CS/ECE 3992
Spring 2008
General Information
Grades so far can be found here indexed by your secret integer.
Schedule for Spring 2008 

Jan. 9 - Introduction, organization, and logistics.

Due: Assignment #0 - you need to subscribe to the class mailing list by midnight Thursday January 10th. 

Assignment #1 - good engineers fix things that are broken or just lame  in the world around them - carry a notepad and list all of the things that you find broken in the world for the next week.  You will put these things into two categories :   problems that you've noticed and have no idea how to fix, and problems that you have an idea how to fix -  for this  category sketch out a brief initial idea of how you could engineer a better solution.

Assignment #2: write a brief resume for yourself - including the following: contact information (phone and email), your gpa to date, list the engineering skills that you think you are good at - you may include areas that you're willing to take on because you want to learn these areas, and then list any constraints that you have.  Constraints might include: only able to meet at a particular time, not looking for team mates because you already have your team set, etc.  If you have some project ideas that  you're particularly keen to pursue then provide a brief synopsis of the ideas.

Jan. 16 - Project management lecture- 2 slides per page .pdf

Due: Assignment #1 - submit as a .pdf file via email to ald@cs.utah.edu before class starts
          Assignment #2 - submit as a .pdf file via email to ald@cs.utah.edu before class starts

Jan. 23 - Project ideas - interactive - no lecture: project ideas text file

Jan. 30 - Anatomy of a proposal lecture - 2 slides per page .pdf

Feb. 6 - Writing a good proposal lecture - 2 slides per page .pdf


Due: Tentative group list, and 1 page single spaced project synopsis per potential project + a 30 minute project team meeting w/ Al to discuss during the week - to see the schedule click here - pick an open time by sending email to ald@cs.utah.edu.   Document needs to be submitted as a .pdf file via email.

Feb. 13 - Organizational issues - discussion of project presentation schedule and what is expected of the presentations and the writing assignments.

Due: 1 page project description .pdf due by email.  Contents: team members, functional description of what the project will do once it works, and a preliminary overview of how you will implement the intended functionality.

Feb. 20 -  Initial project presentations in class: present functional description of what your project will do, provide view of what will be designed vs. purchased, and some details of the SW and HW design components and implementation strategy.  Each team member will be required to share equally in the presentation duties, although not everybody needs to talk every time - duties need to be shared over the semester.  You should plan your presentations to be a few minutes short (5-10 is suggested) to allow time for questions and comments from the class.
    2:00 - 2:15: Reed & Hummel
    2:15 - 2:30: Matthews, Alhamdani, Bolkameh
    2:30 - 2:45: Dean & Basic
    2:45 - 3:00:  Tolboe

Due: Group list, and 3 page single spaced project synopsis (.pdf via email) - initial schedule flows, interface issues, risks, tentative tasking.

Feb. 27- Initial project presentations in class.  
    2:00 - 2:15: Brown, Delamare, Faires
    2:00 - 2:30: Meakin, Hsu, Rolfe, Yan
    2:30 - 2:45: Shahabi, Pruss, Curry
    2:45 - 3:00: Pezeshki

Mar. 5 - Preliminary project presentations: schedule flow, interface specifications, risks, preliminary BOM.  The presentation will need to be presented as slides and plan to spend 15 minutes on the presentation to leave 5 minutes for questions.
    2:00 - 2:20: Reed & Hummel
    2:20 - 2:40: Matthews, Alhamdani, Bolkameh
    2:40 - 3:00: Dean & Basic

        Due: Web site needs to be established, and start keeping a log of weekly meetings as of this week.  Note this log needs to be maintained until you finish 4710 in the fall, but you aren't required to meet in the summer.  If you choose to meet then log what happened.

