Computer Science 180
Web Design

Fall 2011, Siena College

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Design Project
Groups must be formed by: Friday, November 11, 2011
Proposals due: 1:30 PM, Monday, November 14, 2011
Grading contracts must be finalized by: 4:00 PM, Friday, November 18, 2011
Progress reports due: 4:00 PM, Friday, December 2, 2011
Presentations: Monday, December 12, 2011
Final submission: 4:00 PM, Monday, December 12, 2011

As you know, this course requires you to complete a final design project that will determine 20% of your grade. Your task is to design a web site for the (real or fictional) entity of your choice. You should make use of the tools and techniques you have learned in class and lab, as well as some that we have not studied. You will show off your finished product in a brief (approximately 15 minute) presentation to be held during out last lab meeting on Monday, December 12, 2011.

You may work individually or in groups of two or three. Groups must be formed by Friday, November 11, 2011.

Requirements

Your design project should consist of several HTML documents that form a coherent web site. All projects must make use of the HTML elements we have been using, must use CSS to provide appropriate styles, and must use at least some JavaScript to provide interaction. You may include some custom graphic design as part of your project, but this is not required. All sites must make use of some technology we have not focused on in class, such as image maps, new features in HTML5, embedded Flash or other animated elements, PHP, interfacing with an SQL database, or working with data specified in an XML file. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list - feel free to come up with other possibilities.

All documents must validate as XHTML 1.0 Strict unless there is a good reason to use a different version of the HTML specification.

The proposal

Please start thinking about the subject of your site right away and come to me with your ideas. By 1:30 PM, Monday, November 14, 2011, submit a proposal, at most one page in length, that describes the entity for which you are planning to develop a site, what pages will be included in the site, which tools and techniques you intend to use, which additional technology you will investigate and utilize, and how you plan to go about it. Describe the major milestones for your project, a rough schedule for achieving these milestones, and which milestones you believe are most important for your project to be considered a success. Your proposal should convince me that you have an interesting and worthwhile site to develop and that it is feasible in the time available.

Grading contract negotiation

After your proposal is accepted, we will meet to discuss a grading contract for your project. This meeting must occur no later 4:00 PM, Friday, November 18, 2011. The grading contract will allocate the 65% of the project grade not already allocated to other project requirements.

The progress report

By 4:00 PM, Friday, December 2, 2011, submit a progress report. This should consist of a detailed listing of the HTML and CSS files, any graphics you have or intend to develop and use, including sources for any examples or images you are using that were developed by others. It should also include a description of the design and current implementation status of your site, as well as an updated and more specific timetable for completion of the project. A thorough and well-written progress report will not only earn full credit for the progress report portion of the project grade, but will serve as an excellent starting point for your writeup.

The website

You should publish your site in your space on hostmonster. Each group member should link to the site from his or her main index page. The site should be published by 4:00 PM, Monday, December 12, 2011.

The writeup

Your submission will include a formal writeup. This writeup should describe the purpose of your site, how you developed your implementation, and which technologies you made use of in your development. Include citations for any online or other resources you used. It should be submitted by email to jteresco AT siena.edu by 4:00 PM, Monday, December 12, 2011.

The presentation

Each group will present a summary of their work to the class. Include the motivation for your project, a description of what you did, and a summary of what you learned. Demonstrate your site in action. Given how busy everyone will be at the end of the semester, our schedule will be tight, so groups will not be allowed to run over the allotted time. Presentations will take place during our last lab meeting on Monday, December 12, 2011. All group members must participate in the presentation. Attendance is required at the entire presentation session, not just when your group is speaking.

Grading

This project accounts for 20% of the course grade. The grade will be based on all aspects of the project, including the proposal (5%), the progress report (5%), the documents developed (65%, as agreed in the grading contract), the content and writing style of the writeup (15%), and quality of the presentation (10%). No credit is given for attendance at the presentation session, but penalties will be applied for missing all or part of it.