Skip to content

Overview

Course Overview

Welcome to the CSE120 Capstone documentation hub. This site complements (but does not duplicate) the full lab PDFs and submission portals hosted on Canvas. Think of Canvas as the transactional system (submit things, view grades) and this site as the knowledge system (process, expectations, reusable references, examples).

ℹ️ Labs (Planning A–C and Scaffolding) are provided as PDFs on Canvas. Their conceptual goals and deliverables are summarized here so you can quickly orient without re‑opening a PDF every 5 minutes.

Two Phases, One Continuous Workflow

The course runs in two macro phases:

Phase Weeks Focus Artifacts Produced Mindset Shift
Phase 1 – Planning Labs 1–6 Team formation, discovery, architecture, quality foundations Working Agreement, DoR/DoD, Backlog, Stakeholder Map, ADR seeds, Risk Register, MVP + Roadmap, Test Strategy From idea ambiguity → structured plan
Phase 2 – Implementation Iterations 6–17 Build, ship, learn, refine Iteration Goals, PRs, Releases/Tags, Status Reports, Updated ADRs, Tests, Demo increments From plan → disciplined delivery

Planning Lab Summaries (Phase 1)

These map directly to Lab PDFs (names may differ slightly on Canvas). Use them as a checklist reality check.

Lab Theme Core Outcomes GitHub Evidence
Planning A – Foundation Team setup & governance Repo created, Project Board columns, Working Agreement draft, DoR & DoD defined, Initial backlog issues + labels, Issue & PR templates Repo settings, .github/ templates, Board screenshot, Markdown agreement
Planning B – Discovery & Strategy Understanding users & shape of solution Stakeholder Map, Refined & prioritized backlog, Initial ADR(s), Risk Register with mitigations /docs/ (ADR folder), issue ordering, risk doc, diagram(s)
Planning C – Roadmap & Testing Outcome focus & quality strategy MVP definition, 5‑Iteration roadmap, Test Strategy (levels & tools), Acceptance criteria using Given‑When‑Then Roadmap doc / issue milestone plan, test strategy markdown, updated issues
Scaffolding / Lab 4 Code + pipeline bootstrap Tech stack skeleton, CI workflow passes, basic README usage, first ADR refined Passing CI badge, initial directory structure, ADR update

Iterations (Phase 2)

Five delivery cycles turn the roadmap into working software. Each iteration: (1) plan, (2) build, (3) integrate, (4) demo, (5) reflect (status report + backlog grooming). See Workflow > Phase 2 for the 10‑step lifecycle.

Learning Objectives (Mapped High‑Level)

Objective Where It Emerges
Apply a disciplined, iterative software process All planning labs + each iteration board cycle
Practice architectural & design reasoning (ADRs) Planning B onward (living documents)
Team collaboration & role rotation Working Agreement + role assignments per iteration
Technical communication (issues, PRs, reports) Issue templates, PR reviews, weekly status reports
Quality engineering & test strategy execution Planning C, CI pipelines, definition of Done
Risk & scope management Risk Register + iteration goal trade‑offs
Delivering incremental value Iteration demos & release tags

High-Level Timeline (Reference)

Week Focus Milestone Key Deliverables (Evidence)
1 Kickoff + Planning A start Repo, Board, Working Agreement draft
2 Finish Planning A DoR/DoD finalized, backlog seeded
3 Planning B discovery Stakeholder Map, risk list first pass
4 Planning B strategy wrap Prioritized backlog, ADR v1
5 Planning C roadmap MVP + roadmap, test strategy draft
6 Scaffolding + Iteration 1 planning CI green, initial code skeleton, iteration goals
7–8 Iteration 1 delivery Demo 1, Status Report 1
9–10 Iteration 2 Demo 2, updated ADR(s)
11–12 Iteration 3 Mid-course refinement, performance or UX focus
13–14 Iteration 4 Hardening, filling feature gaps
15–16 Iteration 5 Final feature slice + polish
17 Finalization Poster, handoff docs, final demo

Visual Timeline (Mermaid Gantt)

Adjust actual calendar dates at semester start. Use this as a relative phase visualization.

gantt
    title CSE120 Phase & Iteration Timeline (Relative Weeks)
    dateFormat  YYYY-MM-DD
    %% Choose a notional start date (e.g., first Monday of semester)
    %% Update `start` below each term; durations (d) reflect weeks.
    %% Planning Phase
    section Planning Labs
    Planning A (Foundation)        :a1, 2025-01-06, 14d
    Planning B (Discovery/Strategy):a2, after a1, 14d
    Planning C (Roadmap & Testing) :a3, after a2, 14d
    Scaffolding / Bootstrap        :a4, after a3, 7d
    section Iterations
    Iteration 1 (Build + Demo 1)   :i1, after a4, 14d
    Iteration 2 (Increment 2)      :i2, after i1, 14d
    Iteration 3 (Refine / Midpoint):i3, after i2, 14d
    Iteration 4 (Hardening)        :i4, after i3, 14d
    Iteration 5 (Polish & Final)   :i5, after i4, 14d
    section Finalization
    Final Demo + Poster + Handoff  :milestone, m1, after i5, 3d

Note: If your academic calendar has breaks (spring break, holidays), insert idle blocks or extend durations accordingly for accuracy.

How to Use This Site

  1. Start with Workflow if you’re unsure what to do this week.
  2. Use Teamwork when rotating roles or refining agreements.
  3. Reference Deliverables before submitting anything graded.
  4. Deepen knowledge via Concepts when blockers are conceptual (e.g., “How do we structure an ADR?”).
  • Syllabus — official course policies, grading, textbook
  • Schedule — week-by-week calendar for Spring 2026
  • Labs Overview — all lab assignments (1–4)
  • Design Review — mid-semester presentation milestone
  • Midterm Exam — take-home exam details
  • Final Deliverables & I2G — end-of-semester submission guide
  • Email Etiquette — professional communication guidelines
  • Working Agreement essentials → Teamwork
  • Iteration lifecycle → Workflow / Phase 2
  • Roadmap & MVP guidance → Workflow / Phase 1
  • Status Report expectations → Deliverables
  • PR quality checklist → Deliverables

If something feels ambiguous, surface it early in your status report or open a "clarification" issue in your team repo.