CS 848 (Winter 2010) Project Information

Three types of projects are acceptable for this course:
Research Project:
Choose an open research problem in one of the general areas covered by this course and work on it. Deliverables: Your report should include an introduction to and motivation of the research problem you have considered, a clear and concise discussion of related work, and descriptions of your methodology and results.
Experience/Implementation Project:
This class of project involves using cloud computing services. For example, develop a useful cloud-based tool or service, or perform an data analysis using cloud data services. Your report should clearly describe the project's objective, your methodology, and results.
Survey Project:
Write a survey paper on a relevant topic. Surveys should be comprehensive, well organized, and self-contained. Although your source papers will probably use different terminology and notation, your survey must be internally consistent throughout. In addition, surveys must provide significant added value above and beyond the source material. For example, you might create a running example to clarify the relationships and distinctions among your source papers. Write in your own words and use proper attribution where necessary. Do not plagiarize your sources!

Project Schedule

Feb 22
Project proposals (2 page maximum) due.
Mar 22/29
Project presentations in class.
Apr 16
Project papers/reports due.

Project Proposals

Please limit your proposal to a maximum of two pages. Submit your proposal, in PDF format, by e-mailing to the course instructor before the start of class on the proposal due date.

The purpose of the proposal is to allow me to determine whether you have chosen a suitable project. For research projects, your proposal should describe the problem you plan to tackle and what you plan to accomplish as part of the project. Ideally, you would also report any key pieces of related work that you've been able to identify. For a survey project, you should identify the topic of the survey and outline its scope. You should also identify an initial list (not necessarily complete) of the related papers from which you plan to draw material for your survey. For an experience project, you should identify the topic and what you plan to accomplish in the project.

Project Reports and Survey Papers

Submit your report in PDF format. Use the two-column ACM proceedings format for your report. Templates are available from the ACM.

Evaluation

Project marks will depend on the depth and novelty of the ideas embodied in your project, on the quality of your methodology, and on the quality of your written report and in-class presentation.

Project Topics

I've created a page that describes some project ideas. To access it, you'll need the userid and password that I presented in class - the same one that is used to access papers from my library.