Capstone Project
RATIONALE
The Information Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum prepares individuals for employment as computer programmers, information technologist, and information systems managers, and related positions through study and applications in computer concepts, logic, programming procedures, languages, generators, operating systems, networking, data management, and business operations. The curriculum prepares graduates to solve business computer problems through programming techniques and procedures, using appropriate languages and software. The primary emphasis of the curriculum is hands-on training in programming and related computer areas that provide the ability to adapt as systems evolve.
Therefore, graduates from this program are qualified for employment in business, industry, and government organizations as programmers, programmer trainees, programmers/analysts, computer operators, systems technicians, or database specialists. It is therefore essential before graduation to demonstrate to the institution an acceptable level of readiness to function effectively in the world of work. Therefore, to graduate with an Information Communication Technology Associate degree you must complete a Senior Capstone Integrating Experience, which should be referred to as “the Capstone”.
The capstone project requires that candidates for the Associate degree utilize the skills that they have developed over the two year-period of study to generate a product that solves a real life problem. The Capstone is the culminating project for all ICT majors: Information Technology, Applied Computer Science and Information Systems. Students must complete all required coursework before enrolling in the individual program’s Capstone project, since the project incorporates skills from all the required courses. The Capstone project must be successfully completed in the allotted amount of time before a degree will be awarded.
CAPSTONE PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This capstone project is encapsulating project that can be either administered in cooperate groups, with individual components or as an individualized project. Regardless of your approach to the project it requires students to spend as much as 30 hours outside of class engaged in product development, piloting and redesign. Capstone candidates are expected to meet with an instructor for two hours at the start of the process, and a final an evaluation session 75 days after. Regardless of the majors, all Capstone project candidates are required to implement one of the many products which they designed and developed during courses taken in previous semesters. All products designed each semester must be presented in a job portfolio, but the product that is chosen for Capstone implementation should be accompanied by a real life implementation plan.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
On completion of the Capstone project students would have:
- Create an implementation plan for a product/system that has direct application in a real organisation.
- Write a proposal for implementation of a real organization of a product/system that was created from skills acquired from the relevant courses from an ICT major.
- Identify potential design and development issues and work through to solutions.
- Refine and package a final product for repeated use in an organisation.
TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS
To facilitate fulfilment of the requirements of this course lesson will utilise the following methods:
- Presentations
- Research
- Fieldwork
- Independent Product Development
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES
Capstone Project Proposal & Presentation (30%)
Capstone Final Project (70%)
TEXTBOOKS AND REFERENCES
All materials used in previous courses
this course is essential for all IT students as it guides you through the capstone process