These projects are developed under the direction of the course instructor and members of the sponsoring organization. Project proposals are solicited by the instructor each year during the summer before classes begin the following fall.
Proposals are very brief descriptions of ideas for projects provided by industry.
Once classes begin, these proposals are given to the students, who then form teams, select projects, and begin their development. The student team interacts with the sponsor to gather requirements for the software that they are to develop. This first step involves a rather quick, but thorough, job of gathering initial requirements. As with the quick first cut at requirements, the team then does a relatively quick, high-level architectural design for the project. At this stage of the project each group gives a half-hour overview presentation on the project to the class.