Guidelines to write your BSc Senior Project Proposal: A Step-

By-Step Guide

By

Dr. Perumalla Janaki Ramulu (PhD)

Dr. Tariku Desta (PhD)
 BSc Senior Project or Final Year Project (FYP)

What it is ?
Why ?
What is its scope?
How it should be carried out ?
What to expect (esp. from Stakeholders ) ?
How it should be proposed and reported ?
 Objectives of the Project

To develop student’s knowledge for solving technical problems.

To provide an opportunity to learn about new ideas and concepts.
To analyse, design, evaluate and manufacture an Engineering System (Machines).
To provide an opportunity to work in team.
To develop the leadership quality.
To improve Written and Verbal Communication skills.
 Project Outcome
During the FYP (course), You will be able to
• Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering fundamentals to the
solution of complex engineering problems.
• What is the fundamental ‘Tesla Moto’ to solve complex and expensive projects.
• Implement practically technologies to solve a societal and/or industrial problems using
the application of respective/ multidisciplinary engineering branches.
• Apply project management skill to design system/product by taking into
consideration different issues such as safety, ethics, social, health, legal, cultural
and cost standards.
• Apply tools like LabView, MATLAB, multisim, ANSYS, ABAQUS, COMSOL, etc for
computational investigation to be safe and cost effective .
• Participate in National/International paper presentation/publication/project competition
activities.
BSc Senior Project Proposal and Final Report

I. a BSc Senior Project Proposal

o What is a BSc Senior Project Proposal ?
o What are the vital Elements of it?
o How (a logical structure ) developed, organized and submitted?

II. a BSc Senior Project Final Report

o What is a BSc Senior Project Proposal ?
o What are the vital parts of it?
o How (a logical sequence ) developed, organized reported ?
It will be communicated through the Department.
A BSc Senior Project Proposal

o What is a BSc Senior Project Proposal ?

o What are the vital elements of it?
o How (a logical sequence ) developed and organized ?
 Your Project Proposal
o Title
o Proposal summery (Abstract)
o Introduction
o Problem statement
o Objectives (General and Specific) of the project
o Scope of the project
o Materials, methods and methodologies
o Expected result (outcome) of the project
o Significance
o Limitation /delimitation
o Literature review
o Work plan with time table
o Budget
o References
 Project Title
• The project proposal title should
– demarcate the focus or theme of the proposed study,
– Capture and reflect the main content and scope of the project,
– Be Unique, concise, simple and catchy in not more than 15
words
• The title should
– be informative/descriptive Yet discrete and
– contain the keywords of the project proposal
– The title page will be attached
 An Ideal Example of a Concise Project Title
1. Design and Development of a 30 Ton General Purpose Hydraulic
Press Machine

2. Design a Low Cost Methanol Extracting Machine Through

Distillation

3. Design and Fabricate a Draw Type Thin Wall Thickness Tube Bender

4. Reversing Engineering a Three Roller Pipe Bending Machine

1. Design and Develop a Manually Operated Horizontal Plastic

Extrusion Machine
 Project Proposal Summary (Abstract)
• It is a brief summary of consisting of 150 to 250 words .
• It should include (Vital Parts)
– the problem statement formulation
– Construction of the project objectives and scope ,
– the rationale for the study, the hypothesis (if any) and
– Materials , method (Instruments) and methodologies (theories, qualitative,
quantitative,…) used in the investigation the study.
– Expected results without adding any comments of your own
– Conclusions and a concise outline of its significance
• It should also be one page, one paragraph, single space and italic in format.
An Ideal Example of a Concise Abstract
 Introduction Portion (Chapter One)
• Introduction contains
– Background of the study
– Statement of the problem
– Questions and/or Claim (Optional)
– General and specific objectives
– Significance of the study
– Expected outcome of the study
– Delimitation Scope
– Operational Definitions (this component is field specific)
• Project or senior project
• Material(s)
 Background of the Study

