VBA Project
This deliverable will provide you with an opportunity to use the VBA skills you have learned in class to solve a problem of your choosing. This will enable you to demonstrate both proficiency in VBA and the ability to apply course concepts in a real world setting. In order to ensure that your project meets expectations, please carefully review the information below and ask your instructor or TA if you have any questions.
Deliverable Requirements
You are to construct a VBA project for a topic of your choosing. The project could support your work at an internship, be something that you construct for use by another stakeholder such as a family member, or be a game that you make for your own edification. The topic is entirely up to you, but the work must be entirely your own. You should choose a topic relatively soon. Feel free to reach out to the instructor or TA for feedback on your topic selection.
The motivation for your project must be clear:
● What topic did you choose?
● Why did you choose this topic?
● Why is VBA the right solution as opposed to a front-of-the-house implementation? What value does VBA add? This is important.
Your final project must contain the following basic elements:
● Macros (Obviously)
● Variables
● Conditionals
o Your choice of IF or CASE
● Loops
● Effective error handling
● At least one non-trivial implementation of the following:
o ActiveX controls on worksheets
o UserForm.
● At least one visual presentation of data such as:
o Charts
o PivotCharts
o PivotTables
o Graphics
● Clear help and explanation of model and features
● Prepopulated input values
Your final project must contain at least one of following advanced features:
● Web scraping/APIs
● Complex graphics manipulation such as in a game
● Connections to other MS Office applications such as Access, Word or PowerPoint (NO Outlook)
● Automation of the statistical / optimization functionality in Excel such as Solver
● PDF conversion
● Something else not taught in class that you learned about online
o Make it clear somewhere in your model what this is. Help might be a good place to mention this.
Hints/Observations About Past Submissions
● If you are going to make a game, do something turn based as opposed to an arcade style. game where multiple things are happening at once. VBA isn’t a language designed to deal with that.
● Expense tracking applications seem to be getting more popular for some reason but are generally underwhelming.
● Test your project on a computer other than your own and make sure it works before submitting it.
YOUR SUBMISSION WILL INCLUDE
One Excel file containing your project. If you have supporting files, place everything in a zipped folder and upload that-Do not submit .rar or other non-Windows compression formats. Only one file can be uploaded!
GRADING
If you meet the objectives of the assignment as specified in this document, you will receive a minimum grade of 85%. For those who have met the specifications, the instructor/TAs will sort the deliverables in descending order by perceived quality. The top couple will receive a 100%, the next group will get 95%, etc., all the way down to 85%. It is anticipated that the average score on this deliverable will be an A-.
Note: non-working projects will be heavily penalized and probably will receive a grade of no higher than 75%. If something isn’t working in your project, drop off that functionality. It is better to submit something simpler that works.
Finally, do not cheat. Examples of cheating include submitting someone else’s work, resubmitting a project for this class that you have submitted for credit in another class, having an AI system such as ChatGPT create a project for you, and any other action that compromises the integrity of your deliverable. If you have questions about what is permissible, ask the instructor.