Software Engineering -- CS511
Boston University -- Fall 1999

Project Information

Option #1 -- Conference Room Scheduler

This program helps to solve the problem of finding a conference room for a meeting at a large company.

For simplicity, you can assume:

• There is only one day and all conferences are on this day.
• There is only one user at a time.
• There is a fixed list of conference rooms. (But this should be easy to change at compile time.)

The program should allow users to:

• Reserve a conference room for a block of time, or unreserve a room they no longer need.
• See the free/busy time in a particular room.
• List the rooms that are free for a particular time block.

Possible extra credit features:

• Create a new conference room and remove existing rooms.
• Remove the one-day restriction. Assume a regular calendar.
• Handle multiple simultaneous users. Lock out users from reserving a room once someone else has started to reserve it.

Option #2 -- Mastermind Game

This project is based on the popular board game Mastermind. In Mastermind, one player selects a hidden pattern of four colors. The other player tries to figure out the color pattern by making guesses and receiving clues from the first player. (See the game itself for full details.) While it sounds simple, the game involves deductive reasoning and strategy.

For the project, the computer will be Player #2. You (a person) will choose a color pattern, and the computer will try to figure out what the pattern is in the least possible guesses.

The interface to this program can be simple (just a list of colored pegs) or fancy (an actual display of the playing board). Most of the challenge is in the reasoning/guessing algorithm.

Option #3 -- Things-To-Do List

This project implements a personal things-to-do list. While these types of programs are sometimes shared among multiple users, this is just for one user.

The program should present a fill-in-the-blanks form to the user, with spaces for the following fields:

• Description of task
• Due date
• Status (not started, in progress, complete)
• Priority (high, medium, low)

The user should be able to:

• Create new tasks.
• Delete existing tasks.
• List existing tasks sorted by due date.
• List existing tasks sorted by status.
• List existing tasks sorted by priority.

Possible extra credit features:

• Edit existing tasks.
• List only open (not complete) tasks sorted by due date.
• List only overdue tasks (due date earlier than today and not completed).
• A category field for each task, with a list that groups by category.

General Notes

Divide and delegate work among your team. Have one primary person responsible for each deliverable, with a review by the entire team before submitting the material for grading. (There are six deliverables, including the class presentation.)

Put the name of the primary person on each deliverable. For the team presentation, this person will give the presentation.

Project deliverables are due at the start of class on the due date.

Much of the work can occur in parallel. For example, the person writing the test plan can begin this as soon as the functional specification is solidified. The user guide can also be sketched out from the functional specification. The person writing the code can begin a prototype (or high-level shell) alongside the technical design document.

The executable program primarily will be judged for structure (clarity and simplicity), rather than features and instruction speed.

I am open to alternate projects and presentations that your team may propose. Please do so quickly though, since the first deliverables are due soon.

You may write the program in any common language, such as C, C++, Visual Basic, or Java. It should run on either Unix or Win98. To be submitted how ????.

Written parts of the project should be submitted in two printed copies. Keep a backup.

A reduced feature set, done correctly, is better than a full feature set that is buggy or unfinished.

Copyright 1999 by Charles H. Connell Jr.