Complete projects

Within the framework of a course « The Introduction In Technology Of Programming » to the students is offered participation in process of creating working materials on themes of occupations. Working materials for occupation are:

• Set of any files (documents) containing the information on a theme of occupation;
• Final product as the document of a standard kind containing the text of occupation - the summary, and also presentation of occupation.

Preparing of working materials on each occupation is supposed to be organized as the mini-project. The participants of the mini-project will be:

• The curator of the mini-project – employee of Laboratory from the teachers of a course
• Team of the developers – group of 2-5 students

The leader of the mini-project should be allocated from the participants of a team.

Ultimate goals of the mini-project are:

• Creation of the preliminary version of the summary – document containing the complete text of occupation (lecture) on a theme of the mini-project
• Creating presentation of occupation.

The intermediate purposes of the mini-project can be divided into two classes:

• Educational: consist in accumulation, by the students of a course, initial skills of carrying out the works in collective of the developers, practical acquaintance to roles and duties of the developers in the project, passage by them all stages of life cycle of a product (on an example of creation the documentation);
• Practical: consist in search and accumulation of the information on a theme of the mini-project, conducting the engineering specifications, creation of the summary and presentation.

Duties of the curator of the mini-project are:

• Definition of a theme of the mini-project;
• Choice the leader of the mini-project;
• Management the distribution of duties in a team of the developers;
• Holding the summary meeting for mini-project a weekly;
• Monitoring a condition of works in the mini-project;
• Making decision about completion of the mini-project.

In structure of a team of the developers of each mini-project the following roles should be allocated:

• The leader of the mini-project answers for the project as a whole, carries out distribution of works among the participants of the project and supervises their performance;
• The main developer answers for creation of the technical task for mini-project, carrying out high-level designing (composition /contents /plan /structure of the summary and presentation);
• The main tester answers for planning of quality both testing of the summary and presentation (check of conformity to the fixed structure, monitor of carrying out accepted rules of design);
• The technical writer carries out search and accumulation of materials, answers for writing components of the summary and presentation (sections, parts);
• The tester carries out testing components of the summary and presentation (sections, parts).

The remark: each participant of the mini-project can carry out some roles simultaneously

Possible example

Number of the participants: 5 men

1^st student:

• The leader of the mini-project
• The technical writer
• Tester

2^nd student:

• The main developer
• The technical writer
• Tester

3^rd student:

• The main tester
• The technical writer
• Tester

4^th student:

• The technical writer
• Tester

5^th student:

• The technical writer
• Tester

The following stages and models of mini-project life cycle are recommended

1. Pre-starting procedure
   • Defining of the mini-project subject
     
     • Responsible person: mini-project curator
   • Forming the mini-project team
     • Responsible person: mini-project curator
2. Formulating and analysis of requirements
   • Formulating of requirements
     • Responsible persons: mini-project curator, mini-project leader, main developer
   • Development of technical task
     • Responsible persons: mini-project leader, main developer
3. Designing
   • Planning
     • Responsible persons: mini-project leader, main developer
   • Project development
     • Responsible persons: mini-project leader, main developer
4. Realization
   • Materials searh and accumulation
     • Responsible persons: every project participant is responsible for his component
   • Creating/testing of components of conspectus and presentation
     • Responsible persons: every project participant is responsible for his component
5. Testing
   • Technical testing
     • Responsible person: main tester
   • General testing (verification for quality perfomancy correspondence) of conspectus and presentation
     • Responsible person: main tester
6. Implementation
   • Release of conspectus and presentation
     • Responsible person: mini-project leader
7. Maintance and modification

1. Persons who are responsible for the stage make desitions on key questions of this stage (start, finish, internal moments);
2. In additions to responsible persons of the stage the others project participants are able to take part in discussion of the project stage;
3. All works in mini-project should be accompanied with every-week report and meeting with partisipation (under direction) of curator;
4. For every-week meeting every participant prepares every-week report in standard form;
5. It's required to define the need and periodicity of internal project meetings (without curator partisipation);
6. In process and by the results of every meeting meeting protocol should be prepared;
7. Every project participant daily has to write the following documents: Work Sheet (WorkSheet) and ToDo (ToDo).

Technological chain stages have to be accompanied with forming of technical documentation.

Documentation is conducted with using of MS Word (2000/XP) in compliance with prescribed templates and demands (necessary documents are in the informational space of ITLab).

The following structure of technical documentation ( according to the technological chain stages) is suggested:

1. Pre-starting procedure
   • Defining of the mini-project subject
   • Forming the mini-project team
     • Document «Duties allocation in the developer's team»
2. Formulating and analysis of requirments
   • Formulating of requirements
     • Document «Product requirements»
   • Technical task designing
     • Document «Technical task»
3. Designing
   • Planning
     • Document «Plan of the project management»
   • Project development
     • Document «Lesson structure»
     • Document «Conspectus structure»
     • Document «Presentation structure»
4. Realization
   • Materials search and accumulation;
     • Document «Information sources list»
   • Creating/testing of the components of the conspectus and presentation
5. Testing
   • Testing
     • Document «Testing report»