Course coordinator
Mrs Julia Drugova
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Elec Engineering & Comp Science School
A studio-based course in which interdisciplinary teams of students develop a proposal for a significant software-based system. The course aims to consolidate and expand on students previous experience with designing information systems, user interfaces, and computer software and systems. Subjects such as requirements elicitation, business cases, design specifications, and identifying and dealing with professional and ethical issues associated with software projects and products are covered during the course.
DECO7380 is one of two level 3 studio project courses for UQ's Bachelor of Information Technology program and Software Engineering major in the BE (Hons), with the other being DECO7381. In these two courses, students work in teams of six on project areas which are derived by the teams from course resources and elsewhere. DECO7380 incorporates the problem finding, ideation, design and early prototyping stages leading to a proposed solution. DECO7381 takes design briefs from the proposals and allows other teams of students to further design, build, and evaluate them.
As a studio course, DECO7380 involves creative, divergent, design activity that explores the nature of a problem or challenge space and identifies possible solutions/opportunities, leading to a proposal for a design that can be prototyped by a different team of students in DECO7381.
Course Changes in Response to Previous Student Feedback
The treatment of ethics and ethical concerns in the design of digital technologies is an important aspect of the design process covered in this course. Students felt that there was not sufficient scaffolding for this. We have introduced more resources and in-class activity around ethics to address this concern.
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. In short, we won't be teaching technical skills in this course (as is also the case for DECO7381), but you will need to apply and further develop the technical skills that you have acquired in other courses and elsewhere, in the environment and frameworks that your team identifies as necessary for your project.
Masters studentsﾠare strongly advised not to undertake this course untilﾠtheir final or penultimateﾠsemester of study. The course relies on students having completed some programming, database or design courses, and preferably alsoﾠDesign Studio 1 (DECO7180).ﾠ Ideally, students are expected to have completed DECO7250 (Human-Computer Interaction).
Students should note that it is not necessary to have completed DECO7380 in order to take DECO7381; these courses can be taken in either order, with the two courses being taken across the final two semesters of study.
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
DECO7140 and (CSSE7023 or INFS7903 or DECO7250)
Restrictions
MInfTech or MIDes students in their final or penultimate semester
Jointly taught details
This course is jointly-taught with:
- DECO3800
All learning activities are jointly taught.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Mrs Julia Drugova
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
Project teams will be formed across the whole studio, with teams then allocated to a specific room for subsequent studio sessions. Until team formation takes place, students are free to sit in any of the rooms regardless of Allocate+ status. DECO3800 and DECO7380 students will be able to form teams with a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate members. Microsoft Teams will be used to digitally connect the two physical spaces for any whole-class presentations, etc.
Students are expected to attend all studios together with their team. This course is predicated on active team participation; absences from scheduled sessions are accountable in this course.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to provide students with experience in the software design lifecycle, with an emphasis on problem finding and eliciting requirements from a broad problem domain or challenge area, leading to the production of a well-specified and justified system design supported by appropriate low/medium-fidelity prototypes and design documentation.ﾠ Student teams apply contemporary project management tools and techniques in the context of a larger-scale design process.ﾠ As a capstone studio course, students are given the opportunity to apply and further develop their technical and design skills acquired in other courses and elsewhere.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Synthesise a significant digital solution to an identified problem in the world, overcoming challenges associated with implementing new designs and technologies leading to a clearly documented design proposal.
LO2.
Apply and consolidate previous experience and skills in human-centred design and software development to develop representations of the design concept at different levels of fidelity in order to better communicate with stakeholders and to clarify and inform project requirements.
LO3.
Apply sound project management methods and techniques to improve the outcomes of software design projects, where the relative merits of the methods are critiqued and adapted for the project context, making use of relevant tools for strategic planning and scheduling where appropriate.
LO4.
Communicate effectively with stakeholders to gather requirements and understand the problem context, and to manage expectations over the course of a project.
LO5.
Work successfully in a multi-disciplinary team, and reflectively apply methods and techniques for effective collaborative teamwork, including digital tools and platforms, resolving conflicts where they arise
LO6.
