Project Presentations
At the end of the semester, each team will present their TaskMaster project to the class. This is an opportunity to demonstrate what you built, reflect honestly on how the project went, and hear from your peers.
Presentations are spread across Sessions 13 and 14.
Pick a slot for your team here – we can do up to 3 groups in a single day. Groups may trade slots, but they must do so more than 24 hours before presentation time.
Format
- Total time: 15 minutes — 10 minutes for the presentation, 5 minutes for Q&A
- Attendance: All team members must be physically present in class regardless of presentation format, unless the instructor has granted explicit permission for remote attendance.
- Participation: Every team member is expected to speak during the presentation. This is a firm requirement, not a suggestion.
Live Presentation
You present and demo your application live in class. This is the default format.
Rehearse your demo. Live demos have a way of breaking at the worst moment. Know your fallback — a screen recording or screenshots — in case something goes wrong on the day.
Pre-Recorded Video
You may instead submit a pre-recorded video of your demo and presentation. This format is a bit safer technically, but requires more preparation before class.
Submit your video link at least 24 hours before your team’s presentation slot. Late submissions will default to a live presentation.
Even with a video, your team will still be expected to field questions during the 5-minute Q&A.
What to Cover
Your presentation should address the following. You do not need to follow this order exactly, but all areas should be touched on.
1. Demo
Demonstrate your working application. Show the core features your team delivered and walk through a realistic use scenario. The demo should be the centerpiece of the presentation.
2. Journey Through the Semester
Briefly walk through how the project evolved from inception through transition. You do not need to narrate every sprint — focus on the arc: where you started, what changed, and where you ended up.
3. What Went Well
What are you proud of? This can be technical (a clever design decision, a well-structured component, solid test coverage) or process-oriented (effective sprint planning, good code review habits, team communication). Be specific.
4. What You’d Do Differently
Be candid. What would you change if you could start over? This might be a technical decision, a process choice, how you handled a difficult moment, or something you underestimated. Honest reflection here is more valuable than a polished narrative.
5. Technical Decisions
Speak to at least one significant architectural or design decision your team made. What were the tradeoffs? Would you make the same choice again?
6. Process Reflection
You used sprint planning, Trello, pull requests, and code reviews throughout the semester. Which of these practices actually helped your team? Which felt like overhead? Would you carry any of them into a future project or job?
Tips
- Don’t just read from slides. Minimal slides are fine — the demo and your words carry the presentation.
- Manage your time. 10 minutes goes faster than you think. Prioritize the demo and your most important reflection points.
Grading
Presentations will be evaluated on:
| Area | What we’re looking for |
|---|---|
| Demo | Does the application work? Does the demo clearly show what was built? |
| Reflection depth | Are the team’s reflections specific, honest, and grounded in their actual experience? |
| Technical discussion | Can the team articulate the decisions they made and why? |
| Process discussion | Does the team show genuine understanding of what the SE practices were for — not just that they did them? |
| Participation | Did every team member contribute meaningfully to the presentation? |
Submission
Submit your slides or recorded video link (YouTube) to myCourses at least 24 hours before your team’s presentation slot. If you did a video, you can keep it unlisted on YouTube if you prefer.