Many capstones simply lay on the shelves in the library of the School of Sciences and Engineering, never to be picked up save for the occasional curious visitor. One could say that this is a stark reality with the current state of affairs. Company clients would continue to treat student projects as interesting, if not inconvenient, trifles. Students would undertake the capstone program only for the sake of obtaining a diploma and nothing more. But what if we could turn things around?
One thing is for certain: there has to be a change in the capstone program if we want our students’ works to have greater relevance. We need a way to alter our company clients’ impression of the software systems that our students do as outputs of their thesis projects. And so, we put down the academic books and peered into the industry for a more pragmatic execution. What we found was a way of managing projects that has been shaping the modern IT industry.
Agile
The model is often referred to as Agile, but this actually refers to a fusion of Agile principles and an iterative framework. What makes this approach so potent is the underlying principles. These principles focus on a client-centric project implementation while having the agility of adapting toward changes in the operating parameters. Adopting the framework means essentially dividing the project into short cycles with set clear milestones. At the end of every cycle, the milestone and the entire project are assessed by the team and the client, allowing them the chance to adapt to any new circumstances or developments. By working on the project in short bursts, typically two to three weeks long, with clear deliverables, all stakeholders and the team themselves gain a clear picture of the project’s progress.
Another winning feature of this approach is that it thrives with a small team of equally competent members. It is, therefore, easy to have daily short sync up meetings so that the team and the client are aware of any issues to be resolved.
In an attempt to improve the relevancy of our IT Capstone project, we decided to hedge our bets on adopting this industry practice. Through the milestones, the students can continuously and consistently work on the capstone. With the client meetings, the students’ project can be realigned to better suit the clients’ needs. Considering also that student groups are usually small, using this methodology can help manage and maneuver the project if unforeseen issues arise.
In action
Our research study focused on observing and analyzing the experience of this program from the students’ standpoint. What we found was that frequent meetings with the client afforded us the opportunity to showcase the skill and professionalism of our students. With every meeting with the client, both parties got a better grasp of what was needed to address the client’s ever changing circumstances.
From the company client’s standpoint, the partial results were impressive and the project deserved more respect. Their close involvement also meant that they had developed a sense of ownership of the project. They were impressed that the student could incorporate into the projects the various aspects not initially seen during the first few meetings. By the end of the projects, the clients were more than eager to reap the results of the students’ works.
The program is far from perfect, but the proof is in the pudding. And these results drive us to keep pushing for the best program we can put together.
Mr. Giuseppe C. Ng is a faculty member of the Information Science and Technology Department of SSE. He has 11 years of experience working in the IT industry and has seven years of experience in Agile development.
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