CSE 403 project: Project pitch

Overview

  1. Develop an exciting project idea with one other student. The project should be appropriate for a 6-person CSE 403 team to complete in 9 weeks.
  2. Deliverables, submitted to Canvas (2 PDFs and a link to a video):
    • A 1-2 page pitch document.
    • A 4-slide slideshow.
    • A video presentation of your slideshow.
  3. View other groups’ pitches and rank them (possibly including your own) by which project you would prefer to work on.
  4. Students will use these rankings to organize project teams; the CSE 403 staff will help as needed.

Setup

Pair up with another student, and enter your pair on Canvas (Project pitch group set): both of you join the same empty group. If you cannot find a pair by the end of the networking event in class, the staff will help you.

Instructions

1. Develop an interesting project idea

The project should be appropriate for a 6-person CSE 403 team to complete in 9 weeks.

2. Write a 1-2 page pitch document (PDF)

You want to convince a venture capitalist that your project idea is worth funding. Do not make grandiose or unsubstantiated claims; be factual.

Here is information (adapted from the Heilmeier Catechism) that you should include in your document.

  • Title: Start with a short and catchy project title (not “CSE 403 project”) and your full names and UW NetIDs.
  • Abstract: The first paragraph of your document must be an abstract (or executive summary, or TL;DR) that explains your project at a high level. If someone read nothing but that one paragraph, what do you want them to know?
  • Goal: What are you trying to do? For example, what task or problem will your system help users with?
  • Current practice: How is it done today (for instance, what competing projects exist), and what are the limits of current practice?
  • Novelty: What is new in your approach and why do you think it will be more successful than other approaches? Do not reinvent the wheel or reimplement something that already exists, unless your approach is different.
  • Effects: Who cares? If you are successful, what difference will it make?
  • Technical approach: Briefly describe your proposed technical approach. This may include what system architecture, technologies, and tools you may use.
  • Risks: What is the single most serious challenge or risk you foresee with developing your project on time? How will you minimize or mitigate the risk? Don’t state generic risks that would be equally applicable to any project, like “we might run out of time”.

3. Create a 4-slide presentation (PDF)

  • Present your project idea at a higher level, compared to your pitch document.
  • Start with your project name, your full names, and your UW NetIDs.
  • Focus on the essentials. You have very little time, so don’t dive into technical details.
  • You have two goals: to convince the venture capitalists (the CSE 403 staff) to approve the project, and to attract employees (convince other students to join the project). Don’t include details that do not pertain to those two goals.

Slide deck requirements:

  • Exactly 4 slides, including the title slide.
  • The first slide should start with the project title and your full names and UW NetIDs. It may or may not contain other content.
  • Your slides must include at least one diagram or figure. Some examples of possible diagrams or figures are:
    • A mockup of a GUI.
    • An architectural diagram indicating the proposed components of the system.
    • An illustration of the problem being solved.
    • A GUI, architectural diagram, etc. of a competing product, highlighting deficiencies that you will address.

4. Record a presentation

Create a video recording of you pitching your idea. The video could include just your slides, or it could also include video of you talking (probably in the corner). The recording must be no more than 2.5 minutes long. Both group members must participate in your presentation.

Not required but strongly encouraged: use AI to create a quick-and-dirty prototype. Show a demo during your presentation. (Your whole video, including any demo, must be under 2.5 minutes.) The prototype won’t have much functionality — likely it is just a UI with no data behind it — but it demonstrates how your system will work.

5. Submit to Canvas

In each pair, one person submits two PDF documents and a link to a video, all in a single Text Entry submission. (The submission counts for both members of your pitch pair.)

  1. Name your pitch document [last name]_[last name]_pitch.pdf.

  2. Name your slide deck [last name]_[last name]_slides.pdf.

  3. Paste a link to your video into the text box. Anyone at UW must be able to view the video, because other students will watch it. For example, you could use UW Panopto (which is built into Canvas), UW Google Drive, or an unlisted YouTube video.

  4. Upload both PDFs into the same text box, using the editor’s Upload Document button (the document icon in the toolbar). Do not rename the files when uploading them.

Read and watch other pitches

Watch all the other pitches. This will take under 2 hours, even at 1x playback time.

Read the first paragraph of every pitch. Read more about pitches that interest you. This is also quick.

Reach out to members of the class (e.g., on the message board) for clarifications and discussions.

Rank your preferences

Rank project pitches by which project you would prefer to work on. (You can, but do not have to, include your own project as one you want to work on.)

Don’t choose a project that you cannot complete. For example, don’t choose an iOS app if you don’t have a Mac and an iPhone. Don’t choose an Android app if you don’t have an Android phone.

Submit your preferences. Your preferences are not binding. They are just to help you organize into groups. You will be able to see other students’ preferences as well.

During a class period, you will organize into groups. The staff will assist as needed.

FAQ

Does my grade depend on whether my project is chosen?

No. Your grade is not based upon whether your project is chosen to be implemented. Rather, your grade is based on the quality of your materials and your presentation. We will be evaluating whether you have addressed the identified project elements, made reasonable judgments concerning them, and organized and presented your pitch well.

Do I have to work on the project that I pitched?

No. Your ranking does not have to include your own pitch, if you are more excited about other teams’ ideas. Also, you do not need to work with your pitch partner.

How many people can work together on a project?

Each group should include 5-6 students.

How are project groups created?

During a class session, you will mingle and talk with other students, until a group of 5-6 people is ready to form a team.

How should I describe current practice?

You should spend nearly as much time understanding what already exists as you do coming up with something new. For example, don’t propose to develop a web search engine without knowing that Google exists. You could propose, however, some search engine features that you believe would be useful and that Google doesn’t provide.

Clearly explain what differentiates your project from the alternatives. Differentiate the top-level objectives, target customers, scope, and technical approach of your product from existing, alternative products. Indicate what is novel about your proposed features. Don’t belabor features that are standard in existing packages.

Also, indicate how the proposed project poses interesting design (or other) challenges from a software engineering point of view.

Any advice regarding writing and presentation?

Excellent question! Here are some tips:

  • Be specific and give examples – whether you are explaining a problem or a solution.

  • Include mockups, or preferably a video of a prototype, if you are proposing a system with a GUI.

  • Make your slides simple and readable. Make sure your fonts are large enough to be easily read; there is sufficient contrast between the text and background color; and the slides are free of distracting design elements (such as background images or slide template graphics).

  • Put the take-home points on the slides, in telegraphic form (no full sentences). You can use these as memory joggers during the presentation. Your narration should go beyond what’s on the slides — do not just read the text on your slides. Doing so is incredibly boring to the audience, and if you do so, it means there is too much text on your slides.

  • Use color effectively, but be aware that some color-blind people do not see the full color spectrum. Highlight the key points to draw the reader’s eye and indicate what really matters about the slide. Use similar colors for related things.