THE CO-OPERATIVE UNIVERSITY OF KENYA (CUK)

SCHOOL OF COMPUTING & MATHEMATICS

Undergraduate Project Documentation Guide (Proposal & Report)
September 2024 Version
Purpose: This brief guide is meant to provide some information about writing a project
proposal and full documentation at the School of Computing and Mathematics, Co-operative
University of Kenya. It gives the general format, and highlights the purpose of each section,
the required content and gives some pointers.

General guidelines
● Font: Times New Romans
● Normal Text Size 12 with 1.5 spacing
● Titles size 14, sub titles size 13 – all BOLD
● Paragraph spacing: 6pts After
● Margins: Top, Bottom, Right – 1 inch; Left – 1.5 inches
● Alignment: Justified
● Page Size: A4
● Page numbering: Bottom centered, with X of Y format. Preliminary pages use
roman numbers
● Spiral binding for proposal and for final projects
● Submit two (2) copies of proposal and final documentation.
● Two (2) CD copies of the project should be submitted alongside the
documentation.
● Outline numbering – maximum 3 Level
● Every section must start on a new page.

PROJECT PROPOSAL OUTLINE (WRITTEN IN FUTURE TENSE)

Document Section The purpose Required Content

Cover Page Document Identification and See appendices
ownership
Declaration page This is a signed declaration of Student must indicate full name,
ownership by the student and the registration no. and date. (See
university supervisor allocated. attached sample on Appendices)
Abstract A short summary of purpose, Maximum (250-300) words (less
methodology, expected result and than half a page) – must be in
conclusion of proposed study. one continuous paragraph!
Table of Content Main headings and subheadings. Auto generated ToC.
List of Abbreviations used in the document. List of abbreviations and their
Abbreviations The researcher must create a meanings in full. NB: No use of
detailed list with all the an abbreviation before it is
abbreviations and their meanings in provided in full at first.
full. A reader can quickly check this Should be alphabetically written
section when he encounters an and in ascending order
abbreviation.
List of Tables Diagrams drawn in the document. Auto generated
Tables should be captioned at
the top.
List of Figures Tables used within the document. Auto generated
Figures should be captioned at
the bottom.
Chapter 1 – This chapter gives a brief 1.1 Background to the study
Introduction background about the area of study. 1.2 Statement of the Problem
It also provides the problem 1.3 Proposed Solution
statement. It defines the problem 1.4 Objectives
and research objectives. At the end 1.4.1 General Objective
of the research the researcher will 1.4.2 Specific Objectives
check if he met these research 1.5 Significance of the study
objectives as he/she writes the 1.6 Scope of the study (i.e.
conclusion. defines the system boundary)
1.7 Assumptions
1.8 Limitations and
Delimitations (i.e. challenges
and counter measures)
1.9 Definition of Terms
Chapter 2 – This chapter discusses all related 2.1 Introduction
Literature Review information (knowledge) that is 2.2 Related systems (2-3)
available in great detail. The student 2.3 Limitations (Weaknesses of
will survey a portion of the these systems)
published work that provide context 2.4 How your proposed solution
for the current problem. It should will handle these weaknesses.
also be current Citations must be
made properly in a consistent way.
Use APA referencing style
Chapter 3 – In this Chapter, the student should 3.1 Introduction
Methodology discuss how he/she will carry out 3.2 Project Design (stating the
the work to meet the project development methodology, its
objectives. description and justification of
using this methodology.)
3.3 Design Procedures
3.4 System Requirements
 Realistic project schedule and 3.5 Data collection and Analysis
budget must be provided by the (needs assessment) methods and
student. tools

Appendices: [e.g., Project Budget, Project Schedule etc.]

References: [Use APA style of referencing]

FINAL PROJECT REPORT OUTLINE (WRITTEN IN PAST TENSE)

Document Section The purpose Required Content

Cover Page Document Identification and See Appendices

ownership
Declaration page This is a signed declaration of Student must indicate full name,
ownership by the student and registration no. and date.
the university supervisor
allocated.
Dedication [Optional]
Acknowledgements Acknowledging various
stakeholders that have played
a role in accomplishing the
task.
Abstract A short summary of purpose, Maximum (250-300) words (less than
methodology, expected result half a page) – must be in one
and conclusion of proposed continuous paragraph!
study.
Table of Content Main headings and Auto generated ToC.
subheadings.
List of Abbreviations used in the List of abbreviations and their
Abbreviations document. The researcher meanings in full. NB: No use of an
must create a detailed list with abbreviation before it is provided in
all the abbreviations and their full at first.
meanings in full. A reader can Should be alphabetically written and in
quickly check this section ascending order
when he encounters an
abbreviation.
List of Tables Diagrams drawn in the Auto generated
document. Tables should be captioned at the top.
List of Figures Tables used within the Auto generated
document. Figures should be captioned at the
bottom.
Chapter 1 – This chapter gives a brief 1.1 Background to the study
Introduction background about the area of 1.2 Statement of the Problem
study. It also provides the 1.3 Proposed Solution
problem statement. It defines 1.4 Objectives
the problem and research 1.4.1 General Objective
objectives. At the end of the 1.4.2 Specific Objectives
research the researcher will 1.5 Significance of the study
check if he met these research 1.6 Scope of the study (i.e. defines the
objectives as he/she writes the system boundary)
conclusion. 1.7 Assumptions
1.8 Limitations and Delimitations (i.e.
challenges and counter measures)
1.1 Definition of Terms
Chapter 2 – This chapter discusses all 2.1 Introduction
Literature Review related information 2.2 Related systems (2-3)
(knowledge) that is available 2.3 Limitations (Weaknesses of these
in great detail. The student systems)
will survey a portion of the 2.4 How your proposed solution will
published work that provide handle these weaknesses.
context for the current
problem. It should also be
current Citations must be
made properly in a consistent
way. Use APA referencing
style
Chapter 3 – In this Chapter, the student 3.1 Introduction
Methodology should discuss how he/she 3.2 Project Design (stating the
will carry out the work to development methodology, its
meet the project objectives. description and justification of using
this methodology.)
Realistic project schedule and 3.3 Design Procedures
budget must be provided by 3.4 System Requirements
the student. 3.5 Data collection and Analysis
(needs assessment) methods and tools

