OUTLINE FOR CAPSTONE PROJECT (Project Proposal Stage)

Title Page
Table of Contents
List of Figures, List of Tables, List of Notations

Introduction

Project context
The project context is the environment in which the project is undertaken
and includes many influences. These are generally grouped under
external and internal headings. The external environment includes the
influences outside the organization such as political, legal,
etc. The internal environment is the organization’s own environment and
includes factors such as the culture, methods, standards, nature of
business, policies and so on.

Defining your project's context requires that you closely examine the
problem statement and then ask yourself and others the right questions. A
good place to begin is to ask why the system is needed.

1. Who will interact with the system?

2. Who will potentially benefit from the system?
3. Which other systems or devices will interact with the system? How
does this system fit together with other systems?
4. How will the users communicate with the system? That is, what
information do they need from the system and what information does
the system need from them?

The answers to these questions will allow you to establish a context for
your system in relation to the people and systems that need to interact
with it.

Purpose and Description

The Purpose of the Study is a statement contained within one or two

paragraphs that identifies the research design, such as qualitative,
quantitative, mixed methods, ethnographic, or another design. The
research variables, if a quantitative study, are identified, for instance,
independent, dependent, comparisons, relationships, or other variables.
The population that will be used is identified, whether it will be randomly or
purposively chosen, and the location of the study is summarized.
Project Objectives

General Objective
This section states the over-all goal that must be achieved to answer the
problem.
Specific Objectives
This subsection is an elaboration of the general objective. It states the
specific steps that must be undertaken to accomplish the general objective.
These objectives must be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable,
realistic, and time-bound). Each specific objective may start with “to
design/survey/review/analyze…”

Studying a particular programming language or development tool (e.g., to

study Windows/Object-Oriented/Graphics/C++ programming) to
accomplish the general objective is inherent in all project paper and,
therefore, must not be included here.

Scope and Limitations

Include a brief narrative here which describes the product as you intend it
to be realized. Use this section to define boundaries and set expectations.

Scope is the extent of the study and contains measurements. In a

qualitative study this would include the number of participants, the
geographical location, and other pertinent numerical data. In a quantitative
study, the size of the elements of the experiment are cited. The
generalizability of the study may be cited. The word generalizability, means
the extent to which the data are applicable in places other than where the
study took place, or under what conditions the study took place.

Limitations of a study are those things over which the research has no
control. Evident limitations are potential weaknesses of a study.
Researcher biases and perceptual misrepresentations are potential
limitations in a qualitative study; in a quantitative study, a limitation may be
the capability of an instrument to accurately record data.

Review of Related Literature

Note: Provide an introductory paragraph of what the reader should expect
in this section.

This section discusses the features, capabilities, and limitations of existing

work, algorithms, or software that are related/similar to the project. The
reviewed works and software must be arranged either in chronological
order, or by area (from general to specific). Observe a consistent format
when presenting each of the reviewed works.

Provide 5-10 literature.