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INFS3605 Capstone Projects (30%)
Summary
• This assignment is to be undertaken as a group assignment
• Team size: 5-6 students (depending on the tutorial class size)
• Team formation method: Form Pairs/Groups in Week 1. Agile Teams created in Week 2.
• There are two projects available. Your team will be given the opportunity to select one of the projects.
• This assignment is graded upon 30 marks (i.e., 30% of the course total marks)
Important Dates
1. Project launch: Week 1
2. Pair/Group Formation: Week 1 Friday
3. Agile Team Created: Week 2 (Tutorial)
4. Team Project nomination: Week 3
5. Projectstakeholder check-in session: Week 3-5 Tuesdays (Lecture)
6. Final submission (30%): Week 10 Week 10 Monday, 29th July 4.00pm
*All dates are set inAustralian Eastern Standard/Daylight Time(AEST/AEDT). If you are located in a different time-zone, you can use a time and date converter.
Expected Learning
- Manage contemporary challenges and create innovative software solutions
- Develop problem-solving skills and learner agency that will serve you in the long-term
- Work effectively in a collaborative environment
- Get exposed to professional practices with support from industry mentors
- Enrich your professional profile with industry-relevant experience
Assessment Design
In this course, you and your classmates will assume the role of a team of Information Systems (IS) professionals working on an agile development project. Your tutors will assume the role of your direct managers/mentors, and your lecturer and industry mentors will assume the role of your project sponsors. Throughout the term, you will work closely with your team members (i.e., your colleagues) to create an innovative mobile or web application that could solve a contemporary real-world problem. You will also develop important career skills and gain valuable professional experience.
Overall, you need to achieve two main goals in this capstone project:
You and your team will be responsible for the successful execution of the project (including problem discovery, stakeholder management, technical issues related to software design and development, etc.), following the Agile Scrum approach.
Your capstone project is designed as a Sandbox Project (seeLinkedIn pageandunsw.to/sandbox). This means you will have the opportunity to learn contemporary knowledge and industry practices by solving real-life challenges together with your peers and mentors.
To succeed in this project, you will need to manage your learning process carefully - including demonstrating agency in performing self-directed learning, conducting research, taking initiative, and more. These tasks are expected to take an average of 12-15 hours (per week) of your time.
You will see that solving real-life problems is an inherently complex and messy process, but such a process also offers plenty of learning opportunities. You will learn about agency, collaboration, resilience, creativity, and being comfortable with changing paths where necessary.
Know that in this course, you will have a safe space to experiment, to fail, and to try again because we value the process as much as the outcome. We designed assessments that reward you for your ongoing engagement, persistence, and resilience, in addition to the quality of your deliverables.
Assessment Overview
The INFS3605 team projects for term 2 2024 is designed to help students reconnect with campus life and enhance their university experience. This theme of the assessment is timely, given that many students in recent years have missed out on opportunities to explore campus life and learn more about the university's grounds and business processes, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This assessment is a sandbox assessment, which means that it is designed to be a low-stakes, formative assessment that allows students to experiment, try new things, and make mistakes without fear of failure. The goal of this type of assessment is to encourage students to take risks, be creative, and learn from their mistakes in a supportive and non-threatening environment.
The theme of the assessment is important because campus life is an integral part of the university experience. By engaging with campus life and learning about the university grounds and business processes, students can develop a deeper understanding of their institution and feel more connected to their community. This sense of connection is especially important in the current climate, where many students are feeling isolated and disconnected due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
The assessment is designed to be engaging and interactive, with a focus on experiential learning. Students will be encouraged to explore the campus, participate in campus activities, and interact with members of the university community. Through these experiences, they will be able to develop a deeper understanding of the institution and its values, and enhance their overall university experience.
Two Sandbox project briefs are provided on moodle. These project briefs each outlines a problem that requires a considered and creative solution. You are expected to work collaboratively to develop a solution for one of the projects.
Team Formation and Project Nomination
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When tackling major initiatives, companies rely on teams of individuals to get the job done. These teams are often convened quickly to meet an emerging need and work together virtually and sometimes over long distances. Appointing such a team is frequently the only way to assemble the knowledge and breadth required to pull off many of the complex tasks that businesses face today. |
Relevance of teamwork skills
Effective collaboration and teamwork are often cited as one of the key factors for a project’ssuccess.
Today, they are also one of the most sought-after skills companies are looking for. In the Information
Technology (IT) industry, which is broad and diverse, learning how to work in a team, to communicate, negotiate and solve problems, is particularly important to ensure effective leveraging of different skill sets for greater outcomes. These skills can be as important as your subject knowledge in enabling you to bean effective professional.
In this course, you will have the opportunity to work in a team of your choice to complete the project.
Instructions for team formation
- 1. Use the Team Formation link on Moodle (detailed instructions can be found via the link) to form your team before the deadline: Week 1 Friday 4.00pm
- 2. Students who have not joined a pair/group by the deadline will be randomly allocated to teams.
- 3. You can only form a group with students from the same tutorial. We will have many group assignment related activities in the tutorials, and your team will get the best support when all of you get to work together in the same tutorial session.
- 4. Groups will be combined into Scrum teams in Week 2. We know that teams that have similar expectations, complementary skill sets, and interest in the same topic(s) are more likely to have a successful and productive collaboration. It is therefore highly recommended that you meet with your potential team members (through a virtual group meeting) before finalising your team and nominating it on Moodle.
- You are also encouraged to explore new working relationships with peers you have not worked with before. You can recruit team members using the room or introduce yourself and request to join a team. The room will also remain active throughout the term - feel free to use it to interact with your peers and make new friends.
