[Course Information] - [Schedule] - [Deliverables
and Evaluation] – [Course Objectives] - [Course Policies]
Meetings: T2:00-3:20 in
Class Web Site: http://sdc.csce.uark.edu - one individual directory per class member, one project directory per team. Here’s instructions on how to create your websites and what goes on them.
Instructor: Dr. Craig
Thompson, http://www.csce.uark.edu/~cwt,
Course Description: Computer Science and Computer Engineering students complete a comprehensive project during their final year of undergraduate studies. The project is completed over two semesters in phases: concept, design, formal proposal, implementation, presentation, and report. The project includes and may require the integration of software, hardware, and human factors elements and is developed using appropriate software engineering and system design methodologies. The emphasis in Capstone I (one hour) is on brainstorming, project evaluation, team formation, careers, business, intellectual property, professional organizations, and professional ethics. The emphasis of Capstone II (three hours) is on detailed design, rapid prototyping, implementation, testing, and packaging.
Prerequisite: CSCE 3313 Algorithms (=> CSCE 3193 Programming Paradigms)
Watch syllabus for frequent updates. Generally, Capstone I meets on Tuesdays – some meetings are team only.
|
Week |
Date |
Topic |
|
Homework Due |
|
1 |
08/25 T |
lecture: course overview, policies, and
assignments lecture: defining a project, writing a proposal
|
syllabus - sample resume - brief MS Word tutorial most lucrative careers - Money salary survey
- |
|
|
2 |
09/01 T |
lecture: career objectives |
Grad school: good advice - advice on grad schools - CSCE
- College
of Engineering - US News ranking of universities
- US News ranking of grad schools
- links
|
-- turn in resume (soft/hardcopy) |
|
3 |
09/08 T |
Quad Chart #1 presentations |
|
|
|
4 |
09/15 T |
Quad Chart #2 presentations |
|
-- send email to cwt@uark.edu listing your prioritized quad chart project interests (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5) by 9/17 -- Bus Career Fair 9/15 |
|
|
09/17 R |
|
|
visit to |
|
5 |
09/22 T |
Quad Chart presentation |
|
-- Engr. Career Fair 09/22 |
|
6 |
9/29 T |
Team assignments Ethics/Professionalism |
CE accreditation requires students to work in multidisciplinary teams
- one way to satisfy this requirement (not the only way) is to insure each CE
students work with at least one CS student on team projects. IEEE and ACM codes of ethics – UARK code of computing practices |
|
|
7 |
10/06 T |
Team meetings |
|
-- build individual
website |
|
8 |
10/13 T |
Ethics/Outcomes presentations (5 min ea). Required attendance |
|
-- Ethics/Outcomes Paper due using format--turn in hardcopy and post on your website |
|
9 |
10/20 T |
Ethics/Outcomes Quiz: All students must attend and take quiz |
|
-- Ethics/Outcomes quiz |
|
10 |
10/27 * |
Preliminary Proposal Presentation & Report |
|
-- post Preliminary Proposal Presentation
& Report (termplate) on project
web sites |
|
11 |
11/03 T |
Team meetings |
|
|
|
12 |
11/10 T |
lecture: Intellectual property - Lisa Childs lecture: Employment |
Lisa
Childs’ IP lecture - Copyrights and Patents - US Patent Office - Invention Disclosure Form - Non-Disclosure Agreement |
|
|
13 |
11/17 T |
lecture: Starting a business lecture: Tech Transfer - John Riggins |
Company Mission Statement - Company Bylaws - Forms of Business - Arkansas Small Business Development Center - Uselful Links - FAQ - Financing, Policies and Procedures, Hiring, Regulations, Taxes, Risk Management, .... - DBA and Incorporation - Business Plan - Venture Capital - SBIR/STTR |
|
|
14 |
11/24 T |
Team meetings |
Week of Thanksgiving Holiday |
|
|
15 |
12/01 |
Final Proposal Presentation & Report |
|
Final Proposal/Project Presentation & Report (template); Team and individual web sites up-to-date and complete, ready to be graded |
|
16 |
12/08 |
No class |
Revised final proposal/report .doc and .ppt and post on team web site |
* Dress: for presentations - business casual (*) or business semi-formal (**) as indicated below
40% - Career and Project Planning and Reporting
10% - Attendance at all lectures and individual/team presentations – including participation
10% - Individual Web Site* [4%] - should be self-contained within the http://sdc.csce.uark.edu directory - do not block browser BACK button. Contents:
Student's name
Resume [3%] - see sample resume – send electronic resume to cwt@uark.edu using filename resume—lastname. Posting resume on web site is optional but a resume is required for the class - post your e-resume also optional but recommended
Two Quad Charts (see below)
link to Project Web Site (see below)
Career Plan [3%] - what grad school or businesses are you applying to and why - what have you done so far and what are your next steps - things to mention: past or future intern positions, GRE date, Career Fair participation, target grad schools, target companies, interviews participated in, applications to grad school - the purpose of this plan is to convince us that you are on track for getting a job or getting into grad school. Update at beginning, middle, and end of semester.
