Final Project

The goal of the final project is to design and prototype an assistive technology. The project should be developed in a team. The project can be developed using any technologies the students prefer.

The students can propose their own project or select a project from a list of project ideas provided by the instructor. Proposed projects will require instructor approval.

Milestone 1: Team composition

Form teams of 4–5 and enter them into Canvas.

Milestone 2: Define a project

Suggested projects

Pick a project from this list:

• tbd

Proposing a project

Teams that want to propose a project have to submit a short proposal answering these questions:

• What is the problem you want to solve?
• How do you know that this is a real problem that disabled people experience?
  • e.g. Does this project draw on the lived experiences of a team member? Is it based on empirical research into the needs and perspectives of disabled people?
• What is the solution you want to propose?
• How do you plan to implement it?

Before you submit, it’s strongly encouraged that you talk to the instructor for feedback on your idea.

Milestone 3: Make a plan

Develop a more fully fleshed out project plan that addresses the following:

• What is the problem?
• What is the proposed solution?
• What will it take to develop the solution?
  • Include a set of tasks and a week-by-week plan
  • Make sure it is realistic and achievable in one semester
• How will you split the work?
  • Describe how the work will be split equally and fairly among the team members
• How will you evaluate your solution?
  • Describe your plan to figure out whether you have achieved your goals

Milestone 4: Present in class

Every group will give a 5 minute project pitch during class and receive feedback from the class.

Milestones 5–10: Weekly Updates

Every week, each group must submit a project advancement report. The report is made up of short answers to the following questions:

• What have you accomplished this week?
• What has each member worked on?
• Are there any unanticipated issues?
• Do you need help or feedback from me?
• Are you on track with your plan?
• What do you plan to do next week?

Final Presentation

Groups will present their final project in-class or at the INFO Showcase.

Final Project Report

Groups will submit a final report on their project with the following outline:

Introduction

• Problem Statement
  • What is the problem you are addressing with this project?
  • Why is it relevant?
• Proposed Approach
  • What is the approach being proposed to address the stated problem?

Related Work

• What have researchers/designers done in this area previously?
• How does their work influence and inform your work?
• How does the proposed solution relate to the prior work?

Method

• What process did you follow in your project?
  • include process sketches if you have any
• How did you create your solution?

Outcome

• What is your solution?
• How does it work?
  • include figures / demos that help communicate how the project works

Evaluation

• How did you test your solution?
• What are the results of your tests?
• What can we learn from your tests?

Limitations and Future Work

• Are there specific instances where your approach does not work well?
• Any ideas why it does not work?
• What can be done in the future to improve the project?

Reflection/Lessons Learned

• For each team member:
  • What did you learn from this project?
  • Anything surprising that you did not expect?