Capstone, Engineering, and Applied Projects
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Student Capstone Projects
Capstones usually involve a team, a real or simulated client, and a combination of design, building, testing, and documentation. They are often a student's first experience of professional project work.
Requirements Engineering
Write requirements that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and testable. Distinguish functional requirements (what the system does) from non-functional ones (performance, safety, usability, cost). Keep a traceability matrix linking each requirement to a design element and a test.
Design and Systems Engineering
The classic V-model pairs each development stage with a testing stage: requirements with acceptance testing, system design with system testing, detailed design with integration testing, and implementation with unit testing. Use design reviews at the end of each stage. For innovative designs, build prototypes early to test the riskiest assumptions.
Testing and Verification
| Level | Question |
| Unit | Does each part work? |
| Integration | Do the parts work together? |
| System | Does the whole meet the requirements? |
| Acceptance | Does it satisfy the client's real need? |
Verification asks, "Did we build it right?" and validation asks, "Did we build the right thing?"
Working with a Client or Industry Partner
Agree the scope and deliverables in writing at the start.
Set regular meetings and demonstrations.
Be clear about intellectual property, confidentiality, and publication rights.
Manage expectations: a student project has limits of time and experience.
Obtain written acceptance at the end.
Documentation
Good documentation includes a requirements document, design documents, test plans and results, a user guide, a final report, and a handover pack. Write them as you go, since writing everything at the end leads to omissions.
Engineering Ethics and Safety
Engineers and applied scientists are expected to put public safety first, to be honest about limits and risks, and to follow professional codes. Include a safety and risk assessment in the plan and a sustainability assessment (Chapter 12).
Team Capstone Checklist
Team agreement and roles agreed in week one.
Scope and acceptance criteria signed by the client.
WBS, schedule, and risk register in place.
Weekly meetings with minutes.
Design review before building.
Testing planned and recorded.
Final presentation, report, and handover.
Master's Industry Projects and Placements
An industry-based master's project adds the demands of a workplace: confidentiality, deadlines set by the employer, and the need to deliver something useful as well as academically sound. Agree early with both the academic supervisor and the company mentor what each expects, who owns the results, and what may be published.
CHAPTER 19