Senior design consists of a three quarter sequence in which students work in teams of 3 to 5 students to propose, implement, test, document, and deploy an engineering project. During this sequence, students will develop a project from inception to completion using sound engineering practices. Senior design is an opportunity for students to demonstrate mastery of their discipline as well as an opportunity for additional mentoring.

The official course descriptions can be found here:

Generally speaking, by the end of the fall quarter each team should have a prototype of at least one component of the project done and their design completed or nearly completed. By the end of the winter quarter, all of the project components should be implemented/assembled and unit tested. By week 7 of the spring quarter, integration testing should be complete.

The general sequence of events is shown in the diagram below. A list of deliverables for each quarter is given in a gray box (on the right). While every project may not require all of the deliverables listed, this is something each team should discuss with its advisor. Furthermore, a team may find it desirable to deviate from this structure and may do so with the consent of their advisor.

In general, senior design does not meet as a class. Exceptions are for information sessions, guest speakers, and team presentations. Otherwise, teams work independently and meet weekly with their advisor. Meeting times should be established at by the start of each quarter. Plan to spend at least 10 hours per week working on your project (including meetings). Be sure to see the Schedule Conflict Policy if you need to schedule another course that is scheduled to meet at the same time as senior design.

Teams will use FogBugz for project management and communication. A case is created for each task that must be accomplished. Each case is associated with a milestone and given a time estimate. Each case is assigned to one team member who is responsible for its completion. Each team member logs time against his/her assigned cases in FogBugz. All work required to complete the senior design project should be planned within FogBugz. If a team member finds that (s)he is doing work on senior design that is not associated with any of the cases in FogBugz, the team should determine either that the work is necessary (and then add a case in FogBugz) or that the work is not necessary (and then stop doing that work). Each senior design student is encouraged to read the FogBugz hints and tips page.

Teams will use Kiln for source control and code reviews. Kiln is based on Mercurial, a distributed source control system. Each senior design student is encouraged to read the Kiln hints and tips page.

Developing proficiency with process tools is an important part of managing a project. Therefore, a significant portion of each member's senior design grade is based on the individual's ability to effectively use the tool. The cases, case notes, and Kiln commit logs all provide useful information for determining each individual's level of contribution to the senior design project. All are encouraged to spend time early in the fall quarter becoming proficient with FogBugz and Kiln.

Senior design is organized into cycles. The specific activities in each cycle will vary depending on where you are at in the overall project; however, each cycle will consist of the following steps:

• Cycle Planning (sometimes considered a pre-cycle activity)
• Cycle Execution
  • Each cycle will likely include multiple milestones
  • Each milestone consists of a number of tasks (called cases in FogBugz)
• Cycle Evaluation / Adjustments

Within each cycle there may be one or more milestones. Each milestone is achieved by completing a set of tasks (a.k.a., cases in FogBugz) associated with the milestone. The cycle plan must identify the milestones and specific tasks associated with each milestone. Identifying the appropriate tasks can be challenging. Characteristics of well chosen tasks include:

• Is obvious when the task is complete
• Requires 3 - 5 hours to complete
• Is not (or only loosely) coupled with other tasks
• Is the responsibility of only one team member

It may be difficult to identify tasks with such fine granularity at the beginning of the cycle. When this occurs, you should identify larger tasks and when the team gets closer to starting work on the task, the task should be divided into smaller subtasks that exhibit the characteristics of well chosen tasks.

The execution of the cycle will consist of the completion of cases and subcases to achieve specific milestones planned for the cycle. The team will meet with their advisor each week to discuss their progress, identify successes and problems, and, if necessary, make adjustments to the plan. Prior to each weekly meeting with their advisor, the team must prepare a status report.

At the end of each cycle, the team must evaluate their progress regarding the cycle. A cycle report is generated at the end of each cycle to report on the effectiveness of your team and to document any changes to your overall plan.

Throughout the senior design experience teams will be required to submit project artifacts. The complete list of artifacts will vary depending on the project and phase of the project. Many of these artifacts are discussed on the pages specific to each quarter of senior design; however, status reports, cycle plans, presentations, FogBugz/Kiln usage, and peer evaluations are a consistent requirement in all quarters.

All due dates, joint meeting times, and grading details are all on this page.

The senior design project begins with a Project Proposal in the spring quarter of your junior year. The focus of senior design is different each quarter. The specifics of each quarter are discussed in more detail here:

• Fall Quarter
• Winter Quarter
• Spring Quarter