Capstone Project I

Course Description

Capstone Project I is where final-year students scope, propose, and begin building an original project supervised by a faculty member, often connected to an active research group or an external partner. The first semester focuses on problem definition, design, and building a working foundation, evaluated through milestone reviews rather than a single exam.

Learning Outcomes

Scope an original project of appropriate depth and feasibility.
Produce a design that a supervisor and peer panel can evaluate before implementation begins.
Manage a multi-month project against a realistic milestone plan.
Communicate technical progress clearly to a non-specialist panel.

Weekly Topics

Examines capstone overview & expectations from a practical angle, using a case drawn from real systems to motivate the concepts.

Builds directly on the previous week to extend problem scoping, with an emphasis on where the earlier techniques stop working.

Combines a short lecture on literature & prior work review with an in-class exercise students carry into the week's assignment.

Focuses on common mistakes and misconceptions around proposal development, using student work from the previous assignment as material.

Introduces design review preparation and immediately puts it to use in a small design or implementation task.

Situates design review presentations within the broader arc of the course, showing how it connects to what comes next.

Uses a guest dataset or scenario to explore mid-semester review in a setting closer to professional practice.

Introduces implementation planning through short lectures and worked examples, building the vocabulary the rest of the course relies on.

Works through build sprint i in a lab-driven session, with guided exercises students complete and discuss in small groups.

Covers build sprint ii in depth, connecting the underlying theory to a concrete example the class builds together.

Examines progress check-in from a practical angle, using a case drawn from real systems to motivate the concepts.

Builds directly on the previous week to extend milestone presentations, with an emphasis on where the earlier techniques stop working.

Combines a short lecture on revision with an in-class exercise students carry into the week's assignment.

Assessment

Assignments — 10%

Practical Work — 40%

Mid-Semester — 20%

Final Examination — 30%

Prerequisite Map

Related Courses

Core300 Level

CSC301

Software Engineering Principles

Software Engineering Principles scales up everything students have learned about writing individual programs into the practice of building software as a team, over time, under changing requirements. Students work in project groups across the semester, experiencing requirements drift, code review, and the cost of a design decision made too quickly.

Capstone Project II carries the project designed in CSC401 through to completion: full implementation, evaluation against the original goals, and a public presentation at the department's end-of-year showcase. Supervision continues with the same faculty member for continuity.

Victor Ansah 4 cr