The term project entails the investigation of business and/or technology issues related to data communications. The project can be based on interviews, outside readings, and your own experiences.

Objectives

To experience working as a group toward a shared, ambiguous goal.
To gain deeper knowledge and technical experience in a real world business data communications application.
To practice writing well, presenting your work in a creative way.

Formats

The project can be a group project up to three or an individual one according to your expected scope of the project. I want to keep this project as much flexible as possible in terms of the contents of your project. This project must be relevant to the general context of the class (Telecommunications).

Possible Topics

Some possible topics are listed but not limited. Any new ideas are welcome.

	Evaluate current network products (e.g., Novell vs. Microsoft; Netscape vs. Microsoft)
	Evaluate emerging network technologies (e.g., ATM to the desktop, HTML standards)
	Evaluate emerging network applications (e.g., Internet phone, Internet videoconferencing)
	Evaluate current network services (e.g., CompuServe vs. America On-line)
	Videoconferencing
	Effects of competition in the deregulated telephone market
	Telecommuting and changes in work life due to telecommunications
	Creating competitive advantage with telecommunications and/or networking
	Doing business on the Internet
	Investigate and document the network configuration of a large organization
	New Communication Technology (Audio/Video conferencing; Internet Telephones;Real Audio; Push Technology)

New network service and management (High speed network services; Network security issues ; New standards and protocols )

	Case studies of strategic use of telecommunication technologies for business success
	News collections of social, cultural and economic issues of communication technologies.
	Advanced Features of Web Development

Project Evaluation

A project proposal should be submitted as early in the semester as possible, but no later than 2/3/99. The proposal should include your name(s), project title, a brief (one-page) description of your project, the important questions you propose to investigate, and the methods you plan to use for your investigation. The primary objectives are to determine the relevance of the topic and to limit the scope of the project for a one-semester time frame!
A brief project outline should be submitted after preliminary research by 2/15/99. The outline should include major topics and sub-topics with a reasonable level of detail. The outline should describe changes from the proposal.
A written report is due a class period before the presentation. This is not intended to be a research paper, but rather a business report summarizing the important issues relating to your topic. The report should include an executive summary (no more than three pages), which should be distributed with your presentation. Any important references should be noted in this summary as a service to your classmates. More in depth coverage should be relegated to subsequent sections of your report, with important supporting materials/references included as appendices.
An in-class presentation is the most important component of your group project. You should plan on no more than 15 minutes to present the material you have investigated. You should not try to cover every aspect of your project, but present the most interesting aspects after an introductory overview. Every member should take part in presenting.

Important Dates and Evaluation Points:

	Due	Points
Project Proposal	2/3/99	10
Project Outline	2/10/99	10
Written Report	3/29/99	40
Presentation	3/31/99	20
Inter-group Evaluation :Presentation review by other groups	3/31/99	10
Intra-group Evaluation: Peer Review by other members in the group on the effort level of participation. Submit a number grade [0 to 10] and a brief written evaluation for each member in the group as e-mail to me at jkang@medaille.edu	3/31/99	10
Total		100