CAS 4ZP6: Computer Science Capstone Project - Fall 2018

Outline

New: Announcements and documents are on slack. Ask me to add you if you do not have an invitation.

Calendar Description

Students, in teams of two to four students, undertake a substantial project in an area of computer science by performing each step of the software life cycle. The lecture component presents an introduction to software management and project management. Lecture component in term one, weekly tutorials; two terms

Instructor

Christopher Anand. anandc (circled a) (name of university) (country).
Office: ETB 112. (drop by, call x 21397, or best check on slack).

TA

TBA (circled a) (name of university) (country).
Office hours: TBA.

Evaluation

  • GO/NoGO Poster, December 5th: 10
  • Poster Tweets, December 31st: 10
  • PERT Charts or other project management technique, Continuous, with rotating deadlines per group: 10
  • Onboarding, January 31st: 10
  • Supervisor Evaluation, April (before final presentation): 10
  • Report, April (before last groups final presentation): 10
  • Presentation and Demo, April (scheduling will happen in March): 40
  • Schedule

    Details

    If you have your own idea for a project, please talk it over with me ASAP, and be prepared to make an elevator pitch during our first meeting.

    Links useful in preparting pitch: how to do presentations.

    Onboarding: a grad student will pretend to be a new team member, and you will be marked on the ability of your documentation to support the on-boarding of this new team member.

    Poster: In December you will have to get approval for a poster describing your project for a guerilla poster presentation, during which you will need to collect 20 tweets or emails from passers-by answering two questions: Is this project worth pursing, and why? Is the team capable of completing it, based on what evidence?

    Presentation: Your presentation should answer the question: Are these students capable Computer Scientists ready to graduate? Capable Computer Scientists should be able to plan and execute a project, so there should be an appropriate demo threaded through the presentation. Capable Computer Scientists should be able to research current practice, and available theoretical results to motivate their approach, and explain the implied limits to their chosen approach.

    Research projects are strongly encouraged. By definition, this is a project which will produce a manuscript for submission to an academic journal. The manuscript will replace the report, and other marks may be redistributed, as appropriate.

    ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

    You are expected to exhibit honesty and use ethical behaviour in all aspects of the learning process. Academic credentials you earn are rooted in principles of honesty and academic integrity. Academic dishonesty is to knowingly act or fail to act in a way that results or could result in unearned academic credit or advantage. This behaviour can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: "Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty"), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.
    It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various types of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity
    The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty: 1. Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one's own or for which other credit has been obtained. 2. Improper collaboration in group work. 3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.

    If in doubt, ask the instructor how this applies to your work.

    TURNITIN.COM

    In this course we reserve the right to use a web-based service (Turnitin.com) to reveal plagiarism. Students will be expected to submit their work electronically to Turnitin.com and in hard copy so that it can be checked for academic dishonesty. Students who do not wish to submit their work to Turnitin.com must still submit a copy to the instructor. No penalty will be assigned to a student who does not submit work to Turnitin.com. All submitted work is subject to normal verification that standards of academic integrity have been upheld (e.g., on-line search, etc.). To see the Turnitin.com Policy, please go to www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity

    Personal Information

    In this course we will be using subversion, email and other on-line discussion fora. Students should be aware that, when they access the electronic components of this course, private information such as first and last names, user names for the McMaster e-mail accounts, and program affiliation may become apparent to all other students in the same course. The available information is dependent on the technology used. Continuation in this course will be deemed consent to this disclosure. If you have any questions or concerns about such disclosure please discuss this with the course instructor.

    Possible Changes

    The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.xsxs