Think critically about the ethical and professional issues associated with technology projects or products, and apply ethical thinking to your own work.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notebook/ Logbook |
Design Journal
|
20% Individual |
Week 1 Mon - Week 13 Fri
(Due 3pm Fri 25/10/2024) |
| Creative Production/ Exhibition, Presentation, Project |
Project
|
40% Team |
Problem Identification (in-class presentation) 28/08/2024 12:00 pm Problem Identification Documentation 2/09/2024 1:00 pm Interim Project Critique (in-class presentation) 2/10/2024 12:00 pm Interim Project Critique Documentation 8/10/2024 1:00 pm Exhibit 23/10/2024 12:00 pm Final documentation 4/11/2024 1:00 pm |
| Creative Production/ Exhibition, Portfolio, Product/ Design, Project, Reflection |
Studio Portfolio
|
20% Individual |
6/11/2024 3:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Reflection |
Research Report
|
20% Individual |
4/11/2024 12:00 pm |
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
Design Journal
- Hurdle
- Identity Verified
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Notebook/ Logbook
- Weight
- 20% Individual
- Due date
Week 1 Mon - Week 13 Fri
(Due 3pm Fri 25/10/2024)
- Other conditions
- Longitudinal.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L05, L06
Task description
In order to help you gather material to support your curation of the final portfolio, you will need to regularly document your work as you go through the semester. A detailed assessment brief will be provided on Blackboard. You will do this using the Studio 3 Wiki platform where you will create and maintain a Design Journal page alongside your Studio Portfolio on which you keep a record of your work as you go through the semester. These journal pages will be reviewed by the teaching team on a regular basis as part of weekly report-back in class to make sure that all students are making progress. If you are found to not be updating your page appropriately, this will trigger a closer engagement with the teaching team to make sure that you are not putting yourself at risk of failing the course.
Hurdle requirements
Students must gain a passing grade for the individual Design Journal to receive a higher than passing grade for the course. Failure to achieve a passing grade for the Design Journal will result in the overall grade for the course being capped at 4. Students must gain an overall passing grade for the individual assessment (Design Journal + Studio Portfolio + Research Report) to pass the course. Failure to achieve an overall passing grade for the individual assessment will result in an overall fail for the course with the grade capped at 3.Submission guidelines
Online submission via Studio wiki
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
If students are submitting formative submissions to a repository - the most recent previous submission can be marked in lieu of a late submission.
Late submission
100% Late Penalty after 1 hour grace period. The one-hour grace period is recorded from the time the submission is due.
To pass this assessment, students need to regularly post updates to the Design Journal pages throughout the semester.
Submissions to the Design Journal are via the Studio 3 - Proposal Wiki platform. All entries are logged and time-stamped. Any edits that are later than 3pm on the deadline day (with 1 hour grace period allowed) will be ignored when grading takes place.
Project
- Identity Verified
- Team or group-based
- In-person
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance, Written
- Category
- Creative Production/ Exhibition, Presentation, Project
- Weight
- 40% Team
- Due date
Problem Identification (in-class presentation) 28/08/2024 12:00 pm
Problem Identification Documentation 2/09/2024 1:00 pm
Interim Project Critique (in-class presentation) 2/10/2024 12:00 pm
Interim Project Critique Documentation 8/10/2024 1:00 pm
Exhibit 23/10/2024 12:00 pm
Final documentation 4/11/2024 1:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06
Task description
The main focus of work in this Studio course is the team-based project where students work together to identify a problem or challenge, investigate and develop an understanding of the problem context and solution space, leading to a documented design that provides sufficient detail to allow a different team of students to complete the design process with the development of a working prototype (note, development of working prototype is the task of student teams in DECO3801/7381).
Assessment for the project is a sequence of checkpoints that run throughout the semester. The main mode of assessment will be different on each checkpoint, but they will all involve the submission of project documentation which by the end of the semester will form the design/requirements document for the project which is of the form that can be the starting point for a different team to further design and develop into a working prototype.
