Senior Design
Tom Rethard
Courses CSE 4316/4317
Taken by CSE, SE and CS majors CSE 4316
Primarily “Professional Practices” – otherwise known as 3310+
Project from inception through requirements and into architecture
CSE 4317 Primarily ethics, architecture and construction Project from architecture through final delivery
Requirements (may vary) Project (40%)
Team Performance (20%) Individual Performance (20%)
Software Engineering Notebook Exams (50%)
Mostly written Sometimes oral
Attendance and participation (10%) Must Meet ALL ABET Criteria to Pass
ABET Outcomes(a) Ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering
(b) Ability to design and conduct experiments, analyze and interpret data
(c) Ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs
X
(d) Ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
X
(e) Ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
X
(f) Understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
X
More ABET Outcomes(g) Ability to communicate effectively X
(h) Broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context
(i) Recognition of the need for, and the ability to engage in life-long learning
X
(j) Knowledge of contemporary computer science and engineering issues
X
(k) Ability to use techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice
Overall Grading As on the Syllabus, but you must
ALSO pass EVERY ABET and CSE@UTA Outcome
Passing means you are at least minimally satisfactory in every area that applies to that criterion
Bottom Line Do your job every day Work smart Don’t get behind Don’t procrastinate Don’t get stupidly lazy (good
engineers are intelligently lazy – they think long term, not short term)
What’s Easy The technical stuff
If you paid attention in earlier classes If you come to class If you follow instructions If you have solid self-discipline
What’s Hard The people stuff
Working as part of a team Managing conflict Avoiding ego clashes Remembering you have a job to do Staying focused!
The Projects Origins
Some student suggested Some faculty suggested Some industry suggested
Instructor approves all project proposals Must be difficult enough to be real work Must be achievable
Must result in a real product
What We Don’t Do Alarm systems Remote-controlled vehicles (some
exceptions for sponsored projects) Non-sponsored “smart home” projects Larger than 1 cubic yard Existing product Websites Coding projects
What a Project Must Be About 12 man-months’ worth of full-
time work (~2000 man-hours) CSE majors must include major
hardware design/integration CS and SE majors will work with CSE
majors, but will not have primary responsibility for hardware design. BUT, they will have to deal with it.
Teams Minimum 4, maximum 6, students Formed based on the available projects and
distribution of available skills. DON’T team up with your best friend,
girl/boy friend, spouse, etc. (in other words, make sure your instructor knows about your relationships that might violate this) Unless you want to destroy the relationship
Level of Effort Overall (through two semesters)
About 10-15 hours per week per person Hours will vary during the project
Weekly oral status reports Periodic formal reviews Individual presentations And the usual classroom load This is not an easy course
Prior Group Projects A control and reporting system for power
usage measured by a network-attached electric meter
An automatic drink mixer Two different parking garage entry control
system An automated baby monitoring system A parked vehicle monitoring system
Monitoring for children and/or animals left in car
More Prior Projects A saltwater aquarium control
system A hydroponics control system A thermal emergency monitoring
system A cleaning robot A change management system
More Prior Projects DASD Organization Performance
Measurement Testbed A Web-controlled LED
Announcement Board for Room 100 A Computer-Controlled Laser
Display System A DVD Imaging and Duplication
System
More Prior Projects An RFID-based Inventory System A Monitor and Control Backpack for
a Rat A Navigation and Target
Identification Subsystem for the UTA AUV
Current Projects An autonomous submersible (2
teams) AUVSI Contest
An autonomous vehicle (2 teams) AUVSI Contest
An automated guitar player A “slot machine” for the CoE
To be used for prize giveaways during e-week
More Current Projects A flood control monitor for feeder
streams A testbed system for the Heracleia
Lab A network analysis tool (also for
Heracleia)
Discussion Open forum with Senior Design
Students