Lab 1: Project Selection & Team Formation
Lab 1 — Project Selection & Team Formation
Weeks 2–3
Select your capstone project, form your team, and establish the foundational agreements for how you'll work together throughout the semester.
Checklist
Week 2
- Read resources on best practices for software/app development:
- Grady Booch — Software Development Best Practices (PDF on CatCourses)
- Mobile Web Development: When, Why, and How (Toptal tutorial)
- Review project summaries (the 26S CSE120 Project Summaries file on CatCourses) and complete the Registration survey (activated ~Wed of Week 2)
- Learn how to run effective project status meetings — bookmark this for future reference (you don't need to follow everything — just pick what works for your team)
Week 3
- Conduct your first team meeting and record meeting minutes
- Assign roles to team members
- Complete and submit the Team Contract (via CatCourses)
- Start planning the first meeting with your project mentor(s) immediately after your team is assigned (by end of Week 2) — record scheduling efforts in your meeting minutes; be professional, you are representing the school
- Prepare a requirements elicitation document with questions for your sponsor/client/mentor — you are expected to lead the meeting, so come with your own ideas on approach and features; provide a link to this document in your meeting minutes
- Include action items in your meeting minutes (What, Owner, Due Date, Status, Notes)
Meeting Minutes & Action Item Format
Meeting minutes are required for every team meeting and contribute to your participation grade. Each action item in your minutes must follow this format:
| What | Owner | Due Date | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brief description of the task | Who is responsible | When it must be done by | New / In Progress / Completed | Any additional context |
Status definitions: - New — just identified, not yet started - In Progress — work has begun - Completed — finished
Be specific in task descriptions — "Research deployment options" is better than "Work on deployment." The more detail you add, the more useful the minutes will be for short- and long-term planning. A full template is available in the Meeting Minutes resource.
Note: Action item quality and completeness directly impact your individual scores.
Key Deliverables
| Item | Points | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Registration Survey | — | Fri of Week 2 |
| Team Contract | 50 | Fri of Week 3 |
Notes
- 1 week grace period — submissions after the Fri of Week 3 deadline incur no penalty during this window
- Submit the Team Contract through CatCourses under the Lab 1 assignment
- Meeting minutes must include action items (see format above)
- Individual: Complete the Lab 1 Peer- and Self- Assessment or receive 0 for the assignment
- The project summaries file (released on CatCourses during Week 2) describes all available capstone projects — review it carefully before picking your top choices
- Before meeting your mentor, prepare a requirements elicitation document with your team's questions and share a link to it in your meeting minutes