CS546 - GROUP PROJECT (MENG COMPUTER SCIENCE)

Aims and Objectives

This project based module aims to give you "real-world" experience in team working and project management by participating in a sustained and significant group-based project, typically from an external sponsor. The group is primarily responsible for all aspects of the project including initial research, planning, design, implementation, as well as reporting, management, organisation and running.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the module, a student should be able to:

- Work with a project sponsor or client, identified stakeholders and other members of the team to understand a problem and produce a detailed project specification and associated set of requirements, and formulate a project plan with clear objectives, milestones and deliverables.
- Appreciate the principles of project management and planning, and collaborate with other members of the team to organise tasks and monitor individual and collective progress to ensure the timely production of deliverables.
- Work as part of a team to deliver a software-based solution to a project of significant scale and challenge, employing the most appropriate technologies and best software engineering practices as learned in earlier modules and time spent in industry, and collectively manage any technical risks that arise.
- Critically evaluate and analyse the project outcomes and achievements, and reflect on their contributions to the project and those made by others.
- Effectively communicate the progress and final outcomes of the project through presentations and written reports to a mixed audience including the client/project sponsor, supervisor, peers, colleagues and other interested stakeholders.

Syllabus

Students will be formed into groups and be allocated a project topic, supervised by a member of staff. Each group will initially developed a detailed project specification containing the project aims and objectives, requirements and planned schedule. This will be agreed with the supervisor, who will also provide feedback. Students will carry out the project, and report to the assessment team in January (interim presentation/report) and at the conclusion of the project (end of semester two). Groups will be assessed on the extent to which they have met the deliverables set out in the specification, as well as on the quality of reflection on the group process and project management experience.

Since MEng projects are substantial pieces of practical work they may draw on any aspect of the degree course, or more widely. Additional topics for study of particular relevance to a specific project may also be suggested by the students themselves and supervisor.

Recommended Reading

This list is indicative only – the class lecturer may recommend alternative reading material. Please do not purchase any of the reading material listed below until you have confirmed with the class lecturer that it will be used for this class.

Depends on the project allocated.

Last updated: 2026-05-21 08:14:02