10% - Project Web Site* - should be self contained within the http://sdc.csce.uark.edu directory - do not block browser BACK button. Contents:
Project title
Team members names with link to their individual web sites
Project Summary (same as abstract from proposal)
link to Preliminary Proposal (see below)
link to Final Proposal (see below)
10% - Ethics/Program Outcomes Paper & Presentation & Quiz
See Ethics/Outcomes Assignment and Paper Template
60% - Project Results
10% - Two Quad Charts (1-page ideas for projects) in .ppt format [3% each] plus presentation in class [2% each], brainstorming participation - see sample Quad Chart. Send to cwt@uark.edu with file name lastname--Q1orQ2--brief-title Criteria in your project idea selection - ask yourself:
who is the champion? - real champions are strongly preferred
is there product potential?
will this benefit society?
is this scoped too small or too large?
is it novel enough, a new idea?
are you passionate about the idea?
20% - Preliminary Proposal including presentation and report - see Preliminary/Final Proposal template - team grade - highly recommended are real problems for real customers. Problems must demonstrate integration of skills from other courses and problem solving from resources including libraries and the Web.
Format: Abstract, Problem, Objective, Approach, Tasks, Deliverables (.doc ~3-4 pages and corresponding .ppt)
Turn in hardcopy of preliminary proposal .ppt and .doc at preliminary proposal review around mid term.
30% - Final Proposal including presentation and report - team grade.
Format: Abstract, Problem, Objective, Approach, Use Cases (sample use cases), Tasks, Deliverables, Schedule, Related Work, Personnel, Facilities, References - (.doc ~6-8 pages and .ppt)
Turn in hardcopy of final proposal .ppt and .doc at final proposal review at end of semester.
* Capstone web sites should be self-contained - they should
not contain absolute links or pointers to the student's non-
Presentation checklist: Content: Problem statement, Understandable objective, Potential impact/champion, Topic difficulty, Believable scope, Related work reviewed, Approach will lead to result, Tasks make sense, Use cases make sense, High level design, Factual accuracy, How well I understood the material. Presentation: Well-organized, All team members present a section, Aesthetics, Presentation skills, Well-timed 15-20 minute, Ability to stimulate interest
Proposal/Report checklist: Content: Problem statement, Coverage of all required sections, Organization, Interesting, Relevant, Understandable objective, Potential impact/champion, Topic difficulty, Believable scope, Related work reviewed, Approach will lead to result, Tasks make sense, Use cases make sense, High level design, Factual accuracy, How well I understood the material. Format: Typing, format, spelling, Figures appropriate and correct, Aesthetics
Students identify problems and design and implement solutions. Students are strongly encouraged to make industry contacts and to identify real problems.
Students work in small teams (size three strongly preferred) and learn collaborative skills.
Students use knowledge from earlier courses. In particular, students exercise core topics in our curriculum: data structures, algorithms, programming languages, computer organization, operating systems, and software engineering.
Students opportunistically learn to discover missing knowledge needed to solve problems using the literature and the web.
