Capstone Design Project Courses

September 5, 2013

Quiz

Who knows the difference between

a Keystone and a Capstone ??

Keystone vs. capstone

Capstone Design Project

Major component of any engineering curriculum
Culmination of a course of study enabling you to
showcase the knowledge and the skills you have
acquired during the previous three years,
Design a product/service of significance, and
solve an open-ended problem in electrical or
computer engineering
Work in team, for an industry client

6 Capstone Design Project Courses

One per program or option:
EECE409 Computer Engineering Capstone Design Project
EECE429 Electrical Engineering Capstone Design Project
EECE419 Software Engineering Capstone Design Project
EECE439 Biomedical Engineering Capstone Design Project
EECE400 Nanotechnology and Microsystems Capstone
Design Project
EECE469 Electrical Energy Systems Capstone Design
Project

End users
Client

Student

Student

Student

Team
Student
Specialist

TA
Instructor

End users
Client

Partner

UBC ECE

Student

Student

Student

Team
Student
Specialist

TA
Instructor

Industry client
Problem defined by an industry partner
Real issue
Open-ended
Not a canned exercise

Interaction with your Client

Professional attitude
Timeliness
Efficient communication
May not be nearby
Maybe be very busy

Variable level of involvement

End users
Client

Student

Student

Student

Team
Student
Specialist

TA
Instructor

Teams
Typically 4
There may be small variations
Some modest amount of interdisciplinarity

No, you do not pick your team-mates !

Team work = Collaboration + Communication
Trust
Respect
Work balance

Peer evaluation

End users
Client

Student

Student

Student

Team
Student
Specialist

TA
Instructor

Instructor

Not the client

Monitoring progress at regular intervals
Giving guidance where needed
Providing feedback and evaluation

The instructor does not know the solution!

But she or he will not do the design for you
May direct you to other, better resources

Instructor may steer the project in some direction

Expanding or restricting as necessary

Instructors 2013-2014
Philippe Kruchten, PEng, capstone coordinator
Purang Abolmaesumi, PEng, Instructor
Annette Berndt, Communication instructor
Pieter Botman, PEng, Instructor
Edmond Cretu, PEng, Instructor
Paul Davies, PEng, Instructor
Paul Lusina, PEng, Instructor
Leo Stocco, PEng, Instructor
With the support of
Jim Sibley, blog, Connect + iPeer support
Ara Beitoei, capstone partners communication
Holly Schmidt, community-based experiential learning

End users
Client

Student

Student

Student

Team
Student
Specialist

TA
Instructor

T.A.
Each team will be assigned a T.A
TA plays several roles:

First line of assistance

Mentorship
Project management
Technical expertise

Evaluation and feedback

End users
Client

Student

Student

Student

Team
Student
Specialist

TA
Instructor

Communication
Written
Formal reports
Team blogs

Verbal
Communication with client
Presentation to instructors
Final presentation

Media literacy: web, video, etc.

Each team will produce a movie or animation to present their
project

Integral part of evaluation

Overall timeline
Tomorrow: you indicate your preferences
12 Sep: Groups formed and project assigned
Contact client, elaborate problem & requirements

30 Sep: Project proposal

Evaluation, feedback

21 Nov: Initial prototype

Evaluation, feedback

5 Feb: Second prototype

Demo to client, feedback,

30 Mar: Final report, final prototype

Evaluation

10 Apr: Design celebration

Presentation, demos, movie/animation

Common course web site: Connect

connect.ubc.ca
Connect = new version of Vista
Used for:

course instructions,
course support material (slides, readings, etc.)
templates, examples
calendar (dates may change)
submission of key deliverables,
grades, etc.
notifications

Team blog, your project logbook

Each team will have its own blog
UBC blogs, powered by WordPress
blogs.ubc.ca

Demonstrate week by week progress

All team members must contribute
Captures intermediate artefacts
Ideas, scketeches, risks, meeting minutes, activities, etc.

Visited by TA, instructor, and even the client

Workflow
Weekly classes
Mandatory classes
What is expected form you for a given milestone
communication, professionalism
Optional classes: specialized technical skill

Weekly meetings
With TA
With instructor(s); progress, or formal presentations

Unassigned time slots

You work together

See syllabus and calendar on the Connect site

Student Evaluation
20% Proposal
Report 10%, presentation 10%

20% First prototype

Communication 5%, Technical assessment 15%

20% Second prototype

Communication 5%, Technical assessment 15%

35% final prototype

Report 15%, Communication 5%, technical assessment 15%

5% Design celebration
Modulated by team self-assessments
Use of iPeer for individual feedback

Your project
will be used by the client, in some way:

To integrate in a new product

To improve an existing product
To validate the feasibility (or not) of a solution
.

IP issue,
Disclosure/confidentiality issues

Team formation Project selection

Multi-constraints allocation problem
You express some wishes or preferences:
via a Survey on Connect

Closes Friday at 2:00pm

Not first come first served
You can change your mind as many time you wish, until 2:00
Optional; you will be assigned a team and project anyhow

Project must suit your option

Team must comprise 4 students
For over-subscribed projects, GPA will provide
additional input
Not over-burden a single client
Good team mix.

On Connect:

Project Kick-off: Today

Kaiser 2020-2030, 2:00 to 5:00pm = NOW!
Opportunity to interact with some of the industry
partners
Not all partners will be there, and not all will stay all
afternoon long
Partners will have a 2-3 minute presentation; then
youll be able to meet them and ask questions
Conduct yourself professionally: this course has
started

Questions?