CS 318 Project – Proposal – due on February 15
In this class, you are asked to apply what you’re learning by building a website for a client. The project is broken down into a series of milestones. The first milestone is to find a client and formally propose your project.
Complete the following tasks to achieve this milestone.
Task 1: Choose a Client
Find a client—a person or organization who has information to communicate via a website. The project must be for an external client (not yourself). The proposed site must have a minimum of five distinct pages.
Good sources of projects are University clubs or organizations, community groups, businesses, non-profits, or individuals you know in need of a web presence.
You will need to provide an overview of your client’s business/organization.
Task 2: Complete Client Agreement Form
Complete and sign the Client Agreement Form and also have your client sign the form. You must both sign the form.
Task 3: Determine Goals and Audience
Identify the goals of the website by conversing with your client. Ask your client:
- What is this website supposed to accomplish?
- What is it trying to say?
- What should it do for its users?
Goals should be fairly high level, such as “Provide information about the band’s upcoming shows” and “Allow users to download audio clips of the band’s music.”
Identify the intended audience for the website. Ask your client:
- Who are you trying to reach?
- Why would they want to visit this site?
- What will the profile of the typical user be in terms of age, gender, education level, work status, web experience, knowledge of the topic, and so on?
- Where is the target audience located?
The target audience can’t be everybody. This is too general to be helpful. Narrow down the website’s intended audience to the target demographic of the most likely set of users so that you can design your site with an audience in mind.
Task 4: Create Proposal Document
Create a document that includes the following sections summarizing tasks 1 through 3:
- Your name and the name of this class on a title page.
- The website title.
- The name of the client and contact person.
- An overview of the client’s business/organization.
- A clear, concise description of the goals of the website.
- A clear, concise description of the website’s intended audience, including demographic details: age, gender, education level, geography, etc.
Present your proposal in a professional manner. You may use design software of your choice.
Task 5: Submit the Proposal
Turn in paper copies of your proposal and signed client agreement form at the beginning of class on February 15.
Proposals must be on time to receive credit. Proposals received after the posted due date will not receive any credit, but must be completed regardless. Project deliverables build upon each other, so you must complete this step in order to complete the next project design deliverable.