correct format created through the use of Markdown and includes the sections outlined in the provided template
  • The title of the project is both interesting and appropriate
  • The project proposal cites at least ten references, with five references being published, peer-reviewed articles
  • The project proposal consists of at least 2000 words
  • The project proposal follows a logical flow at the level of sections, subsections, and individual paragraphs
  • The project proposal includes appropriate visual aids, which fall under the broad categories of:
  • image
  • figure
  • table
  • graph
  • The project proposal highlights and explains the societal impacts and ethical implications of the completed research
  • There are no typographical or grammatical errors in the proposal
  • There is no extraneous text in the proposal
  • Prototype contains a README outlining its key features, software and hardware requirements needed to use the prototype, and steps necessary to run the prototype
  • Prototype works as intended
  • Prototype's implementation contains appropriate documentation (comments)

The project proposal is required to contain the following five sections:

• Introduction Section Requirements

  • The introduction section clearly describes the proposed project
  • The introduction section motivates the proposed project work
  • The introduction section contains specific project goals and/or research questions that the project aims to answer

• Related Work Section Requirements

  • The related work section references and describes relevant literature
  • The related work section contains concise, scholarly review of the literature explaining the background to the proposed research
  • The related work section explains how relevant literature connects to the proposed project and provides the context for the aims of the proposed project in relation to existing work on the topic
  • The related work section does not provide a "laundry list" of the related literature
  • The related work section situates the proposed project in the broader scope

• Prototype Section Requirements

  • The prototype section explains the process utilized in the completed study
  • The prototype section addresses as many of the necessary methodology used in the prototype development. For example, the following may be relevant to the project:
  • description of algorithms
  • programming languages
  • libraries
  • platforms
  • software tools
  • hardware
  • The prototype section explains how the developed proof-of-concept prototype demonstrates project feasibility (given your prototype, how can we be sure that the full artifact of the proposed project can be successfully completed by you in two semesters)

• Preliminary Results and Outcomes Section Requirements

  • The preliminary results and outcomes section describes how the work is validated
  • The preliminary results and outcomes results section includes a description of experiments such that a reader should be able to reproduce them or other results/outcomes as relevant to the prototype
  • The preliminary results and outcomes contains at least one graph, table of data, or some other relevant presentation of the results from the experimental study

• Conclusions and Future Work Section Requirements

  • The conclusions and future Work section provides a summary of the proposed research and its preliminary outcomes
  • The conclusions and future Work section discusses the impact of the proposed research project
  • The conclusions and future Work outlines, with sufficient depth and detail, further and future work that is necessary to fully complete the proposed project
  • The conclusions and future Work includes an literature/evidence- or results-based appraisal of ethical issues related to the proposed research

GatorGrade

For immediate feedback on submissions, we will be using Gator Grade to inform the of missing components in the submission. As you submit, you will notice that there is a thick red X that will change to a green check mark when all components have been included in the submission. You are encouraged to click on the red X to find a listing of the components to address.

You can check the baseline writing and commit requirements for this assignment by running the department's assignment checking gatorgrade tool. To use gatorgrade, you first need to make sure you have Python3 installed (type python --version to check). If you do not have Python installed, please see:

• Setting Up Python on Windows
• Python 3 Installation and Setup Guide
• How to Install Python 3 and Set Up a Local Programming Environment on Windows 10

Then, if you have not done so already, you need to install gatorgrade:

• First, install pipx
• Then, install gatorgrade with pipx install gatorgrade

Finally, you can run gatorgrade: gatorgrade --config config/gatorgrade.yml

Seeking Assistance

• Extra resources for using Markdown include;

• Markdown Tidbits
• Markdown Cheatsheet

• Do not forget to use the above git commands to push your work to the cloud for the instructor to grade your assignment. You can go to your GitHub repository using your browser to verify that your files have been submitted. Please see the TL’s or the instructor if you have any questions about assignment submission.