Course Syllabus for CSS 595: Capstone Project Winter 2012

Instructor: David Socha Office: UW1-341 Phone: 206-418-8201 E-mail: dsocha@uwb.edu (include css 595 in your subject line) Office Hours: by appointment I. Course Description CSS 595 is the first of two courses that provides a structured capstone experience for MS CSS students. This first course includes a series of five deliverables related to an individual or group project of a students choice that is relevant to their academic and professional goals. The instructor will provide guidance and instruction related to each deliverable and will facilitate project progress meetings as well as integrate project-related readings and case studies into discussions. Students will be required to define and complete a series of deliverables including a final report and public presentation of their project. Each student will also be required to have a CSS faculty advisor (non-CSS faculty may also serve as advisors per CSS department approval). The course project will be completed over two quarters five credits per quarter. We will use a hybrid format (in-class and web-based collaboration) requiring six in-class meetings as well as three lab or other forms of on-line collaboration. The class will meet in-person in UW1 Room 321 on the following Tuesdays from 8:00 PM until 10:00 PM: January 3 January 10 January 24 February 7 February 21 February 28 March 1 (Thursday) Optional lab sections will be on the Thursdays. The one exception may be the last week of class if we need to schedule presentations on a Thursday. These sections will provide the student with the opportunity to work with their faculty advisors, project partners and other students on project activities. Students will also be required to participate in on-line activities such as project reviews, discussions, peer-consulting services and reviews of relevant academic literature and industry case studies. II. Course Learning Goals 1

This course is designed to provide students with an integrative experience that will prepare them for advanced work in the computing industry. This course takes a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to systems and software design/development. It further develops students in the following areas: 1) Evaluation and use of academic literature within real-world systems and software engineering products. 2) Development and demonstration of leadership, communication and project management skills and abilities. 3) Integration and use of advanced technology methods and practices learned within the MS CSS program. 4) Refinement of critical thinking and assessment of technology processes and techniques (e.g., demonstrated via self- and peer-reviews of other projects, interaction with faculty and industry leaders). 5) Risk management assessment and adjustment of project scope/goals based on external factors. 6) Project definition and technical assessment of real-world, advanced technology projects. III. Course Meetings and Activities The following meeting schedule and activities are described below. Formal class meetings are scheduled for 2 hours each Tuesday. Open labs sessions on Thursdays will be available to students with support from the course instructor, faculty advisors (when available) and other technical support staff upon request. The formal meetings may include the following activities: 1) Student reviews/discussion of project-related literature, methods, processes, techniques in preparation for each formal class meeting. Students will prepare a literature synopsis that 2) A one-hour presentation by a faculty member and/or industry expert of a specific topic. This will be followed by a question and answer section and/or discussion. 3) Conduct roundtable peer reviews of student progress and issues related to their projects. 4) Identify problems, barriers, challenges and determine plan of action for project-related issues. 5) Provide written commentaries and peer reviews of student projects/presentations (when applicable). 6) The meeting schedule and activities are detailed below:
Meeting Topic Initial Course Meeting/Project Definition Presentation Topic #1 Open Lab Presentation Topic #2 Open Lab Presentation Topic #3 Open Lab Deliverables due

Week 1 Jan 3 Week 2 Jan 10 Week 3 Jan 17 Week 4 Jan 24 Week 5 Jan 31 Week 6 Feb 7 Week 7 Feb 14

Literature Synopsis #1 Student Project Proposal (Draft 1) Literature Synopsis #2 Student Activity Report #1 Literature Synopsis #3 Student Activity Report #2

Week 8 Feb 21 Week 9 Feb 28 (Tuesday), March 1 (Thursday)

Presentation Topic #4 1) Student Presentations 2) Project Reviews 3) Mid-Project Final Report Due

Literature Synopsis #4 Student Activity Report # 3 - PowerPoint Slides and In-class Presentation - Final Mid-Project Documentation Set - Formal Peer- Reviews of Projects

IV. Project Proposal Each student will write an initial project proposal to be reviewed and approved by the course instructor and the faculty advisor. Students are required to define and select a project that is new and that can be completed (or the defined portions thereof) within the capstone project course sequence. Adjustments to deliverables (e.g., due to unanticipated external factors, modifications to project deliverables) may be made subject to approval by the instructor and faculty advisor. The general format of the proposal will be as follows but may vary dependent on the scope and nature of the project per approval by the instructor. a) b) c) d) e) f) Project title Sponsoring Organization Faculty Advisor Proposed Team Members & Responsibility Matrix (if a group or external team project) Project Scope and Individual Student Learning Goals Proposed Product Activity Grid and Deliverables (see part V below for grid description and document types/deliverables) g) Quality management/assurance process plan including review checkpoints h) Resource Requirements The first draft of this document is due at the Week 2 meeting. Each student will provide a brief presentation of his or her project to the class for initial comments. The instructor and faculty advisor may require the student to resubmit this document in order to meet requirements for final proposal approval. V. Project Activity Grid and Deliverables for CSS 595 Students will provide a Project Activity Grid outlining four activity categories that each student will be required to address during the course of their project. Each student will define subactivities within each category and associated documentation dependent on the nature of the project. For instance, more technically-oriented projects may focus on programming methodologies and technologies used; projects that are focused on systems analysis and/or software project management will focus more on the use of analytical tools. The general format of the Project Activity Grid is as follows:
General Activity Category Proposed Documentation Activity Percent 20

1) Project 3

Management/Communications (PMC) PMC Sub-Activity 1 PMC Sub-Activity 2 PMC Sub-Activity 3 PMC Sub-Activity N 2) Technical Approach (TA) TA Sub-Activity 1 TA Sub-Activity 2 TA Sub-Activity 3 TA Sub-Activity N 3) Testing Strategy/Results (TSR) TSR Sub-Activity 1 TSR Sub-Activity 2 TSR Sub-Activity 3 TSR Sub-Activity N 4) Lessons Learned/Next Steps (LL) LL Report

40

20

20

Documentation types that a student may submit to summarize sub-activities will vary depending on the project. Specific sub-activities and resulting documentation will be determined by the student (and approved by the instructor and faculty advisor). Some sample deliverables may include: 1) Resource Management Plan 2) Work Breakdown Structure/Activity Duration Estimation 3) Project Plan/Schedule/Critical Path 4) Risk Analysis 5) Risk Management Plan 6) Project Management Approach 7) Stakeholder Communication Strategy 8) Technology Strategy Goals Metrics 9) Quality Management Plan 10) Test Strategy 11) Technology Analyses 12) Data flow diagrams 13) Hardware/software/networking topologies 14) State-transition diagrams, process flows, circuit diagrams, logic flows 15) Test approach implemented 16) Test design/scenarios 17) Test data 18) IV&V, SPC and/or other test strategies 19) Software Metrics (and analysis strategy/results) 20) Management Analytics

VI. Assessment Methodology The final course grade will be determined by the following: Instructor Assessment of Student Activity Reports Peer-evaluations and Literature Summaries Final Presentation and Report Faculty Advisor Assessment 40% 10% 30% 20%

Performance evaluations are based on completion of deliverables as outlined above, critiques of other projects, use of academic and industry literature, and critical review and analysis of selfand others work. Peer reviews, faculty reviews (including an assessment by the faculty advisor) and sponsor reviews (where applicable) will be considered in final grading. To be successful in this course it is important to use effective project management techniques, use proper documentation/writing strategies, provide guidance and advice to other students in the class and effectively present final results. Students are expected to demonstrate significant knowledge and technology integration within their chosen project area.