- Problem Identification (In-class Presentation in Week 6/ Documentation in Week 7)
- Interim Critique (In-class Presentation in Week 10/ Documentation in Week 11)
- Exhibit and final documentation (Exhibit in Week 13/ Final documentation in Exam week 1)
Grading and feedback on checkpoints 1 & 2 will be formative, intended to provide students with an understanding of the quality of their work against the criteria, and to inform and support their subsequent work to refine and improve their project based on the feedback. The overall grade for the project will be considered holistically, examining work across the whole lifetime of the project, but with an emphasis in particular on the endpoint and on the quality of the process followed to get there.
Submission guidelines
Project documents will be submitted via TurnItIn on Blackboard. Presentations and project exhibit will take place during scheduled studio sessions.
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
If teams encounter extraordinary difficulties in meeting a deadline, they should contact the course coordinator in advance of the due date.
If there are exceptional circumstances an exemption may be approved and may involve submitting/discussing your work as it stands. Exemptions must be requested as an extension with a note specifying exemption via my.UQ.
Late submission
Project documentation: 100% Late Penalty after 1 hour grace period. The one-hour grace period is recorded from the time the submission is due.
Oral Team Presentation: 100% Late Penalty. No grace period.
Studio Portfolio
- Hurdle
- Online
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Creative Production/ Exhibition, Portfolio, Product/ Design, Project, Reflection
- Weight
- 20% Individual
- Due date
6/11/2024 3:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L05, L06
Task description
The main item of individual assessment for Studio 3 - Proposal is your portfolio. In Studio 3 where we do not have a final examination, this assessment item plays a similar role, where you are required to demonstrate what you have learned across the whole course.
The main purpose of a portfolio in a design course is for you to gather together examples and evidence of the work that you have done throughout the course. Traditionally, portfolios are collections of work that individuals can share with prospective employers or potential collaborators as examples of the work that they have done. In a course like DECO7380, the work you contribute to your team's outcome will be heavily influenced by your skills and background, as well as by the nature of the project you have worked on. The contents of your portfolio might therefore include design work related to any number of things, including: project inspirations from existing products or services; user research to learn more about the context of use; sketches and schematics relating to data structures; visual designs of interface elements; reports on technology spikes; code snippets to explore functionality, etc.
A studio portfolio will show off not only what work you have done, but also what you learned as a result of doing it. This reflective component is important so that you can demonstrate deeper learning. Your reflections will feature in this studio portfolio through a combination of how you provide a commentary on the work that you are featuring, along with the inclusion of a reflection section accompanying each topic covered in the portfolio. The reflection will be an opportunity for you to connect the work you have collected for display with what you have learned through working on it.
Hurdle requirements
Students must gain an overall passing grade for the individual assessment (Design Journal + Studio Portfolio + Research Report) to pass the course. Failure to achieve an overall passing grade for the individual assessment will result in an overall fail for the course with the grade capped at 3.Submission guidelines
Online submission via Studio wiki
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
If there are exceptional circumstances an exemption may be approved and may involve submitting/discussing your work as it stands. Exemptions must be requested as an extension with a note specifying exemption via my.UQ.
Late submission
100% Late Penalty after 1 hour grace period The one-hour grace period is recorded from the time the submission is due.
Submissions to the Studio Portflio are via the Studio 3 - Proposal Wiki platform. All entries are logged and time-stamped. Any edits that are later than 3pm on the deadline day (with 1 hour grace period allowed) will be ignored when grading takes place.
Research Report
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Reflection
- Weight
- 20% Individual
- Due date
4/11/2024 12:00 pm
- Other conditions
- Student specific.
- Learning outcomes
- L02, L03, L06
Task description
This is an individual reflective research assessment item for students of DECO7380 only, contributing to the research requirements for Masters programs.
At the end of the project, each student will write an individual reflective report. This report will have a specific research focus that the student must define (in consultation with the teaching team if required). The student could choose to focus the report on one of many different factors, which might be a technical and/or design aspect of the project and what they have learned about it; on a teamwork collaboration or leadership aspect and how it contributed to success or failure in the project; or even on what they have learned about the topic and where this could/should be applied to future work. Regardless of the focus, the report must relate the student's experience in Studio with relevant research literature.
