Description
This is an opportunity for you to be creative in solving a
problem that is of interest to you and demonstrate your proficiency with python. The
project should be challenging enough so that you could discuss it at future interviews with
potential employers. An additional potential benefit of this project is that it can give your
professor and facilitators a good topic for discussion should you ever desire a reference.
The project is due by the last day of the course and include a presentation of your work.
For the online class, you will have to record your (3-to-5 minutes) presentation using
Kaltura, as described later in this document. It is important to remember that longer is not
better and you will lose credit for not being succinct in your presentation.
In addition to the presentation, you are required to submit the following through
Blackboard in one zip file called
• One-page summary of what the program does and why it is useful
• All source files: programs, classes and data
• Instructions how to run your code and install any third-party modules o Note that third
party libraries must be preapproved by your facilitator
Here are some of the key criteria to consider when thinking about the functionality of your
project and the elements it must contain.
1. It must be original work and not something that might be proprietary to your company,
etc. Some project ideas are writing a game, food or exercise diary, expense tracker,
investment portfolio manager, music inventory. Whatever interests you.
Some of you are using Python projects related to your work. Our viewpoint is that you
should apply what you learn in the classroom to the office, but we cannot grade for
the work you do in the office.
2. The presentation and well-documented code should be at the level that other students
and lay people can understand what your project is all about. Do not use advanced
math or industry terms that would require a lot of explanation.
Imagine that you are have an interview and you are asked to describe in a few words
a Python project of your choice.
3. You are free to choose any topic that interests you and conforms to the above criteria.
The most important thing to keep in mind that this Python project is meant to
demonstrate your ability to apply what was learned in the class. You will not be judged
on the originality of your topic or the difficulty of implementation. That said, if your
project is overly simplistic, does not use good programming practices or presents a poor
user experience, that will be held against you. We want you to show us effective
constructs that were taught in this class, are well documented and conform to “pythonic”
CS-521 Project Guidelines (Online Class)
pg. 2
best practices. Again, think of this as something you can show to an employer as an
example of why they should hire you as a python developer.
4. our application must include at least the minimum number of each of the following:
✓ 4 container types (list, tuple, set AND dictionary) that are used by the application
✓ 1 iteration type (for, while)
✓ 1 conditional (if)
✓ 1 try block with an else condition
✓ 1 user-defined function that accepts parameters/arguments and/or returns a value.
✓ 1 input and/or output file (include input data with your project)
✓ 1 user-defined class. The class must be imported by your main program from a
separate file and have the following required structures.
− at least 1 private and 2 public self class attributes
− at least 1 private and 2 public class methods that take arguments, return values
and are used by your program
− an init() class method that takes at least 1 argument
− a repr() or str() class method
− a magic class method (not one of the methods listed above)
5. Provide 2 unit tests that prove two of your public class methods work as expected.
The tests should evaluate results using assert statements.
6. Your application must run successfully and do something interesting.
7. Make sure to follow all of the style requirements listed for Assignment #5.
Before beginning your project, you MUST submit via Blackboard a few sentences
describing you project proposal. This is so your facilitator can assess the appropriateness
of your idea.
If you desire to include a module that is not part of the standard python build, you MUST
first get permission from your facilitator – otherwise there will be a major deduction when
grading your project.
When submitting your project, include instructions for running the code and installing any
approved 3rd party modules. We cannot grade your project if it uses proprietary modules
or if we are unable to run it.
Finally, we want to emphasize that your project MUST not contain any proprietary,
nonpublic or confidential algorithms and data from your employer or other sources.
Good luck!!
CS-521 Project Guidelines (Online Class)
pg. 3
Information on Kaltura:
You can also use YouTube, Vimeo or other cloud video providers as long as you
can supply your facilitator with a link. YouTube allows you to create an unlisted
video that’s not publicly available but anyone with the link can view the video.
