1SIGCSE Panel on Client-Sponsored Projects - T.C. Lethbridge

Experiences with Client-Sponsored Projects

(Project Assessment)

Timothy C. LethbridgeUniversity of Ottawa

2SIGCSE Panel on Client-Sponsored Projects - T.C. Lethbridge

Context: SEG 4000 at theUniversity of OttawaCapstone Project in Undergraduate Software Engineering Program

– Full-year 4th-year project course• Groups of 2-5

– Students must do their own project management– Other courses also have projects

• But in other courses, topics, technologies are often fixed– Students retain intellectual property unless they agree with

their customer otherwise– They can be remunerated by customer

• But this is not normal, and is between them and the customer

• Must be distinct work from co-op work– Rules at: www.site.uottawa.ca/~tcl/seg4000

3SIGCSE Panel on Client-Sponsored Projects - T.C. Lethbridge

The Customers/Clients

It is an absolute requirement that students have customers:

– “Each project is to have at least one defined customer – the person who has the problem you are solving”

– Customer can be• Somebody in a company• The ‘open market’

Students must in this case find people willing to beta test etc., to act as clients

• A professor (often in some other department) Distinct from the professor who runs the course and

marks the software engineering work

4SIGCSE Panel on Client-Sponsored Projects - T.C. Lethbridge

Who Finds the Customers?

Students themselves– About 60% of the time– From their own contacts

The professor running the course– The remaining 40%

We haven’t had a problem finding customers

5SIGCSE Panel on Client-Sponsored Projects - T.C. Lethbridge

Evaluating the Course

25% by customer– Based on “customer satisfaction”– Simple forms filled out at half-way point and end– Questions:

• Is problem being adequately solved• Quality of software• Amount of communication with customer

For requirements, prototype evaluation, testing, etc.Remainder based on:

– 6 written reports (includes documentation)– Three Presentations– Software quality, project management, etc.

6SIGCSE Panel on Client-Sponsored Projects - T.C. Lethbridge

ConclusionSEG 4000 has been very successful

– Students like it– Customers have been happy

• No problems with ‘bad’ groups or bad customers– Has run for 4 years now with same rules

Workload for the co-ordinator has been rising– Per year: 70 students in about 24 groups

We are under pressure to reduce it to a one-term course to save resources

– Not enough time for a capstone SE project– I won’t let that happen!