The Network Design project gives you the opportunity to practice developing an integrated business and network design strategy for a pre-selected topic listed in the topic selection section of this document, or it allows you to select your own topic to write about. This assignment should truly make the course "come alive" through application of the principles about which you've been reading in your book and provided by your instructor.
The development of this project is an integral part of the course, and will require several weeks of research, critical analysis, critical thinking, and writing. To do well, you will need to begin early and work on it consistently throughout the entire course. This project will have several graded milestones to assess your progress and provide feedback, so your final plan will be comprehensive and well developed.
In developing your content, try to demonstrate clarity of thinking, understanding, and application of basic network design principles. Exploration of your options and choices are an important part of the demonstration of your mastery of network design concepts. There is seldom only one potential course of action in developing a network design; demonstrate that you have considered options and alternatives at each step in your plan and have chosen the best.
As your instructor, I will look at your Network Design Plan from the point of view of a business proposal or Response for Proposal or Quote. Have you thought through and considered your options? Have you provided details of your proposal? Have you looked at the entire strategy, the "big picture", while still considering the more operational elements that make for a successful implementation? How well written and persuasive is the plan?
The final Network Design project should be a minimum of 15 pages and should not exceed 20 pages in length. Be sure to include a cover page, along with a "Works Cited" page - these should not be included in page count. The paper is to be double-spaced, 12 inch font and have 1 inch margins.