Commercial Programming
[Mid-Semester Feedback Session]
Rami Bahsoon & Andrew Howes
Bid for Preferences
• The preferences for the lecturer with whom you want to
write your FIRST report has to be submitted by Friday,
Oct 28, 11:59 p.m
• We won’t use the BOSS system, instead:
– commprog.bham@gmail.com
– Subject head: your ID
– Body of your e-mail: Your preferences should be submitted in
form of a comma separated list of the running number
– Do not include any further information in your e-mail
• Bid for ALL lecturers,
– bidding for only one won’t gurantee receiving it
– For example: 4, 3, 2, 5, 6, 8, 7, 9; where 4 is your most preferred
topic and 9 is the least preferred one for this example.
Bid for Preferences
2 Ian Batten
Fujitsu/UoB Who watches the watchmen?
3 Keith Braithwaite
Zuhlke Engineering
Agile projects
and estimates
4 Gordon MacLachlan Imagination Technologies Group: Handling
Device Fragmentation
5 Ben Pearson GE Capital
Project Inception
6 Chris Brook UBS Investment Banking Technology
7 Andy Pryke
The Data Mine Mining Social Networks
8 Jamie Knowles Corso Ltd
Using Achitecture for Success
9 Darren Self
Microfocus Writing Programs That Will Last
Forever: Future Proofing
[Bidding for lecture 2 to 9].
Important Dates
• Fri 28th Oct 2011 Submission of preferences for first
report
• Tue 3rd Nov 2011 Allocation for first reports
• Thu 1st Dec 2011 Submission of first report, midnight
(i.e. end of the day)
• Tues 6th Dec 2011 Submission of preferences for second
report
• Fri 9th Dec 2011 Allocation for second report
• Mon 10th Jan 2012 Submission of second report,
midnight (i.e. end of the day).
• There will be a penalty for late submissions of 10% for any 24
hours. No submission after 10 calendar days.
Report Structure
1. Abstract
2. Introduction: (explain the problem/question, what is part,
what not, why is it relevant) [Less than 10% of the
length].
3. Main part(s): Explain approaches, compare them, stress
advantages and drawbacks. Develop new ideas. The
explanation should have a certain breadth and depth,
should be sophisticated, factual.
4. Conclusion: Summarise your contribution, give an
outlook of possible trends. Here you may give an opinion
(again balanced and well argued).
5. References
Report Structure
• Your essay must follow a story line, an inner logic
• Describe facts and not opinions. Opinions should
typically be only rare, mainly in the concluding section,
and clearly indicated as such
• Guest lecturers provides Initial material and pointers
• ...But you need to collect further material – Research!
– look only for trusted, quality, online and library
references
– Careful and foucsed research: read,
comprehend,evaluate, praphrase, and cite!
Report Structure
• A report should consist of 2000-2500 words (plus one
page in the same document in the case of the
EXTENDED version of the module).
• Please adhere to your assigned report titles/topic
– A brilliant report on a title other than this will earn
ZERO!
– A brilliant report that is on a topic covered by a
speaker who supplied one of your assigned titles but
that nevertheless does not address THAT SPECIFIC
TITLE may also be severely penalised.
Evaluation Criteria
1. Is the problem/question well explained, supported by
good examples? (1/6)
2. Is the argumentation and development
sound/convincing/logical? (1/6)
3. Are there any new ideas in the description? Are they
clearly distinguished from ideas of others? (1/6)
4. Is the report in depth? Does it show good
understanding? (1/6)
5. Do the references show good background reading? Is
everything properly referenced and acknowledged?
(1/6)
6. Is the form of the essay appealing? Right length? Good
layout, supported by good illustrations? Grammar and
spelling okay? (1/6)
Evaluation Criteria
• The criteria may slightly vary according to the topic
– Markers will consider our criteria and look whether
they are met
• Very much/much/average/poorly/very poorly
– Markers are very likely to be our Guest Speakers
• It is important to leave a good impression!
– Module tutors will then assign the final mark to ensure
consistency across all reports
Evaluation Criteria
• For students on the EXTENDED version of the module,
the different points as well as the extra page will be
worth 1/7 each:
– MSc students have to discuss to which degree they
think that the information they found in the context of
their report can (or cannot) be trusted (1 additional
page)
– i.e. Is the evaluation of the reliability of the sources
sound/convincing? (1/7)
Kind Reminders
• We use plagiarism detection software on your
submission. Plagiarising in this module brings our
institution in disrepute with respect to our external
speakers – Zero Tolerance!
• Submissions of the reports is by the deadline via BOSS
in form of one single PDF file, which conform to access
technology (see
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/p
ublicwebsite/public_helpwithpdf.hcsp for further details)
• Access technology: PDF can be transformed to HTML so
that it can be read by blind people.
– We may apply a penalty or even reject reports which do not
conform.
Important Instructions- Please Read!
• http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/internal/courses/com
m-prog/2008/sample.pdf
• http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/internal/courses/com
m-prog/index.php?expand=students