Design Computing Studio 3 - Build (DECO3801)

Course overview

A studio-based capstone design projects course in which interdisciplinary teams design and implement a significant software/IT prototype in a practice-based setting and according to a project brief specification with industry level project deadlines. The course consolidates and expands on students' previous experience, with a focus on project-based learning. The course enables students to showcase technical and professional skills gained during their study program and apply these effectively to assess abilities in teamwork, project management, communication skills, and the analysis of user experience, ethics, and security in relation to the design and implementation of a substantial software prototype project.

Have you ever wondered how teams develop usable and innovative software technology applications? What approaches they use when scoping, managing tasks, designing functionality, communicating about the technology and developing usable prototypes for projects such as a digital experience of Olympic Swimming, aﾠSafety Training Application for First Responders, or other innovative applications of technology to real problems?

Agile Developmentﾠis a project management and development approach with a strong focus on continuous improvement. In Design Computing Studio 3: Build you will have an opportunity to practice in a studio-based setting designing, developing and communicating a substantial prototype software technology solution that you work on as part of team and iterate from a project brief. The course is a capstone team project course that serves as the second half of the compulsory capstone project course for students in the BInfTech, MInfTech, and BEng (Software Engineering) programs. Additionally, it is also taken as a plan option in the BComputer Science program and can be taken as an elective by students in other EECS programs. With aﾠfocusﾠon project-based learning, the course allows you to showcase the skills, you have acquired in your program of study, and apply them effectively to demonstrate your abilities in teamwork, project management, communication skills, and the analysis of user experience, ethics, and security in relation to the design and implementation of a substantial software prototype project.

How will I use these skills in the Future?ﾠThis course develops your professional practice skills. These are skills that you as a Computing orﾠInformation Technology professional will need to applyﾠdirectly in your future workplaceﾠto effectively manage projects, collaborate with teams, engage with stakeholders, critically analyse the impact of design and implementation decisions, exercise good judgement and deliver successful project outcomes.

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Course requirements

Assumed background

This course assumes that students are familiar with the development life cycle for software or information systems and have had previous exposure to the construction of software or information systems including:

• Familiarity with Human Computer Interaction, especially user interface design, evaluation and user testing
• Familiarity with the development life cycle for software or information systems
• Programming and/or Web development.

As a project-based capstone, rather than teachingﾠnewﾠtechnical skillsﾠ(as is also the case for DECO3800), this course focusses on students demonstrating development of their own core ICT skillsﾠStudents applyﾠtechnical, design and evaluation knowledge, and transferrable skills acquiredﾠin other courses within a practice-based setting to independent self-guidedﾠlearning of theﾠenvironments, frameworks and methodologies identifiedﾠas necessary for managing and developing theirﾠprojects.ﾠ

Since this course relies on the practical application of concepts learnedﾠin earlier courses, students should be planning to take the two Studio 3 courses in their final two semesters of study andﾠare expected to have the followingﾠCourse Prerequisites:

• Prerequisite 1 - All compulsory Year 1 and 2 courses for your study program
• Prerequisite 2 - CSSE2002 and (INFS2200 or DECO2300 or COMP2140, or DECO2500 or DECO3800)

It is also preferable to have completed a studio course such as DECO1800 (Design Computing Studio 1), DECO2800 (Design Computing Studio 2), DECO2300 (Digital Prototyping),ﾠDECO2500 (Human-Computer Interaction) or CSSE2003 (Software Engineering Studio). Students that do notﾠsatisfyﾠthe prerequisitesﾠshould discuss potential enrolment with the course coordinator prior to enrolling. Students should also note that it is not necessary to have completed DECO3800 in order to take DECO3801; these courses can be taken in either order.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

CSSE2002 and (INFS2200 or DECO2300 or COMP2140, or DECO2500 or DECO3800)

Restrictions

Final year BInfTech, BMultMedDes, BCompSc, BDes InfEnv and 3rd year + BE(Hons) Software Engineering

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Students are expected to attend all scheduled studios together with their team. This course is predicated on active team participation in class-based activities and supervision of student projects;ﾠlack of active participation in scheduled in-class activities are accountable in this course.ﾠ

Aims and outcomes

Design Computing Studio 3: Build will provide youﾠwith practice-based experience of developing a substantial piece of software or IT application and prepare you for collaborating on such projects in the workplace. There is an emphasis on you professionally collaborating with yourﾠteam members to design, develop and evaluateﾠa working prototypeﾠthat meets the specifications defined in a project brief, such that it is delivered on time, tested and evaluated with users. This course introduces students to the practice ofﾠcontemporary project management methodologies and tools commonly used in industry and emphasises you demonstratingﾠproject management, team-collaboration, risk planning and mitigation, analytical problem-solving skills, critical reflection, time-management, reasoning about the ethics, security and privacy impacts of your design communication skills and technical skills needed for successful delivery of projects in industry.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Individual Project Contributions - Various Dates

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• Team or group-based
• In-person

