CS 680 Project I

Unlike most course projects, in this one the problem is not provided to you. In fact, the initial task is to formulate a problem statement given some rough notes on a general research area. The process of problem formulation is not scientific, but creative. Tasks include thinking, discussing, downloading and trying software, and  a lot of reading (survey of the related literature). Your goal is to come up with an idea that is useful to someone in the world and that hasn't already been implemented. This is an incredibly difficult task.

Besides formulating a problem and an idea for a solution, one must also plan for evaluating the work. If the solution is a software system, this evaluation might entail performance studies or user studies. Some research does not involve development of software. In this case, the "solution" is an experiment that will tell you and the world something new.

The final goal of the project is to deliver a paper and other artifacts (e.g., code, experimental results) which will be published on the Internet Systems Research wiki. Your instructor plans to choose the most promising of these efforts and see them through to publication and conference presentation, ideally as a joint effort with students. Students whose projects are chosen for this will be listed as co-authors on the paper. Code for these projects will also be published on SourceForge and the usfca site.

Guidelines
Work in teams of 2.
Come to class each session prepared to work on your project
Consistently consult with advisor in and out of class (Wolber).

Deliverables
1. Project Wiki that includes team member information, problem statement, ideas, links to related work and papers, etc. For each paper/software system referred to, provide a commentary on its relevance to your project.
2. Formal Research Paper (8 or more pages).
3. Powerpoint presentation.

Due Dates
Feb 3-- Project Wiki designed with some basic problem statement and relevant reading and links.
Feb 17-- Updated Wiki which includes plan for the project, 15 minute introductory Powerpoint presentation
March 1-- Rough draft of research paper
March 15-- Final Project Wiki, research paper, Powerpoint presentation, and other artifacts (code, etc.).

Potential Projects
Personal Web Neighborhood
Common Search API
Peer-to-Peer Annotation System
Survey of Collaborative Systems
People Project