Submission guidelines
Online submission via Blackboard/Turnitin
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Note that extensions on an assessment item due in the exam period may lead to an INC grade being entered for the course.
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.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Fails to demonstrate most or all of the basic requirements of the course. Fails to meet the individual assessment hurdle for the course by receiving a FAIL for the Portfolio. |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrates clear deficiencies in understanding and applying fundamental concepts; communicates information or ideas in ways that are frequently incomplete or confusing and give little attention to the conventions of the discipline. Fails to meet the individual assessment hurdle for the course by receiving a FAIL for the Portfolio. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Demonstrates a superficial or partial or faulty understanding of the fundamental concepts of the field of study and limited ability to apply these concepts; presents undeveloped or inappropriate or unsupported arguments; communicates information or ideas with lack of clarity and inconsistent adherence to the conventions of the discipline: OR Fails to meet the individual assessment hurdle for the course by receiving a FAIL for the Portfolio. |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrates adequate understanding and application of the fundamental concepts of the field of study; develops routine arguments or decisions and provides acceptable justification; communicates information and ideas adequately in terms of the conventions of the discipline: OR Fails to meet the participation hurdle for the course by receiving a FAIL for the Journal |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrates substantial understanding of fundamental concepts of the field of study and ability to apply these concepts in a variety of contexts; develops or adapts convincing arguments and provides coherent justification; communicates information and ideas clearly and fluently in terms of the conventions of the discipline: |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: As for Credit, with frequent evidence of originality in defining and analysing issues or problems and in creating solutions; uses a level, style and means of communication appropriate to the discipline and the audience: |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: As for Distinction, with consistent evidence of substantial originality and insight in identifying, generating and communicating competing arguments, perspectives or problem-solving approaches; critically evaluates problems, their solutions and implications: |
Additional course grading information
Hurdles in this course
Students must gain an overall passing grade for the individual assessment (Journal + Portfolio + Research Report) in order to pass the course. Failure to achieve an overall passing grade for the individual assessment will result in an overall fail for the course with the grade capped at 3.
Students must gain a passing grade for the individual Journal in order to receive a higher than passing grade for the course. Failure to achieve a passing grade for the Journal will result in the overall grade for the course being capped at 4.
Identity verified assessment
Studio teaching staff actively monitor individual participation throughout the semester and are aware of the degree to which students are contributing to the team projects. To pass this course, students must achieve a passing grade overall for the individual assessment items. One purpose of the individual assessment items is to provide evidence of individual contributions to team outcomes - students who are unable to demonstrate their contribution to the team outputs risk failing the course with an overall grade capped at 3 by not meeting this requirement. Regular updates to the Design Journal are required to support evidence that students are reporting on their own work. Any student who does not update their Design Journal with an appropriate frequency will be asked to provide evidence of the work that they have been doing in a face-to-face session with a member of the teaching team. Failure to do so will be considered a failure of the individual Design Journal assessment with the outcome as above.
Team-based Assessment
All team members are required to provide meaningful contributions to the central concept being developed, and equally all team members need to contribute across the communication components of the assessment (for example documentation, reports, presentations etc). Where it is evident that a team member has contributed ONLY to the communication components and has had little to no meaningful input into the project concept & its development, the course coordinator reserves the right to adjust individual grades accordingly. In such circumstances, it is also likely that these team members will not have any appropriate work to report on in their Portfolio and will therefore be at high risk of failing the course overall.
For team-based assessment items, teams are expected to develop effective conflict resolution strategies at the outset of the project to enable them to deal with situations where the workload is not shared equitably (the information in Section 6 > Staying ahead of Conflict > Preventing Arguments at UQ Teams 101x MOOC may be useful in planning this). Studio teaching staff are available to assist with conflict resolution if necessary. Team performance reviews will be conducted during the team project to enable individuals to comment on team progress and morale. The purpose of the team performance review is to appraise the individual contributions to the team, team effectiveness and attitudes - both for indications of conflict and to recognise high-performing teams. The results of these will, along with teaching staff observations, be used to support teams through conflict resolution. Ultimately the course coordinator reserves the right to vary group marks for each group member in the event of varied contributions to the team effort.