Mode

Oral, Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia

Category

Computer Code, Participation/ Student contribution, Practical/ Demonstration, Product/ Design, Project, Reflection, Role play/ Simulation

Weight

18%

Due date

Class based activity 1 and weekly scrum report back. 5/08/2025 5:00 pm

Class based activity 2 and weekly scrum report back. 12/08/2025 5:00 pm

Class based activity 3 and weekly scrum report back. 19/08/2025 5:00 pm

Weekly scrum report back. 26/08/2025 5:00 pm

Class based activity 4 and weekly scrum report back. 2/09/2025 5:00 pm

Required - Interim individual demo 1. 9/09/2025 5:00 pm

Class based activity 5 and weekly scrum report back. 16/09/2025 5:00 pm

Weekly scrum report back. 23/09/2025 5:00 pm

Class based activity 6 and weekly scrum report back. 7/10/2025 5:00 pm

Required - Interim individual demo 2. 14/10/2025 5:00 pm

Class based activity 7 and weekly scrum report back. 21/10/2025 5:00 pm

All individual project contribution submissions must be made during your timetabled Studio and verified by a member of course staff assigned to your team. This sequence is to assess your individual contributions to your team project and verify your work. You must have identity verified tracked evidence of Active Participation in 8/11 class-based activities and this must include your week 7 and week 11 individual demos.

The Associate Dean (Academic) has approved two sequences for this course.

Other conditions

Student specific, Time limited, Work integrated learning, Longitudinal, Secure.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Interim demos are class-based activities held during timetabled Studio, on campus, where team members demonstrate and explain their individual contributions to their team project. All interim project code must be submitted via the submission links on Blackboard. Assessed individual demo contributions will be recorded via MS Teams.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Extensions are not available for this assessment item.

This is to allow class-based demos and rapid feedback to proceed as scheduled and is consistent with professional and industry expectations.

Extensions for groupwork are typically not available as this impacts on all members of the team.

However, if a group encounters extraordinary difficulties in meeting a deadline, they should contact the Course Coordinator in advance of the due date.

Groups will be asked to meet with the Course Coordinator, and be prepared to present their work, as it stands.

Late submission

100% Late Penalty after 1 hour grace period

The one-hour grace period is recorded from the time the submission is due.

Consistent with industry practice where late submission of documentation etc is not accepted, the stated late penalty applies.

This has been approved by the Associate Dean (Academic)

Team Project

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• Team or group-based

Mode

Oral, Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written

Category

Computer Code, Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Participation/ Student contribution, Practical/ Demonstration, Product/ Design, Project

Weight

58%

Due date

Statement of Work. 21/08/2025 5:00 pm

Interim team project submission version 1. 26/08/2025 5:00 pm

Interim team project submission version 2, and demo. 9/09/2025 5:00 pm

Interim team project submission version 3, and demo. 14/10/2025 5:00 pm

Final project submission Bill of Materials. 24/10/2025 5:00 pm

Interactive demo in Exhibit. 28/10/2025 8:00 pm

The Statement of Work is pass/fail and must be submitted via the Turnitin submission link. Teams whose initial submission receives a failing grade, will be given a second opportunity to act of feedback and submit a revised version one week later.

Team members must participate in all team sequence parts to obtain the team grade. The team grade may be moderated based on individual level of contribution to the project.

Interim Submissions: Interim version 1 is your reference point for progress in your project and will be treated as a compliance submission. Versions 2 and 3 will also require an identity verified interactive demo during timetabled Studio. Version 2 is weighted at 3%, version 3 is weighted at 15%, your Final project submission Bill of Materials is weighted at 30% and your interactive demo in exhibit is weighted at 10% of your overall grade.

The Associate Dean (Academic) has approved two sequences for this course.

Other conditions

Time limited, Peer assessment factor, Work integrated learning, Longitudinal, Secure.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Submission of code must be via Blackboard, Submission of documentation must via Turnitin, a back-up video will be required for your final project submission that shows your working project and this must be submitted via ECHO Video and connected to the Blackboard assignment.

Your documentation submission must include your team cover sheet appended to the front of your team document declaring whether or not your team used Generative AI. If you used Generative AI tools then this cover sheet declaration must include all your prompts in English to enable assessment of your workflow.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Extensions are not available for this assessment item.

This is to allow the interactive demos and exhibition to proceed as scheduled and is consistent with professional and industry expectations.

Extensions for groupwork are typically not available as this impacts on all members of the team.

However, if a group encounters extraordinary difficulties in meeting a deadline, they should contact the Course Coordinator in advance of the due date.

Groups will be asked to meet with the Course Coordinator, and be prepared to present their work, as it stands. 

Late submission

100% Late Penalty after 1 hour grace period

The one-hour grace period is recorded from the time the submission is due.

If you do not make your week 12 final submission, your week 11 submission will be graded in lieu of the missing submission against the final project grading criteria.

Consistent with industry practice where late submission of documentation etc is not accepted, the stated late penalty applies.