In background ( Introduction) of the study, you should

o create reader interest in the topic,
o lay the broad foundation for the problem that leads to the
study,
o place the study within the larger context of the scholarly
literature ( not too wide or too narrow), and
o reach out to a specific audience.
 Your Background (Introduction) of the Project ?
• Introduction is one of the most difficult parts of a proposal.
• It opens a dialogue with your examiners, reviewers or readers.
• It can make or break your proposal or project.
• must convince your reader that you are the right person among thousands of
researchers.
• You must also show to your reader that how you going to fulfil his/her needs and
what exceptional benefits they get from you.
• You challenge them that you are the best engineer in this field.
• You should start talking to them gently but without fear and favour.
 How to write Your Background (Introduction) of the Project

• The following tips are crucial in introduction writing process:

1. Tell the reader about your problem.
2. Tell the reader who is suffering from that problem?
3. How you going to solve that problem?
4. Tell the reader that you are qualified and equipped with the right methods of
solving that problem.
5. Tell the reader the benefits you offer by solving that problem?
6. Tell the reader what results you anticipate.
7. Make sure to tell what is the most important to them.
No more, no less and stand for your claim.
 Problem Statement
• It is a specific condition that needs urgent attention and a possible solution.
• It attempts to fill a gap in the existing need that requires serious attention.
• An excellent problem statement is just a line or two.
• The rest of the paragraph(s) is its elaboration; a possible solution and most
importantly,
• who says that it is a problem (cite scholarly references).
• The problem must generate questions for the project to answer.
• A proposal problem statement must challenge to answer the following questions:
 Cont.
• A BSc project proposal problem statement must challenge to
answer the following questions:
1. What is the problem? What?
2. Where is the problem? Where?
3. How to solve the problem? How?
4. Why you want to solve the problem? Why?
5. Is the problem current?
6. Will the problem continue in the future if it is not solved?
7. Who is suffering by that problem?
8. Will the problem prove or disprove the existing knowledge?
 How to Write Your Research Questions ?
• Your research question must be brief, relevant, focused and
arguable.
• Good research questions create a corridor to your research.
• Good research questions are the spine of your proposal and later,
in your FYP.
 The following few tips may help you to write your research
questions:
1. Choose a topic that interests you and your readers.
2. Make an investigation on your topic ( scholarly journals, projects)
- see what problems are solved by your peers.
• what are not solved so that you elevate it.
3. Your research questions should
• Not be answered by simple facts
• must require critical analysis and field tested.
• Be provoking and requires significant examination.
 Objectives and Scope of the Project
 Objective is concise statements that describe what the project is aiming to
achieve or accomplish .
 They define the scope and direction of the project and maintain focus.
 It should be SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-
bound.
 You should state the technical and managerial objectives of the project.
 Use measurable action verbs when defining an objective (e.g. define, design,
identify, describe, analyse, evaluate etc). Not a process verb.
An Ideal Example of Objectives of the Project
 Scope of the Project
 Scope sets a clear boundary (time, geography, environment, function etc.) of our work to
provide a common understanding of the project among stakeholders (in FYP the
stakeholders are students, lecturer, panels etc.).
 Scope makes the project achievable and realistic by defining the limits and constrains of
the study.

An Ideal Example of Objectives of the Project

Materials, Methods and Methodology
• Methodology refers to the theoretical analysis of your research
• It indicates rational and idealistic postulation of your study
• Methodology: Triangulation (Qualitative, Quantitative and
Descriptive) mixed.
• Method refers to a systematic and orderly arrangement and
measuring of your research.
• The Method of a research designates that how you going to
demeanour your research.
• Method is just like a tool utilized by you to measure the
activities
• Method: Research design, population, sample, instrument,
validity, reliability and result and so on.
METHODOLOGY
 Flow chart of the project
 Gantt chart
 Concept development phase
 Concept selection
 Concept screening
 Setting final specification
 Product architecture
 Some useful points when formulating your Methods and
Methodology:
1. Choose your methodology and design approach based on the type of
project you are conducting.
2. Institute a clear and concise affiliation between your study and
methodology.
3. Ask yourself whether this methodology answers your questions?
4. Provide meaningful reason for choosing your methodology using literature
review.
5. Divide your method into research design, population, sample, instrument,
validity, reliability, results and implementation phases.
6. Properly determine engineering materials selection criteria, design
analysis approach and simulation and/ or fabrication techniques.
7. Most importantly, are you comfortable with them?
 Expected Result of the Project

Significance of the Project

– you must provide justification for Need of conducting your project work.

– Specific Importance and contribution of your project work to society, industry, etc

– The originality of the research which will be level appropriate

– The impact of the study for the subject field must be indicated.

