5 Tips For Final Year Diploma Project

Preface

Hello guys, I am writing this blog because I have seen that many final year diploma students have zero idea about how they are going to complete their final year project. It’s obvious because students get confuse where to focus on, studies or project. And unfortunately there is nobody to help them to figure it out.

I think answer is very simple you have to focus on both, because both studies & project together will lead you to become a diploma holder so you can’t dump either one of them. When I was studying diploma, I did decide that I will give first priority to project which was totally wrong decision.

You have to study hard because exams are conducted to check memory sharpness, presentation skills, tolerance capability (and most importantly about your subject knowledge) and project is to check how you think creatively, how you do something for people from scratch, how you work in a team, how you do publicity of your project and list goes on.

5 Tips for Final Year Diploma Project:

1. The Idea

Most important thing is the idea of your project. I suggest you to have some different, hatke type idea, don’t repeat the old ideas again and again. You may say that, “We are not Einstein we don’t get any hatke idea”, doesn’t really matter because we are really not Einstein. What we have do is to find the problem. It may be a real life problem or may be computer system or machine problem or any other problem. Once you find the problem then you have to find solution for that problem through your project. If you are not getting any problem or project idea then you can Google it you will get a lot. If you are computer / I.T. student then internet have everything you need. Other branch students may require to search for ideas in deep. Remember the basic rule,

NO PROBLEM NO SOLUTION

Consider you get the problem statement, now you have to think around it(like engineers do). To solve the problem you have to "THINK" in number of ways. From those ways you will get that "WAY" which will perfectly solve your problem statement. If you get the problem statement and a way to solve it then Bingo, you have successfully completed the first stage of your final year project.

If  you still not get any problem statement then you can ask to your elders, teaching staff, friends or anybody else who can help you.(Still if you don't get any idea then please feel free to ask me I will try my best to help you.)

If you are stealing anybody else's idea doesn't really matter. Because Picasso says,  

but you should polish your idea and make it better than everyone else.

2.The Team

Member of your project group matters a lot more than anything else. If you are really very serious about your final year project then do member selection carefully.

If you are thinking to have your friends as your group member then no problem but I will suggest you to have passionate student in your group, just take a look around your class you will get lot of passionate student.

Remember final year project is a complete team work, you need them and they need you as well. It will be good for your team if you live near to one other. 

Once the team is formed it needs to be get directed. Leader directs the group, leader initiates, inspires, takes responsibility. So if you think you have this qualities then you are the leader of your group. I suggest you to become a group leader because it has some plus point like you have the more chances to get more marks than your group members, you might improve your communication skills, after project completion you will gain confidence which is priceless, so be a leader.

Then assign work to every group member equally because it might become a issue of dispute so be careful, put a deadline for everyone's work so your project will complete in time.

3. Development Process: 

Most enjoyable phase in project is development. Because you are designing, assembling, testing your own project. This things you have never done before in your life. You will feel lot of excitement in this phase. I am sure that you must know the development process but still I will explain some key things in depth.  


Development process consist of 3 phases they are: 
1. Design 
2. Assemble 
3. Test

(Software development has various life cycles but this phases are common for all branch projects.) 

Design 

Design defines how your project works and it consumes 80% time of your project. I have noticed that 90% projects are not well designed, a bad design will definitely reduce your marks. But don’t worry I have few tips that will help you to design better.  

 Don’t add unnecessary things. 
Add the features that are really required, adding an extra feature may turn into loss of your time. So don’t add unnecessary feature until you have enough time.   

 Make it SIMPLE. 
Even if you are designing internally complex system, don’t make it eternally complex and MAKE IT SIMPLE VERY SIMPLE. 

 Use attractive colour combinations.

 Don’t stop after first design, redesign and improve and repeat until you are not satisfied.  

If you need any inspiration for better designing you can take a look at any Apple devices (like iPhone, MacBook, iPad), they are perfectly designed. Try to learn design concept by looking at it.  
In short if I have to sum up the designing section then I would say that,  

“If you cannot make a good project at least make it looks good”.  

Assemble

You have to do the assembling or coding (for CO/IT) many times, because after every test you will get to know the minor errors which can be fixed. And keep in mind that this phase will repeat again and again so make sure that you are improving your assembling/coding each time. After few major improvements project will not have error/defect.

Test

When you will complete any part/module of your project test it, if you find any error/defect fix them and test them again.

How testing should be done?

At starting phase:

Do normal testing in this phase like whether part/module is working or not.

At middle phase:

At this phase you should increase the level of testing to moderate. Try to find some exceptional errors.

At end phase:

You have to perform stress test on your project so that you should find each and every errors that may occur exceptionally.

After passing through all of this phases your project will be ready enough. Although you should try to make more improvements.

4. Package and Promote (optional)

Your project can make you millionaire if your project idea really have that potential.

If your project idea don’t have that potential but still you want to make some money from your project then you have to do only two things (including that your idea worth at least a little bit.).

First is PACKAGING

You have developed a good project but you have not package it well while selling then there are less chances of your project to be get sold.

So package it artistically.

Second is to PROMOTE

Make publicity of your project you can try for newspaper ad, not really required but you can do it from your own money or intelligence.

If you have develop a website [I will write a blog on How to create a website for free, in next few days.] you can promote your websites link virally via SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and others. This will create a hype of your project.

Where to sell my project?

If your project belongs to civil, mechanical, electronics then you can sell it to a company or organization that may be interested to your project or you can search around for second year students from different colleges and try to sell them (risky).

Or you can even make use of OLX, Quikkr, eBay.

For Computer/IT projects, you don’t have to worry about your project to be sold because you have lot of options. You can sell it to software hosting sites like CNET, Softonic, BrotherSoft and there are lot of them just Google it.

If you think that your project may become a consumer product then you can raise your own capital or try to get venture capital to start production.

Websites like Flipkart.com and Amazon.com can also sell your project. But before doing that you have to do lot of research, you have to take lot of suggestions and other overheads also.

5. Presentation

You worked hard and you have finished you project. Now it’s time for presentation. Lot of students get nervous after standing in front of audience.

Don’t worry it’s a common phobia, every one fear to talk in front of lot of people, even I was, but I fight with my phobia and now it’s gone.

How to fight with phobia?

You need to rehearse and rehearse your presentation this will definitely increase your confidence. Before facing audience one sentence in mind, “People in front of you are not smarter than you”. This sentence will make you feel relax. Then concentrate on your breath, nothing else only your breath and you. This steps will increase your awareness level and you present well than before. You can find different ways like meditation, yoga and so on.

If you did a good presentation in front of your class then you can definitely impress external examiner.

So this are the five things you should know while developing your final year project.