Qualitative Grading
Grades for assessment in this course will identify your work as being of a particular standard from the following list:
- No assessable work received (X) - applies to non-submission of assessment items
- Low Fail / No Academic Merit (1)
- Fail (2)
- Marginal Fail (3)
- Pass (4)
- Credit (5)
- Distinction (6)
- High Distinction (7)
Within each category, there may be a further qualifier of + or - to indicated that the work is respectively at the upper or lower bounds of the category. The main grade descriptor always applies - if work is assessed at the level of Credit, for example, it has been assessed overall to meet the quality described by the Credit grade descriptor. Credit- means that the work is assessed at credit, but it is at the lower bound having just satisfied the requirements for Credit. Credit+ means that the work is assessed at Credit, but while it is at the upper bound of this grade, it is missing key aspects that would lead it to be assessed at the next grade up.ﾠ Grades on formative assessment items during the semester will be used to calculate the initial overall grade for each student (see below). The final moderation process will consider student work holistically, taking into account evidence of improving grades and/or incorporation of feedback in later assessment items.
Calculation of final grades for course
Final grades will be calculated as a weighted average of a student’s assessment grades, using the same formula as used for calculating a student’s GPA (https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/final-grades-and-gpas). In this case, U equals the weighting for that particular assessment item; and G equal to the grade for the assessment item.
Example 1:
If a student receives the following grades:
- Project: Grade of 4 at weighting of 4
- Portfolio: Grade of 5 at weighting of 2
- Design Journal: Grade of 6 at weighting of 2
- Research Report: Grade of 6 at weighting of 2
The final grade will be calculated as:
(4x4)+(5x2)+(6x2)+(6x2) / (4+2+2+2)
= (16+10+12+12)/10
= 50/10
= 5
Grade = Credit (5)
Example 2:
If a student receives the following grades:
- Project: Grade of 6 at weighting of 4
- Portfolio: Grade of 3 at weighting of 2
- Design Journal: Grade of 4 at weighting of 2
- Research Report: Grade of 3 at weighting of 2
The final grade will be calculated as:
(6x4)+(3x2)+(4x2)+(3x2) / (4+2+2+2)
= (24+6+8+6)/10
= 44/10
= 4.4
Grade = Fail (3)
Note that in this example while arithmetically a student achieved a passing grade, the final grade will be capped at Fail (3), since the overall grade for individual assessment items is Fail (3) (calculated as ((3x2)+(4x2)+(3x2))/6 = 20/6 = 3.3). Please refer to section Hurdles in the course above to understand requirements for achieving Passing grade or above.
Calculation of grades for individual assessment items
The weighted average approach will also be taken for determining the grade for each assessment item taking into account the grade and weighting for each criteria item.
Final Grade Moderation
The final grade for the course will be initially constructed from the individual grades according to assessment weightings. It will then be reviewed & moderated based on overall performance across the course. The course coordinator reserves the right to moderate grades.
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 Studio Portfolio assessment item (approved by EAIT Associate Dean-Academic)
Additional assessment information
Use of Generative AI in assessment items
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing assessment tasks. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing assessment tasks. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. Note: The first Studio will provide more details and examples of what is considered appropriate use for the course.
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 on Blackboard and also distributed in the General channel on MS Teams. You are expected to read these notices regularly (at least once a week and more often near deadlines for deliverables).
Web
The course web site is available on Blackboard. The course web site will contain important information and links to other sites related to the course. You must be enrolled in the course to access some parts of the web site.
Course Communications
Microsoft Teams will be used for course communication in studio sessions and for internal team collaboration. This can be used via the web interface, but students are encouraged to download the relevant native application for a better experience.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks |
Studio |
Studio Students will work in teams with teaching staff on their team projects and on activities related to their projects. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
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 - 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: