Course Home | Contract | Project Ideas

Saint Louis University

Computer Science 491/496/497
Capstone Project

Michael Goldwasser

Fall 2011

Dept. of Math & Computer Science

If you wish, you may download a printable version of the syllabus, containing the same information that is on this web page.


Table of Contents


Preface

The Capstone Project serves a a concluding achievement for graduating students, allowing them to apply knowledge that they have gained with the Computer Science curriculum. We are currently at a time of transition in our management of the Capstone experience. Historically, the capstone has been a semester-long, 3-credit course designated as CSCI 491: Capstone Project. Degree requirements that became effective in Fall 2011 changes the requirement to be a new year-long, 4-credit sequence designated by the pair of courses CSCI 496: Capstone Project I, and CSCI 497: Capstone Project II. Our reason for the change was that we recognized that students face a very compressed time-line in moving from the initial selection of a project to its completion in a 15-week semester. In expanding to a full-year sequence, we hope that similar projects can be completed with greater care and success.

For students who enter SLU in Fall 2011 or later, the situation is clear; they are required to take the new year-long sequence. For students who entered SLU prior to Fall 2011, there is a choice. They have the right to take the single-semester CSCI 491, as stated in the official degree requirements from the time they entered SLU, or they may opt to take the new CSCI 496/497 sequence in lieu of CSCI 491. For the foreseeable future, we will support all versions of the course each semester.


Overview

The Capstone Project serves a a concluding achievement for graduating students, allowing them to apply knowledge that they have gained with the Computer Science curriculum. Each project is to be completed by an individual or a team of students; we henceforth use the terminology ``team'' even when referring to a team of one. There will be greater expectations for teams of two or more students.

Each project will have a faculty member (the ``Supervisor'') who will advise the team on the project; the Supervisor may or may not be the Instructor-of-record for the course. Each team must sign a contract, together with the Supervisor and Instructor, indicating what the project entails and requirements for successful completion. The Supervisor and the Instructor will be responsible for assigning grades for the course. Individual team members may receive distinct course grades based upon their contributions.


Instructor

Instructor: Dr. Michael Goldwasser
Email: goldwamh at our university domain
Office: Ritter Hall 108
Phone: (314) 977-7039
Office Hours:    
  • Mondays:
    • 2:00-3:00pm
  • Wednesdays:
    • 10:00-11:00am
  • Thursdays:
    • 10:30-11:30am
  • or by appointment

Project Life Cycle

The life cycle for most capstone projects will follow some form of a waterfall model, with the following developmental phases:
  1. Conception

    The first phase is the selection of a project and the creation of teams. Topics for projects can be based on the interests of the team, chosen from ideas submitted by CS faculty, or coordinated with needs of other departments or units inside or outside the university. Students will be involved in the project selection and composition of teams, but the Instructor has final authority on both of these issues.

    Submitted Work
    Contract
  2. Requirements Specification

    Once the project selection is complete, the next phase should be the collection and formal specification of project requirements. If there is a natural "client" for this project, input from that client should be used in formulating these requirements. The goal is to clearly define the goals of the final product, in terms of functionality, user interface, resource usage, and other such factors. These specifications must be organized and clearly enumerated (e.g. "Requirement 7b").

    Submitted Work
    Written document (for CSCI 491, this document will be combined with phase 3)
    Oral presentation (CSCI 496 only)
  3. Design

    During the design phase, the team should develop a written document detailing how the team plans to meet the project requirements specified in the previous phase.

    For a traditional software project, a design document should include a description of the major components, their interfaces and how they interact to form the whole. Figures should be included for clarity, such as a UML diagram of the software design or an ER-diagram for a database.

    This document should also contain a discussion of any third-party technologies or software packages that will be used in meeting the project goals. Teams should demonstrate that they have already evaluated and familiarized themselves with any such technologies.

    Finally, this document must include a proposed time-line for the remainder of the project life cycle, making sure to include specific sub-goals for the development, implementation, and testing phases of the project.

    Submitted Work
    Written document (for CSCI 491, this document will be combined with phase 2)
    Oral presentation
  4. Implementation

    A preliminary ("alpha") version of the project must be submitted for review. This version must include all major functionality of the final product, yet it may lack some advanced features, have a less polished interface, and contain some known bugs.

    Submitted Work
    Alpha version of software
    Oral presentation (CSCI 497 only)
  5. Testing, Debugging, and Refinement

    The initial prototype should be thoroughly tested to verify its consistency with the project requirements specification. Any identified deficiencies, or required features that were not included in the initial version, should be remedied for the final product.

    Submitted Work
    none
  6. Final Production

    The project should be completed in accordance with the initial requirements specification, and with the remedy of deficiencies discovered during the testing phase.

    Submitted Work
    Final product (including complete source code, documentation, database schemas, analysis, etc.)
    Oral presentation

Weekly progress reports

Each team is responsible for submitting a brief progress report by the end of each Friday of the semester. During the initial period, when a project has not yet been chosen, the report should be sent to Dr. Goldwasser. Once a contract is in place for a project, all subsequent weekly reports should be sent to Dr. Goldwasser and the project Supervisor.

A report should indicate what was accomplished during the weekly by each team member, what problems were encountered, and the plan for activities in the upcoming week.

Weekly meetings

In consultation with the project Supervisor, weekly meetings should be schedule for the team.

