Contest description
This software contest determines the winner of the 2004 Colgate Prize for Creativity in Software
Development. The 2004 prize will be determined later. The winner will be announced at the 2004 honors night of the Department of Computer Systems Technology.
Project requirements
Contestants will make up and implement an application of their own choosing to demonstrate their creativity in software development. Any programming language may be used. The project must adhere to all the best principles of software engineering.
The application may be of any type, such as

A distributed Web application that interfaces with a database

A network-analyzer program

Database design and implementation

Object-oriented systems design and implementation

Or any project that demonstrates creativity in software development
Contestants may get help from any other student or faculty member.
The project must consist substantially of the contestant's original work. It may be based on a class assignment, in which case it must demonstrate original work beyond the requirements of the assignment.
It may be a project that is being used for another purpose, such as a scholarship, but must show substantial original contribution by the contestant.
Eligibility and submission deadline
Students whose names appear on the graduation list for a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Systems for June 2004 or any graduation list for a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Systems within eleven months prior to June 2004 are eligible to submit a project for the 2004 contest.
A brief written description of the purpose of the project must be submitted to Prof. Bellehsen by
February 3, 2004. Final projects must be submitted to Prof. Bellehsen by April 5, 2004. All submitted materials remain the property of the student.
Form of submission
The written description of the purpose of the project should not contain the contestant's name, but should include contact information for the contestant in the form of an email address or a telephone number that has an answering machine or voice mail. Prof. Bellehsen will assign a number to the project and write
Revised 19 May 2003

that number on the submission. The student will tell Prof. Bellehsen his or her name verbally, and Prof.
Bellehsen will keep a secret record of correspondence between student names and project numbers, and the date and time of submission. Prof. Bellehsen will tell the student what number has been assigned to his or her project.
Submissions of the final project must include all programming materials as described below. Any additional written Help documentation regarding the operation of the project may be submitted at the applicant’s discretion. Students must submit their project in hard-copy form and on a floppy diskette.
Hard copy should include all page images and code. The applicant’s name should not appear anywhere on the hard copy or on the diskette. The applicant should write their project number, previously assigned, on the hard copy and diskette.
Judging
The contest will be judged by a panel of faculty and students. The faculty members of the panel will be appointed by the chair. Students wishing to be members of the panel must meet the same eligibility requirements as contestants, and in addition must have at least a 3.5 GPA in their CS and MS courses.
They should submit their request in writing to serve on the panel to Prof. Bellehsen by April 5, 2004.
Student judges will be selected by the faculty judges. Contestants may not serve as members of the judging panel.
Projects will be judged on the following criteria:
1.
Real-world usefulness of project
2.
Ease of use
3.
Adherence to good principles of software engineering
4.
Robustness
5.
Oral defense
Judging will take place in two rounds. In the first round, each judge will run each submitted project and rate it on criteria 1 through 4, each criterion on a scale of 1 to 10.
In the second round of judging, the contestant will appear before the panel to defend the project.
Contestants will be notified of the time, place, and date of their oral defense at least one week in advance at the contact information submitted by the contestant.
A contestant who does not appear for the oral defense defaults on the oral defense and receives 0 points for it. If a contestant is late for the oral defense, the judges will determine at that time whether the student may give the oral defense or is to receive 0 points for it. It is the intention of these rules that the student be permitted to give the oral defense if time and other circumstances allow.
During the oral defense, the panel may ask questions relating to the project and may also ask questions that go beyond the project. Each judge will rate the oral defense on a scale of 1 to 10.
Notification of Winner
The contest winner will be notified at the same time as the winners of the other graduation honors, approximately one week before the 2004 honors night of the Department.
Revised 19 May 2003