Prospectus

You have substantial flexibility in choosing the specific form for the content of your deliverables. Below is a list of items that should be included in your first deliverable, a project prospectus. There is no need to select a manager and clerical support for this deliverable nor will you be doing performance appraisals at this point. Rather you should use this opportunity to brainstorm and get to know each other.

One of your major tasks for the current period of time is developing an understanding of the various technologies and tasks concerned with your project. This includes the tools and techniques that you will use in accomplishing your task as well as the technologies that you will be extending, enhancing, or changing.

In this deliverable you should reflect your newly gained understanding by writing an introduction to your project that highlights its various important aspects.

Due Date: April 13th

1. Technical Marketing Sheet

2. Project Plan

• Introduction
• Scope and Purpose of Document (overview)
• Project Summary (short!)
• Objectives
• Major Activities
• Management and Technical Constraints
• Project Risks
• Risk Analysis
• Identification (what is the risk?)
• Risk Estimation (how big a consequence would it have?)
• Evaluation (how likely is it to occur?)
• Risk Management
• Risk Aversion Options (what can you do to avoid it?)
• Risk Monitoring Procedures (how do you keep track of whether it is going to occur?)
• Schedule
• Project Work Breakdown Structure (wikipedia is not too bad on describing WBSs)
• Time-Line Chart (when are you going to finish your various work products?)
• Resource Table (how is each team member going to be applied throughout the weeks of the project?)
• (You could use a tool like Microsoft Project to help you with parts of this task.)
• Project Estimates
• Estimates (how long is each sub-task going to take?)
• Historical Data used for the Estimates (personal data? team data? application-domain data (from other projects?))
• Estimation Techniques
• Project Resources
• People (who is on the team?)
• Hardware and software
• Special resources?
• Staff Organization
• Team Structure (What do you expect to be the team's organizational structure? Who reports to whom?)
• Member Responsibilities (How are management and clerical tasks carried out ? e.g., who will manage which phases and who will provide clerical support? Have team members been assigned specific technology-area responsibilities?)
• Meetings: when, where, and how often?
• Tracking and Control Mechanisms
• (How are you going to keep track of where you are at? How are you going to control your deliverables? (I.e. document management, version control, configuration control)
• Appendices (if needed)

Prospectus Presentations/Reviews.

Each team must prepare a 15 minute presentation, after which we will engage in Q&A. Prepare your presentation appropriately. Your presentation should describe both your technical marketing and your project plan. Focus on the essential issues: the key technical goals, challenges, and risks. Don't spend air time on the obvious.

• With respect to your technical marketing plan, you can present things such as
• the problem being solved;
• important functionality your system will provide;
• why the system to be developed is important;
• what's the "value add" of your system;
• what are the selling points of the particular system you will develop
(e.g., what's different about your approach and/or chosen emphasis from other products or possible approaches).
• With respect to your project plan, you might consider presenting:
• how you will develop it (what's your development process);
• what are the risks involved;
• time estimates for each task;
• critical resources.