Non-traditional projects

For capstone projects (e.g., research) that do not fit with a traditional development life cycle, the project Supervisor will recommend appropriate phases, artifacts, and checkpoints to substitute for the traditional model.

Grading and Deadlines

For all sections:

Letter grades will be based on an evaluation of each student's required work, in accordance with the weights given below, based on the following formula.

Student percentage above 90% will result in a grade of A or better.
Student percentage above 87% will result in a grade of A- or better.
Student percentage above 83% will result in a grade of B+ or better.
Student percentage above 80% will result in a grade of B or better.
Student percentage above 77% will result in a grade of B- or better.
Student percentage above 73% will result in a grade of C+ or better.
Student percentage above 70% will result in a grade of C or better.
Student percentage above 67% will result in a grade of C- or better.
Student percentage above 60% will result in a grade of D or better.
Student percentage below 60% will result in a grade of F.
Although team members will typically receive similar grades, in some cases the Instructor and Supervisor may consider the relative contribution of individual team members in assigning individual grades.

For CSCI 491:

Required Work Grade
Contribution
      Deadline       Description
Contract -- Friday, September 9 Note: the contract will not be graded, other than to reflect the timeliness of its completion.
Weekly reports 10% each Friday see description above
Design document 20% Wednesday, October 12 For CSCI 491, a single document serves as an artifact for phases 2 and 3 outlined above. It should include a project overview, any necessary background knowledge, an enumeration of formal requirements specification, and the detailed project design and remaining time-line.
Midterm presentation 15% TBD, October 17-21 A 20-minute oral presentation, encompassing similar scope as that of the written design document. The presentation will be followed by up to 10 minutes of questions from Faculty members.
Alpha version 10% Wednesday, November 16 Complete source code and any other necessary files must be submitted to the Supervisor and Dr. Goldwasser, at least 48 hours prior to the midterm presentation.
Complete product 30% Sunday, December 11 Complete source code, documentation of use, and any other necessary files for testing the project must be submitted to the Supervisor and Dr. Goldwasser at least 48 hours prior to the final presentation.
Final presentation 15% Tuesday, December 13 An oral presentation of the completed project, together with a demonstration of any software. Teams should also discuss their experiences and what they have learned about working on a large project.
Team assessment* -- Tuesday, December 13 For teams comprised of two or more students, each individual must complete and submit a Team Self-Assessment Form, detailing his or her perception of the contributions of each team member.

For CSCI 496:

Required Work Grade
Contribution
Deadline Description
Contract -- Friday, September 16 Note: the contract will not be graded, other than to reflect the timeliness of its completion.
Weekly reports 10% each Friday see description above
Requirements specifications 20% Wednesday, October 12 This serves as an artifact for phase 2 as outlined above. It should include a project overview, any necessary background knowledge, an enumeration of formal requirements specification.
Midterm presentation 20% TBD, October 17-21 A 20-minute oral presentation, encompassing similar scope as that of the written requirements specifications. The presentation will be followed by up to 10 minutes of questions from Faculty members.
Design document 30% Wednesday, December 7 This serves as the final artifact for the semester. For the sake of completeness, is should include all of the information (possibly revised) from the first written report, together with all design details as outlined above for phase 3.
Final presentation 20% Tuesday, December 13 A 20-minute oral presentation, encompassing similar scope as that of the written design document. The presentation will be followed by up to 10 minutes of questions from Faculty members.
Team assessment* -- Tuesday, December 13 For teams comprised of two or more students, each individual must complete and submit a Team Self-Assessment Form, detailing his or her perception of the contributions of each team member.

For CSCI 497:

Required Work Grade
Contribution
Deadline Description
Weekly reports 10% each Friday see description above
Alpha version 20% Week 7 Complete source code and any other necessary files must be submitted to the Supervisor and Dr. Goldwasser.
Midterm presentation 10% Week 8 Presentation and demonstration of alpha version
Complete Project 40% Week 14 Complete source code, documentation of use, and any other necessary files for testing the project must be submitted to the Supervisor and Dr. Goldwasser, at least 48 hours prior to the final presentation.
Final presentation 20% Week 15 An oral presentation of the completed project, together with a demonstration of any software. Teams should also discuss their experiences and what they have learned about working on a large project.
Team assessment* -- Week 15 For teams comprised of two or more students, each individual must complete and submit a Team Self-Assessment Form, detailing his or her perception of the contributions of each team member.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to have read and abide by the University statement on Academic Integrity available on page 58 of the Saint Louis University's Undergraduate Catalog. A more detailed policy statement is given by the College of Arts & Science, also applying to this course.


Supporting Student Success

In recognition that people learn in a variety of ways and that learning is influenced by multiple factors (e.g., prior experience, study skills, learning disability), resources to support student success are available on campus. Students who think they might benefit from these resources can find out more about:

Students who believe that, due to a disability, they could benefit from academic accommodations are encouraged to contact Disability Services at 314-977-8885 or visit the Student Success Center. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries.

Course Instructors support student accommodation requests when an approved letter from Disability Services has been received and when students discuss these accommodations with the Instructor after receipt of the approved letter.


Michael Goldwasser
Capstone Project, Fall 2011
Last modified: Friday, 02 December 2011
Course Home | Contract | Project Ideas