HOW TO WRITE A PROJECT PROGRESS REPORT

Introduction
The Project Report is intended to give the student an experience in independent work to demonstrate advanced knowledge in a field of study. It occurs near the end of a students education and provides an opportunity to bring together their education and experience into a realistic problem solving effort. The student works closely with an advisor on a problem of mutual interest. The following is a set of guidelines for the preparation of a Project Progress Report. The guidelines are divided into four areas? 1. 2. 3. 4. General Guidelines, The Planning Phase, The Project Phase, and The Documentation Phase.

General Guidelines
Project Report credits may be taken all in one semester or split into several semesters (i.e. one or two credits the first semester and two or one the second semester)? The student should set aside a fixed period of time for Project Report work. For example, you may regularly devote Mondays and Wednesdays to it.? Students should also see their advisors regularly with a minimum of once every two weeks and preferably once a week when the Project Report is most active. Choice of a topic will depend on student interests, advisor interests, and particular project requirements. A topic should be found early in the final semester of full-time studies with a goal of completion the following summer or fall. Once a topic is selected, the student should stay with it to its completion. The work on the Project Report can be divided up into three phases, the planning phase, the project phase and the documentation phase. Students should allocate their time carefully to assure that it is used efficiently.

The Interim Report

A successful Project Report is the careful planning of it from the outset. The mechanism for project planning is a proposal. The function of a proposal is to answer four questions? 1) What will be done? 2) Why is it an important thing to do? 3) What are the objectives and scope of the work? and 4) How will it be done? There must be a reflection of the synopsis proposal in the interim report The following is a sample outline of a typical progress report of the project: 1. Introduction? Including a statement of the problem to be studied? Why is it an important thing to do? 2. Objectives of the work (a clear, concise statement). 3. Scope and limits of the project. 4. Survey of the related Work and Literature 5. Proposed procedure (may be a series of steps, task flow diagram, etc). 6. Schedule of work by task; how much completed and how much is due 7. Sources of data used / to be used. 8. Anticipated results (i.e., what questions will the project answer, or what problems will be solved; what benefits will result when the work is completed?)

Prof Dalgobind Mahto, Department of Mechanical Engineering Green Hills Engineering College, Solan 1

HOW TO WRITE A PROJECT PROGRESS REPORT

9. Preliminary outline of the Project Report.

Length of the Final Project Report

Many students are curious as to how long a Project Report should be. A Project Report should be a short as possible and still cover the topic. The range of page lengths for the project should be over roughly minimum 40 to 100 pages or more exclusive of appendices. Your Guide will be able to tell you approximately what is needed for your topic and what will be the exact length.

Nature of the Project

The project should have a strong research element. The Project Report need not be a complete research project (it can be a component of a team effort) provided that the objectives of the overall research project are clear and substantial progress is made toward achieving the objectives of the overall project. Generally, a project can be identified as research if these conditions apply:? 1. 2. 3. 4. there are clearly stated hypotheses; the results of the research are of interest to a broad audience; the research is an extension of the state-of-the-art; and the knowledge gained during the research project contributes to the overall body of knowledge of engineering.?

Projects that produce a design may or may not be research, depending upon how well these four conditions are met.? For a design to meet these conditions it must be innovative and it must be tested. A Project Report is normally thought of as an individual effort. When the research is part of a team, it is sometimes impossible to totally separate the Project Report research from the rest of the research project. The contributions of others toward the research must be approved by your committee and noted in an acknowledgement section.

Coordinating the Project Report

Students are employed in jobs for making projects that can contribute to a Project topic? So what are the works to be carried out by a student? 1. Example1: a job requires a student to produce a truly innovative design? The Project Report can focus on testing the design? 2. Example2: a job requires the student to obtain a substantial amount of data that is not readily available from any other source? 3. Example3: The Project Report can focus on analyzing the data and drawing conclusions from the analysis? 4. Example4: This type of coordination can reduce the amount of new effort and can lead to a Project Report of particular relevance to the profession.

Prof Dalgobind Mahto, Department of Mechanical Engineering Green Hills Engineering College, Solan 2