Mar. 12- Preliminary project presentations.
    2:00 - 2:20:  Tolboe
    2:20 - 2:40:  Brown, Delamare, Faires
    2:40 - 3:00:  Meakin, Hsu, Rolfe, Yan

Mar. 19 - No class - spring break
 
Mar. 26 - Preliminary project presentations. 
    2:00 - 2:20: Shahabi, Pruss, Curry
    2:20 - 2:40: Pezeshki

Apr. 2 - Final project presentations in class: schedule, tasking, finalized BOM, and description of the implementation strategy.  Presentation should also be slide based and plan for 25 minutes but leave a couple of minutes for questions (there won't be as many at this stage).

    2:00 - 2:25: Reed and Hummel
    2:00 - 2:50: Matthews, Alhamdani, Bokameh

Due: Preliminary project proposals - schedule flow, interface specifications, risks, preliminary BOM and vendors (include contact person and phone number).  This should be 5-10 pages single spaced and submit via email as a .pdf

Apr. 9- Final project presentations in class.
    2:00 - 2:25: Dean & Basic
    2:25 - 3:00: Tolboe

Apr. 16 -  Final project presentations in class.
    2:00 - 2:25:  Brown, Delamare, Faires
    2:25 - 2:50:  Meakin, Hsu, Rolfe, Yan

Apr. 23 -  Final project presentations in class.
    2:00 - 2:25: Shahabi, Pruss, Curry
    2:25 - 2:50: Pezeshki                          

Due: Final project proposals and Final presentation slides - both in .pdf form by email.  Project proposals should be around 20 pages single spaced and be submitted via email as a .pdf file.
Previous Projects
Jiggawax:  MP3 Player  - final project documentation - Fall 2004
                       Final 3992 Proposal
                       Final 3992 Slide Presentation
                       Final Project Report

RVI: Remote Vehicle Interface - final project documentation - Fall 2004
           Final 3992 Proposal
           Slide Presentation
           Web Site 
           Final Project Report

PCI Coprocessor: Autonomous PCI coprocessor -  final project documentation - Fall 2004
                                      Final 3992 Proposal
                                      Final 3992 Slide Presentation
                                      Final Project Report

Weaver:  Vision based RC car with anti-collision capabilities - final project documentation - Fall 2004
                    Final 3992 Proposal
                    Final 3992 Slide Presentation
                    Website
                    Final Project Report

Amateur Satellite Tracking and Communication: final project documentation - Fall 2004
                     Final 3992 Proposal
                     Final 3992 Slide Presentation
                     Final Project Report

GPS Car: final project documentation - Fall 2004

Note - this project changed at the end of CS3992 and hence the proposal and slide presentations from 3992 are no longer relevant.

                    Final Project Report
Other Reference Materials

Writing References

Probably the best general reference and in my view a must have book is called The Elements of Style, written by William Strunk and E. B. White, now in its 4th edition, available for about $8.

Interested in improving your writing & presentation skills?  Check out a nice set of material that ECE Prof. Cynthia Furse is developing.


 
Grading Policy

Communication and planning are important engineering skills and they are extremely important in the work place.  Employers and post graduation interviews of our previous students consistently stress the impwill be stressed heavily in this class. 


Grades will be based on points for each assignment:  Each assignment will be graded on a scale from 0 to 10. 

Your final point total will be based as follows:

                5% on assignments 0, 1, & 2
                5% on in class participation
                10% on the quality and detail of your web log that will start midway through the course
                15% on the initial presentation and document
                25% on the preliminary presentation and document
                40% on your final presentation and document

Both written documents and in class presentations are worth 100 points each - awarded as follows.

                50 - content
                10 - organization
                20 - clarity
                10 - conciseness
                10 - English writing quality for written documents, speaking quality for presentations.

The due time for all assignments is 2 p.m. - late assignments will be graded but you will lose 20% per day that  you are late.

Your final letter grade will be normalized to the score of the best student. 

                >= 90% of best ==> A
                >=80% of best ==> B
                >=70% of best ==> C
                >=60% of best ==> D
                <60%  of best ==> E

If the best student is too good, Al will subjectively choose the appropriate student to be the top.

Note that a team, once formed, will receive the same grade for presentations, documents, and the web log.  Hence only 10% of your total grade will be strictly personal.