Welcome to the Senior Capstone Design Program for CS@NAU


Thank you for your interest in sponsoring a project for the Senior Capstone Design Program in the Computer Science Programs at NAU!

This program is the final stage in a unique, award-winning curriculum called the Design4Practice sequence, which was instituted at the college in the late 1990's in an effort to better address the needs of a rapidly-changing economic landscape in the high-technology sector. Specifically, our aim is to produce talented software engineers who not only are skilled in traditional, discipline-specific concepts and techniques (i.e. are great software designers and coders), but who are prepared to immediately take productive, leadership roles in the top software companies around the nation. This means great SE and coding skills, but also strong competence in working in teams, participating in team/project management, communicating technical knowledge in written and verbal forms, and developing efficient solutions with a strong reference to end-users and the market realities of the modern high-tech economy.

Quick Start Guide for CS Capstone process and Project Sponsoring


The main things to know about the CS Capstone process are summarized below. If you are new to the process, be sure to click on the links to get a solid understanding of all key elements and expectations for the facets of the program.


Note: As you can see, we now run two overlapping Capstone cycles, one starting in January, and the other starting in August. The overall phases are the same, each is still a two-semester course sequence - they are just shifted by a semester. Our numbers have grown so much that we need two cycles running in parallel!
Bonus: You can submit (separate) projects in both rounds! Get twice the software development per year!

Find more details on the structure of the Capstone Process and the Rules for Teams here.


Becoming a CS Capstone Sponsor.


It's easy to become a CS Capstone Sponsor and submit a project! Here are the key steps:

  1. If this is your first time sponsoring, please take a few minutes to read through this webpage, exploring all of the links within the various sections. This will save lots of confusion and questions as we move ahead.

  2. Think up a suitable CS Capstone project. Not every idea is necessarily suitable for Capstone; in other cases, a few small adjustments can make a good idea into a great one. Here is a quick bullet list of what makes a good CS Capstone project that distills years of experience into some key characteristics.

  3. Get some feedback. If you are not sure the idea is suitable and would like some feedback, send an email to Igor Steinmacher, the current CS Capstone Coordinator (igor.steinmacher@nau.edu). Briefly describe your project idea (concept, scope, final function/deliverables) and leave your phone number for a possible follow-up call to discuss and clarify details.

  4. Write it up! Once you're sure you have a suitable project, you will need to write up a project description. This nails down relevant details in a compact, standard format that allows both CS faculty and Capstone students to understand key aspects of the project. To get you going, here is the Capstone Project Proposal Template (MSWord) template. It is annotated with instructions to clarify what goes in all the parts. Keep in mind: the point of the project description is not to present complete specifications for the product (the team will gather full requirements from you when they get going), rather, it is to give students a solid idea of what the client's problem is, what software solution is envisioned, and what kinds of skills and equipment might be required.

  5. Focus on your project description! The "project description" section of your proposal is really vital. Making this compelling gives you a really good chance of having your proposal appeal to -- and be accepted by -- students, and also helps students understand clearly what they're getting into. Tips:
    • Examine and follow the "flow of paragraphs outline" given within the Word template linked above. Your job is to write a paragraph (or two) for each of those; this ensures your description presents a clear and coherent "story/pitch" to outline and motivate the project!
    • Have a look at these two previous description (one and two) that have been marked up to give a concrete idea of what each part of the "flow outline" looks like in real life.
    • Finally, take a look a these two "good" proposals here and here; if you have a bit more time, browse some further project descriptions from previous years here.

  6. Email it to the Coordinator! Mail your project description to the CS Capstone Coordinator (Igor Steinmacher for the Fall/Spring cycle, or Isaac Shaffer for the Spring/Fall cycle) for review. The Coordinator will contact you with some feedback or refinements, leading to a final proposal.

  7. Project Selection. All submitted projects are posted for review by CS students as the semester begins. Students all rank them by preferences, projects are chosen and staffed with teams, and then we are off and running. Find more detail on the CS Capstone Project selection process here.

  8. Project launch. Once projects have been selected and teams for each assigned, the first semester/phase of the project begins. Specifically, this starts with the team contacting their sponsor to introduce themselves and begin the design process. Teams should generally contact their sponsor by the second week of the semester, either in August/September or January/February.

More detailed information on key elements