This course is the Spring 2019 version of IAT 499, taught by Dr. Carman Neustaedter (carman@sfu.ca) at Simon Fraser University.
The goal of the course is for students to complete a project of significant size and scope that allows them to bring together skills and knowledge learned across a variety of courses at SIAT. Individually or as a team of two, students will produce an artifact that is of a high caliber (‘portfolio’ quality) along with a detailed report of the project activities completed throughout the term, the methods or processes used, the knowledge learned, and a description of the final outcomes. Projects will be presented publicly at an end-of-term graduation showcase.
The course will be organized and overseen by a faculty lead who will provide breadth knowledge to the students on large-scale graduation projects (e.g., project planning, report writing, professional ethics, and effective communication to various audiences). Students will attend a weekly seminar and present their project progress to other students and receive feedback. The weekly seminar will be facilitated by the faculty lead.
Students must have a faculty mentor who will provide depth knowledge on their particular topic focus. Students may optionally have an industry mentor, in addition to the faculty mentor. Students are required to plan their participation in the course at the beginning of the term prior by finding a faculty mentor and producing a draft project proposal approved by the faculty mentor.
Students will create a refined project proposal at the beginning of term that documents their project goals, processes, and final outcomes. Students will then work on their project independently throughout the term with weekly consultations with the faculty mentor and faculty lead.
Grading will be performed on an individual basis by faculty mentors and overseen by the faculty lead.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
- plan and manage a large scale project that moves from an idea’s conception to completed artifact or research outcome
- apply and follow a detailed project plan iteratively to complete a large scale project
- create, analyze, and evaluate a large project iteratively throughout its undertaking
- apply a range of design, media, or interactive system project/research processes or methodologies in a real world project context
- document a large-scale project at all stages so it can be understood by collaborators, industry contacts, and the general public