HOW TO APPROACH YOUR SENIOR PROJECT
ZERO TO ONE IS BETTER THAN ZERO TO A HUNDRED
This is a guide written for the Electrical and Information Engineering department of Covenant University, though it can still be used by any department, on how to approach their Final Year Projects (FYP), from selecting a topic to conducting research, writing about it, building it (if necessary), and ultimately having a successful defense.
NB: I’ll be using FYP a lot more as a replacement for “Final Year Project”.
Before I go any further with this guide, I'd like to talk about something that might appear out of place but is crucial to your FYP. On the day of the defense, there are two characters whom we must sincerely and honestly come to terms with. They are:
1) The Buyers: These are people who do not want to bother themselves with building anything. They don’t want to get their hands dirty, and such a decision is fine by them. While that’s ok, they have a ton of work ahead of them to fully understand the whole project inside and out because of the unanticipated terror on the day of defense.
We’ll split them into two. Buyer 1 who buys just his project, and Buyer 2 who buys both his project and his project report. By buying, I mean they have no major input in the core building process of the project.
2) The Makers: Simply put, they are people who decide to design and build their projects themselves. Performing another split, we have Maker 1 who isn’t certain of how to go about his/her FYP and maker 2 who is completely certain.
If you’re a buyer, then you don’t have to bother with reading this article. The only thing you must do is understand the nitty-gritties and cornerstones of your project. The only risk you run at is purchasing a project that doesn’t work. Have a happy defense and good luck!
Before reading further, it’s important to note that either character is ok. Choose your character confidently and stick to it. They are entirely different worlds.
So, now that you’ve come to a pact, I’m sure you already know that your Final Year Project begins with a topic.
THE TOPIC
What makes a great topic you might ask.
I’m not entirely sure, but it’s not deceiving to say that your supervisor makes a great topic.
A good topic is undeniably one that your supervisor agrees to. A good topic speaks to you in a certain way. It means you have a feel for it. It might not be exactly what you want to engage with (because some students have some topics forced on them by their supervisors), however, it’s a topic worth the distance run. Even though it might be daunting, you are willing to try, learn, seek assistance, and get the project working.
A good topic stems from the kind of project a maker wants to engage with. From my understanding, a maker can either choose a research project, a design and simulation project, or a design and construction project. What are the differences?
RESEARCH PROJECT
As the name entails, you’re going to be doing pure research and it is either one of these things:
You research an existing field to add to it.
You research a novel field (kudos to you, honestly).
You research existing fields to compare methodologies and obtain the best practices related to your field of interest.
At the core of a research project is reviewing papers. It is required that you must be knowledgeable about a field before you can contribute to or review that field.
After reviewing, you would then begin to execute steps like data gathering, experimentations, and ultimately writing a research paper (which is the holy grail of a research project). Some of these steps might require knowledge of softwares like MATLAB and other computational softwares, a programming language, and a data analysis tool like Excel. The list is endless.
A research topic might begin with either of the following:
A comprehensive study of…
A systematic investigation of...
A DESIGN AND SIMULATION PROJECT
In this kind of project, you’re not concerned with building a physical system. Your niche ends at a simulator. Once your design of the project is ready, you perform tests on the project in a simulator to get the response of the system you have designed. Good knowledge of MATLAB is highly required as it is the simulation software that most lecturers are familiar with.
A design and simulation topic might begin with the following:
Design and simulation of a…
A DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
This is like a design and simulation project, only that building a physical system is the cherry on top.
A design and construction topic might begin with the following:
Design and construction of a…
Design and implementation of a…
For every one of the project types, you must choose a suitable topic that describes what you want to do. After that comes the real deal – writing, simulating or building your project.
WRITING YOUR PROJECT REPORT
Lucky for us, this should not be a new experience. The process is not alien as we have written several reports across the span of our years in school; this process is not entirely different. It begins with knowing the format.
There is a format for writing the project report that must be followed. Endeavor to get a hold of it early on so as not to deviate from its order when writing your project report. You can get this format by asking your supervisor or a friend.
I’m not going to explain how every chapter should be. I’d suggest you get a hold of previous reports and see for yourself how the project reports of past students were written.
However, before I wrap up this section, I want you to take note of Chapter 2 - the Literature Review section of your project report. It is, if not, the most important section of your report. Devote quality time and resources to chapter 2. It forms a core representation of the kind of project you want to work on.
SIMULATION AND CONSTRUCTION
I don’t want to separate the two to prevent a lengthy article and because they’re similar processes only that one doesn’t require a physical system.
This is where a lot of people might experience some difficulty because they may have never constructed anything before. It would turn out fine if you can come to terms with these realities:
It’s ok to feel overwhelmed when you’re not certain of a situation.
It’s ok to break things.
You can learn anything if you’re open-minded.
You must be willing to try to figure things out on your own.
You must be willing to ask questions no matter how terrible you think they might be.
You must be comfortable with confronting the unknown.
You must be willing to go from zero to one than from zero to 100 this is because taking little steps is better than a giant confusing leap.
I’m not trying to change the world; I want to graduate: This is a very quirky but important reality because your final year project is also a battle against time. If you take more than you can chew, then, you’ll most likely, spew nonsense on the day of defense.
Once you’ve agreed with the above terms, the next step is to plan.
PLAN
Planning means getting out of your head. You’ve got an amazing supervisor and a good topic, and you’re probably done with your chapter 2, but you have no idea how to get started with the building process. You probably have some ideas born out of your literature reviews, but you still feel blank on what to do and where to start. This is where planning comes in.
Follow these procedures:
Note the core components that make up your topic. For example, consider this topic, “Design and Construction of a real-time medication reminder”. The core component of this topic is medication reminders.
Search for resources, preferably videos where a similar project has been done.
If you find an exact resource, then, you can simply follow their steps to get yours done. Examples of good places to look at are:
If you can’t find an exact resource, ask questions to get informed on similar resources that could help with constructing your project.
If the components of your topic are much, sketch the entire process. Let’s say your topic is, “Design and Construction of an IoT-based doorbell with facial and sound recognition”. A good way to go about this is to separate every component and try to sketch their interconnections at a very high level before digging deep into the details. This will save you a lot of time and would guide you on the sequence of steps to take rather than getting stuck in your head.
The next step is to take the bull by the horn and get started with the construction, this is the most intimidating process. Your heart should almost burst by now. You’ll be filled with worries like am I doing the right thing? The process should be excruciating – not because you might not be well grounded – but because of the fight against the uncertainty in your mind.
If you can’t endure the above, get some help, this is not a motivational writeup. Constructing alongside someone who’s more knowledgeable is more satisfying because you’ll easily get the job done. However, herein lies the issue. How do I get someone to assist me? That’s for you to figure out. The same goes for simulation.
PRESENTATION
Your project is a lot, and so is your presentation. I recall having a talk with a Ph.D. student and he gave me one piece of advice that I’d never forget, “The energy you’ve put into your project, should also be the same, if not more, in your presentation. Else, it’ll look like you never did anything”.
Your manner, tone, and confidence in your presentation really speak a lot, and it’ll be disheartening if you’re written off because of a poor presentation when you did the work. Work on your presentation abilities. Here are some good resources:
The idea around this article was born from the numerous questions asked by friends and colleagues about their final year projects and I decided to let my hands flow today.
I wish everyone a successful project experience.
The Academic Officer, AEIES, 2022/2023, NELSON, Elijah.
Thanks to Elele Ezinne, Odufeko Hephzibah, and Olanipekun Temiloluwa for reading drafts of this.
Thanks for this