1 (fie03.ppt – 11/06/03)

1. The Capstone Senior Design Course: An Initiative in Partnering with Industry Dewey Rundus Kenneth J. Christensen Department of Computer Science and Engineering University of South Florida Tampa, Florida 33620 {rundus,christen}@csee.usf.edu 1 (fie03.ppt – 11/06/03)

2. Topics • Introduction and background • Role in ABET EC 2000 • Course design and implementation • Examples of projects • Evaluation of the course • Summary and future work This material was partially presented at the ASEE Southeast Section Meeting in Macon, Georgia in April 2003. 2

3. Introduction and background • Our department – Computer Science and Engineering • BS in Computer Engineering (ABET accredited) • BS in Computer Science (ABET accredited) • BS in Information Systems • MS and PhD programs • 18 faculty members • Research funding from NSF, Navy, other federal agencies • Well rated PhD program • Department enrollment is about… • 400 (!) undergraduate students • 200 graduate students (50 are PhD) 6

4. Introduction and background continued • Senior capstone design course (CIS 4910) • Part of most engineering and computer science curriculums • Purpose is to… • Integrate knowledge • Produce a useful artifact (design and build) • Many models for a capstone course… • Internal - individual or team-based • Students select project • Faculty members select project • Industry - individual or team-based • Providing projects and/or support 3

5. Introduction and background continued • Growing trend towards industry-based project courses • One motivation is to prepare students for industry careers Small sample 4

6. Introduction and background continued • Example #1 – UF IPPD program (college-wide) • Selective program (top 25%), interdisciplinary, team-based • Example #2 – NCSU Senior Design center (CS dept) • Design center, catalog of projects, emphasis on “soft” topics • Example #3 – UIUC “Corporate Connective” initiative (ECE dept) 5

7. Role in ABET EC 2000 • Design is a major concern of ABET accreditation visits • Integrated throughout program • Capstone course can be be a major focus of a visit • EC 2000 criterion 3 (a thru k) outcomes involve design • EC 2000 criterion 4 directly addresses design Our view… a capstone course is the cornerstone of the professional requirements of a quality undergraduate engineering curriculum. 7

8. Role in ABET EC 2000 continued • EC 2000 criterion 3 (subparts that apply to a capstone course)… • (a) apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering; • (c) design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs; • (d) function on multi-disciplinary teams; • (e) identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems; • (g) communicate effectively; and • (k) use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools • necessary for engineering practice. 8

9. Role in ABET EC 2000 continued • EC 2000 criterion 4… • “…engineering standards and realistic constraints that include most • of the following considerations: economic; environmental; • sustainability; manufacturability; ethical; health and safety; • social; and political.” 9

10. Course Design and Implementation • History of capstone course in our department • Individually selected projects – 1987 to 2000 • Industry-based team projects – 2001 to present • Individual projects are good… • Students with a strong idea are driven to do well • Only modest overhead for department • Individual projects are bad… • Little topic constraint • Students without ideas would search aimlessly • No team-work experience • Sometimes very little supervision • No recognition of faculty effort • High variability in project quality 10

11. Course Design and Implementation continued • Our course objectives… • 1) Students will select an industry-contributed hardware or • software project and form teams of size four to six based. • 2) Student teams will follow a formal development process. • 3) Students will complete requirements, spec, and test plan. • 4) Students will implement their design. • 5) Students will test the resulting system. • 6) Students will produce a written final report, poster, press • Release, final oral presentation, and project demonstration. • 7) Students will experience all phases of project development and • thereby will gain an appreciation. 11

12. Course Design and Implementation continued • We approach central-Florida companies that hire our graduates • “Sell” the course based on two benefits to company 1) A first look at graduating class (recruiting) 2) An opportunity to have a back-burner problem solved A presentation is made to industry… 12

13. Course Design and Implementation continued Industry participation in senior project continued • We need project ideas and champions for Fall 2002 • A good project is… • Technical • Slightly open-ended • Project scope: 4-student team prototypes within 3 months • Not on the “critical path” for industry • Not proprietary Presentation to industry… Need 8 such projects by mid-December 2002 Our fourth semester 6 13

14. Course Design and Implementation continued Industry participation in senior project continued • What is needed from you • 1) A project and a kick-off meeting with a student team • 2) Mentoring (amount is up to you) • 3) One guest lecture • 4) Final student presentation at your corporate site Presentation to industry… 7 14

15. Course Design and Implementation continued • Development process used… Requirements Specification Design Implementation Test Manufacture Distribution Maintenance End-of-life • Teach standard development process • Emphasis on prototype demo • 20% of final grade • Textbook is Fred Brooks Mythical • Man Month • Brooks was manager for OS/360 • Founded CS department at UNC Prototype 15

16. Course Design and Implementation continued • Course outline… Weeks 1 thru 4: Lecture on development process Week 5: Project work day Weeks 6 thru 12: Guest lectures from industry - Prototype demo on week 9 Week 13: Mini-exam Week 14: Practice presentations Week 15: Final presentations and deliverables due 16

17. Course Design and Implementation continued • Course deliverables… 1) Requirements document – week #3 2) Specification – week #6 3) Prototype demonstration – week #9 4) Test plan – week #10 5) Final demonstration and presentation – week #15 - Project demo - Formal presentation - Poster - Press release 17

18. Course Design and Implementation continued • Course deliverables – sample poster 18

19. Examples of projects • Breed Technologies - Spring 2002 Situation: Breed Technologies develops auto safety products and has many ongoing projects and employees. Time cards and project tracking is paper-and-pencil based. Requirements: Develop a web-based labor and project tracking system. Project results: Web-based system developed and deployed. 19

20. Examples of projects continued • Raytheon - Fall 2002 Situation: Raytheon develops secure telephone systems. There is a need to be able to validate the user of a telephone. Requirements: Prototype the use of finger-print biometric devices for authorizing the user of an IP telephone. Project results: Developed software to use off-the-shelf biometric fingerprint device to enable a PC-based IP telephone. 20

21. Examples of projects continued • Sonny’s BBQ – Spring 2002 and Fall 2002 Situation: Sonny’s is the largest USA BBQ chain. Order taking is paper-and-pencil based and is labor intensive and error prone. Requirements: Prototype the use of wireless hand-held computers for order taking and transmission to the kitchen. Project results: First semester developed user interface for hand-held Palm computers. Second semester developed wireless interface and order delivery to the kitchen. 21

22. Examples of projects continued • Sypris Electronics – Fall 2002 and Spring 2003 Situation: Sypris develops cryptographic “boxes” for the DoD. There is a need for cryptographic security on COTS hand-held computers. Requirements: Develop a cryptographic service provider software package for a Microsoft WinCE handheld. Project results: First semester developed most of software to run on a PC. Second semester group ported to hand-held and productized the software. 22

23. Evaluation of the course • Component #1 – Modified course structure is an improvement • Structured environment, no “back ending” of project work • Component #2 – Student self-surveys • Almost all the students state that soft topics covered • are critical to career success • Almost all students state that they believe this course is • better preparing them for industry that any other course • Component #3 – Long term evaluation • Yet to be done, we need to survey graduates 2 to 5 years • past graduation 23

24. Summary and future work • Described design of an industry-based capstone design course • We believe very beneficial to students entering workforce • Future work is long-term evaluation of graduates • We hope that our experience can be of value to others Course outline and syllabus are included in the paper 24