This has been approved by the Associate Dean (Academic)

Individual Report

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Essay/ Critique, Reflection

Weight

24%

Due date

10/10/2025 5:00 pm

Your submission must include your cover sheet declaring whether or not you used Generative AI in the preparation of your report. If you have used Generative AI tools then your declaration must include your prompts in English to enable assessment of your workflow.

Other conditions

Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L02, L06, L07

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submission must be via Turnitin on Blackboard. Your individual Cover Sheet and Declaration must be appended to the front of your report.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Grade Calculation

Your grade is calculated as the weighted sum of your component grades (0.18*G + 0.58*G + 0.24*G). Where G is a numerical mapping of your grade and may have a late penalty applied to it (if relevant).

There are two hurdles; should you fail either or both of these, your grade will be capped at 2 or 3 as per the above Grade Description and in both cases you will not be eligible for supplementary assessment:

• Individual Project Contributions
• Team project.

Moderation

Moderation of grading is a policy requirement of The University. Therefore, gradesﾠ(raw, scaled and/or aggregated),ﾠare only an aid to the Course Coordinator in determining the final grade for an assessment item, determining the final course grade and for providing feedback to students on course achievement. Peer feedback through the course intervention and moderation policy together with staff tracked observations and students evidence of active participation are used to compute students individual grade. The course coordinator reserves the right to vary individual grades in the team assessment component for each group member in the event of varied contributions to the team effort.

Identity verified assessment:

Studio teaching staff actively monitor individual participation throughout the semester during weekly studio contacts, through scheduled participation activities both in person and through monitoring theﾠMS Teams collaboration platform and through interim submissions. Based on this monitoring, teaching staff are aware of the degree to which students are actively participating and contributing to the team projects.ﾠIf students have not actively participated throughout, further evidence may be requested to assess the level of active participation. Students who are unable to demonstrate their active participation and contribution to the team’s output risk failing this course with an overall grade capped at 2 or 3 by not meeting this requirement.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is not available for some items in this course.

Supplementary assessment is not available for the team-based or continuously assessed parts of the course which require progressive updates throughout the semester. Supplementary assessment is only available for the Individual Reflection assessment item (approved by EAIT Associate Dean-Academic)

Additional assessment information

Permitted Use of Generative AI and Open Source Code

The use of the following is permitted on this course only with full disclosure of how it was used and with proper attribution,ﾠyou must make clear what is your teams and/or your own work:

• Open Source code and libraries (excluding previous DECO projects).
• Open data sets.
• Royalty free, free to use icons, images.
• Use of generative AI code generation tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and others, but only with attribution and a complete list of prompts (or equivalent) used supplied in English.
• Use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or others to assist with essay writing (but only with a complete list of the prompts used submitted in English).
• Use of in-code documentation generation tools.
• Use of AI grammar checkers, if you are using a grammar checker or a language translation tool, you must declare it.

Please note the following things are misconduct:

• Any use of the above tools, libraries, images, style sheets that are not properly disclosed/acknowledged.
• Any plagiarism of previous DECO projects from open GIT repositories and other external websites.
• Any plagiarism of open GIT project repositories and or any project plagiarised from other external websites.
• All contract cheating.
• Any data that is synthesised without an explicit declaration stating that it was simulated data, examples may include falsified user study data.
• Copying and pasting any UQ copyright content into Large Language Models that are not approved by UQ, or uploading UQ copyright content to external third party sites.

Having Troubles?

If you are having difficulties with any aspect of the course material, you should seek help. Speak to the course teaching staff.

If external circumstances are affecting your ability to work on the course, you should seek help as soon as possible. The University and UQ Union have organisations and staff who are able to help, for example, UQ Student Services are able to help with study and exam skills, tertiary learning skills, writing skills, financial assistance, personal issues, and disability services (among other things).

Complaints and criticisms should be directed in the first instance to the course coordinator. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may bring the matter to the attention of the School of EECS Director of Teaching and Learning.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Notices

Notices regarding the course will be posted onﾠBlackboardﾠand on Microsoft Teams so you will receive duplicates.ﾠYou are expected to read these notices regularly (at least once a week and more often near deadlines for deliverables).

Web and MS Teams

The course has content available both viaﾠBlackboard, and through Microsoft Teams. The course MS Teams site will contain important information and links related to the course. You must be enrolled in the course to access this content. You are expected to use the course MS Teams as a collaboration platform on this course.

Communications with Staff, Casual Academics, Industry Mentors

All emails to the course staff (coordinator, lecturers) must be via the course mailbox. Direct emails or direct messages should only be used in exceptional circumstances.ﾠCommunication between teaching staff and teams will primarily be managed in-class and via posts in MS Teams channels. Industry mentors supporting this course are volunteers and if your project has an Industry mentor then communication with them must be professional at all times. Communication within your team and with course staff must also be professional at all times.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Additional learning activity information

This is a practice-based learning setting, some course specific information will be communicated and made available as a recording for review only. Class practical activities will not be recorded, students are expected to be physically present to engage in these. This course is critical for professional standards body accreditation.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

School guidelines

Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course:

• EECS School Guidelines for Students