– It must be relatable, interesting and engaging.

 Literature Review
It is the life cycle of every proposal writing process.
It connotes a systematic account of documented literature by qualified and
accredited scholars and researchers.

How to Write Your Literature Review

• When writing the literature review you must show
– what knowledge has been documented about your problem statement
– what knowledge has not been documented yet so that you are about to document
it.
• must speak loud and clear about your research objectives, questions and your
problem statement. As thus,
– It should define and strengthen your research.
• It should not be a long list of bibliographic references or
– Not a summary of rearticulated materials to persuade your readers.
 Literature Review

 It is the life cycle of every proposal writing process.

 It connotes a systematic account of documented literature by qualified and accredited
scholars and researchers.
 Cont.
When developing your literature review in your
proposal Preparation , You must ask yourself:
1. Does the literature review discuss about authenticity of your
problem statement?
2. Do you find literatures that prove or disprove your problem
statement?
3. Does the literature review significantly support the severity of
your problem statement?
4. Does the researchers agree or disagree with existing knowledge
and skill to solve the problem and why?
5. Is your final judgment or conclusion is sound, logical and
persuasive?
Literature Survey
• Find the latest material relevant to the project topic which is to be explored.
• Identify the “big names or researchers” and best publications in your working
area. (Projects, papers, etc will be most helpful for developing the project.)
• Collect the most recent books, most popular publications from standared
catalogues, ASME Transactions, Elsevier, Springer.
• The minimum number of the papers to be collected is between Ten (15) to
Twenty (30).
 Cont.

• Explain each paper in one paragraph that should include following points:
• Summarize all major points of your selected paper i.e. new work, material,
analysing and processing techniques, results, findings and conclusion.
• Write the strengths and limitations of your selected papers.
• Cite this paper by numbering inside the square bracket [].
• Make comparisons of the selected papers and give technical comments.
• Summary of comparison is to be given in a tabulated form in the last page.
Consider the following when developing and reporting Project
 Follow the logical sequence to develop and report your project (Prototype /
product / machine) analytical, computational analysis and Fabrication.

 Follow a design phases while developing a machine.

 Upon developing the reporte
1. Make an introduction (Few lines) at the beginning and a summary (Few lines) at
the end of your result chapter.
o It is nice to inform your readers that what you are about to do and what you have
done so far (if any).
2. Analyse your qualitative data (interviews, survey responses, emails, your own
notes, observations, feedback, questionnaires) and quantitative data
(statistics, percentages and numbers).

 Cont.
3. Use deductive and inductive to organize collected data.
Organize your data based on your questions and hypothesis.
4. Display your data based on relationships among the collected
data and look for supporting evidence.
5. Cross check your data few times for reliability and validity.
6. So, what did you find from your experimentation? Report
without adding any comments of your own.
7. What were the differences? If you are making a comparison.
Use T-Test to compare.
8. Analyze your findings to see if it answers your research
questions and finds a solution to your problem statement.
9. Again, avoid making any comments of your own.
 Work Plan with Time Table

• Your schedule for the research must be stated

clearly including the projected timelines for
the various stages of your Project.
 Budget
No. Item / Activity Measuring unit Quantity Rate (birr/unit) Total cost of item (birr)

1 Characterization Sample
of samples
Sample

Sample

3 Transportation cost Term

4 Stationery set
5 Per-diem Day
6 Printing Page
7 Binding Bind
Total Estimated Cost
 References
 Reference management tools help you organise and store your citations.
 They assist you to keep track of your sources including those that have been exported
from other databases.
 They also allow you to generate your bibliography for your research project.
o All the sources that you have used for your proposal must be listed in alphabetical order
using a APA referencing style that the university has prescribed in PG and PhD guideline.
1. Desta, T., Yimer, W., Ramulu, P., Murthy, N., & Anbusagar, N. (2015). Prospects of maintenance
management functions in sugar industries: a case study on ethiopian metehara sugar
factory. In 7th international Conference on latest trends in engineering & technology
(Vol. 42, No. 17, pp. 134-140).
Reference Management Tools
Below are some software products that you can use:
1. RefWorks 2. EndNote 3. Mendeley 4. Zotero
Appendixes
Thank you !!!!!!