Presentations¶
The teams will give two kinds of in-class presentations throughout the semester: project presentations (lightning talks and the final presentation) and new-tech showcases. See the Schedule page for exact dates and the Syllabus for a brief overview.
Project presentations¶
- Lightning talks (2 rounds) — short check-ins where each team briefly reports on its project's status, decisions, and plans.
- Final presentation — each team presents its finished project in full.
Sprint 0 Lightning Talks — Sep 22 (in class)¶
Sep 22, 12:30 PM · 10 minutes per team + 2 minutes Q&A · 30 points (3% of course grade)
Each team delivers a short lightning talk covering what the project is, what the team learned in Sprint 0, and what comes next in Sprint 1.
Format¶
- Slides: required. Use any presentation tool (PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote, etc.) and submit a PDF on Blackboard.
- Length: 10 minutes per team, followed by up to 2 minutes of Q&A.
- Order: announced by the instructor at the start of class.
- Submission: export your slides as PDF and upload to Blackboard before class (by 12:20 PM on Sep 22).
- Who presents: the whole team should be present and ready to present and answer questions.
What to cover¶
Cover each topic below clearly and concisely. You do not need to follow this order — organize your talk however flows best.
| Topic | What to address |
|---|---|
| Project overview | What is the project? Who are its users? What are its main features? |
| Architecture & technologies | What are the main components and how do they interact? What are the key technologies, frameworks, and external services? |
| Team organization | What is your team name? How is the team organized? Are there any defined roles? |
| SE practices | What engineering practices will the team follow? (e.g., coding conventions, PR and code review process, testing approach, AI usage, CI/CD, issue management) |
| Onboarding experience | How hard was it to get the project running locally? What obstacles did you hit? What did you learn from exploring the codebase? |
| Sprint 0 outcomes | What issues and PRs did your team complete? What was the most valuable thing you built or learned? |
| Risks, challenges & Sprint 1 plan | What are the biggest unknowns going into Sprint 1? What features does the team plan to tackle first? |
Tips¶
- Slides are for your audience, not for you. Keep text minimal; use visuals, diagrams, and screenshots instead.
- There is no need to show the system running live.
- A screenshot of the system running locally or a codebase architecture diagram is more convincing than paragraphs of prose.
- Make sure the audience understands what the system does within the first 60 seconds.
- Every team member should be ready to present and answer questions.
- Practice at least once end-to-end before class to stay within 10 minutes.
Grading (30 points)¶
| Criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| Project and team overview are clear — what the system does, who uses it, who's on the team | 6 |
| Architecture, technologies, and SE practices are explained correctly and at appropriate depth | 6 |
| Onboarding experience and Sprint 0 outcomes are reported concretely and honestly | 6 |
| Risks, challenges, and Sprint 1 plan are specific and realistic | 6 |
| Delivery: well-organized, on time, clearly communicated, slides support the talk | 6 |
| Total | 30 |
New-tech showcases¶
Short demo sessions (2 rounds) where students present a modern software engineering tool or technology.
- Round 1: Oct 6 (in class)
- Round 2: Nov 5 (in class)
Detailed requirements coming soon
Detailed requirements for the new-tech showcases (format, timing, what to prepare, grading criteria) will be posted here before each round.
Final presentation¶
Dec 1 & 3 (in class)
Detailed requirements coming soon
Detailed requirements for the final presentation will be posted later in the semester.