- Finally, please make sure that all team members are happy with the team formation before submitting it on Moodle.
Project Deliverables
4.1 Project expectations
Each project has its own unique background, set of challenges and therefore the solutions required for each project is different. Analyse your allocated project brief very carefully and take note of the minimal requirements and expectations for each project. It is highly recommended that you go beyond the minimal requirements to develop an innovation that could truly make a difference.
Unlike textbook case studies, these real project specifications will not have step-by-step guidance or a solution template. You will need your learning skills, critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, creativity and proactiveness to dowell.
To support you in this process, a marking rubric is provided (see Part 5) that clearly defined the minimum expectations. Please read and analyse the rubric carefully. You are encouraged to think outside the box and design your deliverables creatively to showcase your idea and effort.
Important Note: The main output of your project will be a web or mobile application. This artefact must be a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), i.e., it contains the minimum set of core features needed for early adopters to use the product and provide feedback. In other words, your MVP is an actual product that you can offer to your early customers and observe their actual use behaviours.
You should always keep this goal in mind when designing your product – prioritise the most important or attractive features and aim to produce a reasonably complete product that can demonstrate your team’s core idea and how the identified problem can be addressed.
Project deliverables (30%)
Due Week 10 Monday, 29th July 4.00pm
There are two deliverables and one presentation your team is required to submit (30%):
1. A 20-minute video introducing your team solution (20%)
2. A 5-minute video discussing your team’s Agile Scrum journey (5%)
3. A 5-minute presentation (pitch) video (5%)
To allow your teaching team to interact with your application, you will also need to submit the source code and any relevant files and/or documentation needed to run your application
All deliverables will need to be uploaded to Moodle course site by the deadline. Submission instructions will be provided on Moodle.
A 20-minute video introducing your solution (20%)
This is the video that will provide the most comprehensive details about the solution your team has developed. In this video, your team should address, minimally, the following components:
1. Business Knowledge Component (5%)
- What is the problem your project is addressing? Be specific
- Why is the problem important? Discuss its significance with appropriate supporting evidence
- Are there any existing solutions? Are they not sufficient? Why?
What is your team’s proposed solution? How will it address the problem? Present relevant user stories
How innovative is the solution? What’s new compared to existing solutions?
Walk us through your final product with a detailed demo. Focusing on showing us the functionalities. Who are the target users and how would they use this product?
Discuss how usability was considered
Discuss how the current functionalities have been tested and what changes have been informed by the test
Discuss the potential impact of your product with supporting evidence
3. Business Communication Component (3%)
- The target audience of your video are senior industry professionals who have had experience working in similar problem domains. They are therefore familiar with at least some existing solutions and have great interest in learning about new solutions that are not only relevant but also practical
- Your video needs to be professional, engaging, free of unnecessary jargon, and effectively communicate the purpose, innovation, and potential impact of your product. Your industry mentors will review your video and provide feedback
- Make sure to support your arguments with relevant evidence such as recent data, statistics, case studies, and your own research
- Not all team members have to be part of this video. However, the video needs to demonstrate a team effort – each component needs to be well-integrated, with good logical flow, clear language and visuals (including making sure that the audio and text in the video are clear)
There is no pre-defined structure/sequence for this video – you have the flexibility to structure/arrange the content in away that works best for you. However, your video MUST be under 20 minutes. Any content beyond the 20-minute mark will NOT be assessed. A detailed marking rubric has been provided to further assist you in preparing the content – please refer to Part 5.
Please note that the source code you will submit along with the video will not be marked. However, it is a mandatory component – the graders will run your application using the code to cross-check the functionalities and designs presented in your video. If the application cannot be executed, or if the application is different from the one demonstrated in the video, the executable application will be graded instead (i.e., your 20-minute video will be considered as invalid).
A 5-minute video discussing your team’s Agile Scrum journey (5%)
This video is an opportunity to showcase your team’s knowledge on Agile Scrum as well as your teamwork and leadership development. In this video, your team should address, minimally, the following components:
1. Business Knowledge Component (2%)
- How did the Agile Scrum framework inform your team’s work? What was your team’s Agile Scrum process? Support your discussion with evidence (e.g., relevant artefacts such as Product Backlog)
2. Teamwork and Leadership Development Component (3%)
- Introduction of roles and involvement of each team member in the Agile development process
- What are some key lessons learned from this collaboration? How did everyone come together as an Agile Scrum team? What were some challenges and how were they overcome?
A 5-minute presentation (pitch) video (5%)
The main objective of a pitch video is to provide an engaging summary of your work. Minimally, your pitch should highlight:
- The most innovative features of your product
- What problem(s) your product could solve, and how
- What is the expected impact?
Your pitch MUST be under 5 minutes. Any content beyond the 5-minute mark will NOT be assessed. A detailed marking rubric can be found in Part 5.
Not all team members have to present in this pitch, but team members who are not presenting should still help in the preparation.
Use of Generative AI in Assessment
You can use generative AI software in this assessment to the extent specified in the assessment instructions. Any output of generative software within your assessment must be attributed with full referencing.
If the outputs of generative AI such as ChatGPT form part of your submission and is not appropriately attributed, it will be regarded as serious academic misconduct and subject to the standard penalties, which may include 00FL, suspension and exclusion.
* To cite: OpenAI (Year Accessed). ChatGPT. OpenAI.https://openai.com/models/chatgpt/
* Please note that the outputs from these tools are not always accurate, appropriate, nor properly referenced. You should ensure that you have moderated and critically evaluated the outputs from generative AI tools such as ChatGPT before submission.