Chapter 4 – System This chapter should show the 4.1 Detailed analysis of current system
Analysis current state of the system the using flow charts, DFDs, UML, and
student wish to work on and Context diagrams, etc.
the new study. 4.2 System requirements
4.2.1 Functional requirements
4.2.2 Nonfunctional requirements
Chapter 5 System Description of the design Detailed design of the proposed system
Design environment and system using tools such as ERDs, DFDs,
components. UML, etc.
 5.1 Architectural design
5.2 Database design
5.3 User interface design
Chapter 6 Description of the 6.1 Development environment
Implementation development environment and 6.2 System components
and testing testing procedures 6.3 Test Plan (test data, test cases, test
results)
6.4 System Testing
Chapter 7: Provides a summary of 7.1 Achievements and lessons learnt
Conclusions and achievements, lessons learnt, (Technical Lessons and Achievements)
Recommendations conclusions and any 7.2 Conclusions
recommendations 7.3 Recommendations
References The sources of your literature Use APA Referencing style
must be provided in the
reference section
Appendices Any extra material that is User manual
important can be included Data collections tools
Project schedule
Project budget
Any other relevant document.
Appendix 1: Cover page format

THE CO-OPERATIVE UNIVERSITY OF KENYA (CUK)

SCHOOL OF COMPUTING AND MATHEMATICS

PROJECT PROPOSAL [Proposal Only]

TITLE OF PROJECT

BY

STUDENT NAME
REGISTRATION NUMBER

SUPERVISOR: [SUPERVISOR NAME]

Project [Proposal/ Report] submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award
of the [Bachelor of XXXXX]

©MONTH, YEAR (When presented)

Appendix 2: Declaration Page Format

DECLARATION AND APPROVAL

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this Project [Proposal/ Report] is my own work and has, to the best of my
knowledge, not been submitted to any other institution of higher learning for any award.

Student Name: (Typed) _______________ Registration Number: (Typed) ____________

Signature: .................................................... Date: ..............................................................

APPROVAL

This project [Proposal/ Report] has been submitted with my approval as the University
supervisor.

Supervisor Name: (Typed) ___________________________________________________

Signature: ..................................................... Date: ...................................................

Appendix 3: References Page Format

REFERENCES

Only literature that is available should be cited. Material not available through libraries, such
as personal communications or unpublished data, should be given in text as parenthetical
matter. The source of data and date should be included (e.g. Kanali, C. L., Personal
communication, 2011). Where possible only significant, published reference should be cited
(preferably more accessible source of such publications).
Make use of APA referencing style.
In general, references in text can be cited as follows. For a single author: either Waweru (2000)
or (Waweru, 2000). For two authors: either Oyier and Okeyo (2011) or (Oyier and Okeyo,
2011). For more than two authors: either Kanali et al. (2010) or (Kanali et al., 2010). For two
or more articles by the same author(s) in the same year, designate them as follows: Kibe (2009a,
b) or Kibe et al. (2009a, b).

Referencing should be as follows.

(a) Reference to periodical publications

Williams L A. Use of computer technology by family caregivers of patients undergoing blood
or marrow transplants. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, 2006, 1:10-16.

Brauner N; Schacham M. Identifying and removing sources of impression in polynomial

regression. Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, 1998, 48: 75-91.

(b) Reference to textbooks

Blanchard B S, Fabrycky W J. Systems engineering and analysis. New Jersey, Prentice Hall,
1998.

(c) Reference to proceedings

Rigney M P; Kranzler G A. Seedling classification performance of neural network. Paper No.
897523, St Joseph, MI 49085, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 1989.
The references should be listed in alphabetical order by surnames of authors. Two or more
articles by the same author(s) should be listed chronologically; two or more in the same year
are indicated by letters, a, b, c, etc. All single-authored articles of a given individual should
precede multiple author articles of which the individual is senior author. Entries with the same
senior author should be organised by alphabetising surnames of succeeding co-authors and then
by year, when the name is repeated exactly.
(d) Reference to website

Schonfeld, E. (2010, May 3). Google throws $38.8 million to the wind [Web log post].
Retrieved May 4, 2010, from http://techcrunch.com
Appendix 4: Appendices Page Format

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: PROPOSED SCHEDULE

Items of Work/Activities Months

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Conceptualization and Scoping of

Project Title
Proposal writing and submission
to SCM
System Development
Project Report writing
Project Presentation and
Submission
Corrections and final submission

APPENDIX B: TOOL(S) FOR DATA COLLECTION

APPENDIX C: PROPOSED BUDGET

S. No. Items Specifications Quantity @ Ksh Amount, Ksh

1. Printing paper A4, high quality 5 reams 500 2,500

2. Printer tonners 2 6,000 12,000

3. Writing pad A4, high quality 5 100 500

4. Transport 10,000

5. Equipment 15,000

6. Subsistence 15 days 1,500 22,500

Total 62,500