Student Profile: Students in this course are in their 4th year of the Bachelor of Science, Computer Science program. These students can be expected to generally have intermediate to advanced understanding in computer science related topics.

Skills already have:

• Creative and analytical thinking
• Research and information management abilities
• Ability to apply knowledge of basic project management skills to computer science activities. 
• Work as part of a team to communicate and collaborate effectively with colleagues, team members, employers, and technical and non-technical personnel. 
• Demonstrate professional and ethical responsibility in the information technology field and workplace. 
• Understanding of current technologies and trends

Skills to be developed:

• Consulting and understanding specific needs of a client
• Developing project plan to complete client projects
• Building experience in completing prototypes/pitches/small scale end deliverables for real organizational needs and challenges

Students will come with a wide range of computer science skills and depending on their degree focus will also have specialized skills in different areas. Students can complete their Computer Science degree in the following 4 streams:

• General
• Databases and Interactive Visualization
• Systems and Information Security
• Video Gaming

Challenge statement 

Students will plan, conduct, and communicate the results of a computer science project for an organization while also developing and engaging in the development of consulting, client service, problem solving and communication competencies. 

The major learning outcomes of this project include:

• Efficiently plan their project and its timelines
• Acquire, read and evaluate scientific literature and other resources needed to inform their project and project plan
• Effectively consult with a client to clearly understand their project needs and challenges
• Develop and create a solution for the client needs
•  Communicate their work to colleagues, co-workers, and supervisors both orally and in writing 

An Ideal Capstone will have the following attributes:

• The project domain falls in the broad spectrum of of computer science areas of focus.
• Projects will have reasonable constraints set by the organization but be open-ended enough for students to exercise a fair degree of analysis and design choice.
• Feasible within the timeframe of the semester (January through mid-April) for a small team of approx. 4 students
• Not be a project related to critical business outcomes
• Have a dedicated project supervisor that can provide context, direction, and necessary information for the project to be completed, as well as meaningful feedback on the progress and deliverable of the project

Organizations can expect to meet frequently with the student team (1 or more times per week) for the first month of the project, and then less frequently as the project develops.