Students use system and software engineering methods.
Students present results and package results for reuse.
project lifecycle and project management skills - staying on track, managing risk
time management skills
collaboration skills
writing skills
presentation skills
organization skills
iterative development, continuous integration
problem, proposal, requirements, use cases, design, implementation, unit/regression testing
use of computation tools: e.g., web page development, jbuilder, sourceforge, ...
students gain a clearer understanding of their career options and develop a plan for how to achieve them - what do you want to accomplish - life and career planning - IT athletes & employable students
typically, students prepare for careers in industry or for graduate school
leave no student behind means every student has a plan for work, grad school, or another productive direction - no one goes home to live with their parents following senior year
career advice
resume & interview, career center, career fair
industry guest lectures
CS/CE marketplace
employee, consultant or small business
graduate schools - MS or PhD programs - GRE - grad school applications - applying for graduate assistantships
students learn
types of companies, marketplaces
survival skills - time management - return on investment (ROI) - planning,
large business option - employee agreements - annual evaluation, hiring/firing, raises, eeo, ...
small business option - cash flow - how to start a small business - business plan
proposals - tell a compelling story - problem, objective, technical approach (background and related work, approach, impact, tech transfer plan), statement of work (tasks, deliverables, schedule), facilities, budget
read and negotiate a software license - open source - source forge
inventions - how to complete a patent disclosure - file a patent
collaboration - privacy-enhanced web page or wiki.org - non-disclosure agreements
students write a paper, present, and take a quiz over topics in computing related to: Ethics, Life Long Learning, Professionalism, Knowledge of Contemporary Issues
Attendance is required at all scheduled classes. Role will be taken at lectures. 5% of the grade is attendance and participation.
You are expected to come to class on time, out of courtesy to our guest speakers, your professor, and your fellow students and because it is business-like not to be late for meetings.
Preliminary and Final Presentations require business casual (slacks, neat appearance) and business semi-formal dress (sports coat and tie, pantsuit, neat appearance) - see syllabus for dates. Imagine these presentations are for customers. Invited visitors may attend these presentations. Final presentations will be videotaped.
Course materials, homework assignments, and class announcements will be posted on this Syllabus web page. Watch for frequent updates. Students will post their individual and project results to the class web site: http://sdc.csce.uark.edu
Homework (including homework assignments and programming assignments) is due in class on the dates specified in the course schedule. Homework is worth full credit when turned in at the beginning of the class on the due date. A 10% penalty per day will be incurred for late homework. Graded homework will be returned in class, usually within a week of the due date -- no late work submissions will be accepted after the solutions are posted.
Projects may require resources including software and/or equipment. Since there is no textbook, expect to spend up to $100 on miscellaneous equipment per person. More expensive projects can be covered from student lab fees. The student needs to provide the instructor with a request and details on how to make the purchase. The request is sent to the instructor and then to the CSCE Department Head for approval. The student then works with CSCE office staff (Leigh Downey) so that the department pays for the item. This can proceed via email with attachments. If the CSCE Department buys an item, it owns the item.
We expect you to follow the Honor Code in this course. The work you submit for this class is expected to be the result of your own work (and that of your partner(s) for any group projects - but you must clear any group projects with the instructor a week before the due date). You are free to discuss course material and general approaches to problems with others but you should never misrepresent someone else's work as your own. It is also your responsibility to protect your work from unauthorized access.
If the University announces closure due to inclement weather (announced on http://www.uark.edu), then we will not have class that day. Even if the University is open:
If the instructor (who lives on a hill) cannot safely make
it to class, then he will post an announcement on this web page by
If a student feels it is unsafe to come to class due to inclement weather, then s/he should (at earliest convenience) send an email to the instructor indicating why s/he missed class.
In any of these above cases, any assignments due that day will be due the next class period.
If you have a disability that will impact your work in this class, please contact the instructors to discuss your needs.
Wash hands frequently. If sick, stay away from others. Follow recommendations from UARK Health Center. Instructor will work with you on due dates. The priority is your health.
