Course syllabus

 

ISE 461- Capstone Project I

Section 001, MW, 12:30 PM-1:45 PM, In-Person

Congdon Hall 1006

Course Syllabus - Fall 2025

"This syllabus is subject to change, but only with sufficient notification."

 

Welcome to the Capstone Project I class! This is the first semester of a two-semester capstone course in Intelligent Systems Engineering. Topics include: identifying a suitable project, researching and evaluating existing solutions, proposing a new solution, performing concept definition and requirements analysis, preparing design documents (plans and specifications), and presenting a solution to a review board.

 

Student Outcomes: After successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Conduct an extensive literature review (articles, books, newsletters, patents, etc.) to identify a real-world problem. [IL1] [IL2]
• Explain the pros and cons of existing AI solutions to the problem, and propose new solutions to fill the existing gaps. [IL2] [IL3]
• Apply fundamental knowledge of Intelligent Systems Engineering to prepare design documents, including technical specifications. [WI1] [IL3]
• Write technical proposals for identified solutions [IL3] [WI1][WI2]
• Create a proof-of-concept prototype to ease the full implementation of the solution during the second semester.
• Present their solutions to a review committee of technical expertise from academia, industry, and government agencies.

 

What else do I need to know about this course? Prerequisites: ISE 360, ISE 411, and senior standing. The main objectives of this course are Provide students the opportunity to identify real-world problems related to their discipline and apply and synthesize knowledge and skills gained in the Intelligent Systems Engineering program to propose executable new solutions and plans. Prepare students for the professional environment. Therefore, you will use a variety of tools and techniques that you have learned in the ISE program. You will also take initiative to learn what is specifically needed for your research project to fill any gaps in knowledge you may have while taking this course. Each project is led by one of the ISE-affiliated faculty, and you will work closely with them to meet various milestones. The course instructor is mainly responsible for administrative tasks and monitoring the overall progress of the students. Capstone I and II will be the most time-consuming, challenging, and rewarding courses in the ISE program. Plan carefully to complete deliverables and projects in a timely manner.

 

What do I do when I need help? If you need help, talk to me or shoot me an email. I will do all I can to help you understand the materials. How to contact Dr. Saeidi? E-mail: saeidih@uncw.edu Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3 pm-4 pm, Fridays, 2 p.m.-3 p.m., and also by appointment. Office: 2038 Congdon Hall Phone: (910) 962-2094 You can email me at any time but I only respond to emails from 8 am to 5 pm. All the emails regarding ISE461 must be in the following format; otherwise, I might not open them in time:   ISE410 – proper title   For example "ISE461 – Deliverable 5"

 

Textbooks (Optional)

• A Primer for Model-Based Systems Engineering (2nd Edition)
• INCOSE System Engineering Handbook
• Technical Writing for Engineers & Scientists 3rd Edition, by Leo Finkelstein, McGraw Hill  

Other Resources (More resources will be posted in different modules)

 

Grading

A modified 10-point scale will be used to compute your course grade. Pluses and minuses will be assigned based on the following chart.

Deliverables: 

See the week-by-week content at the bottom of this page and the deadlines posted on Canvas for more accurate timelines.

Tasks/deliverables	Grade	Category
Participation	5%	Attendance and active participation
Deliverable 1: Identify project and advisor	5%	Proposal development
Deliverable 2: Identify the problem (2–4-page report, mostly literature review)	10%	Proposal development
Deliverable 3: Propose a solution, risk assessment, and contingency plan (Deliverable 2 + an additional 2-4 pages of report + draft of slides for presentation)	10%	Proposal development
Deliverable 4: Interim project presentations	10%	Presentations
Deliverable 5 (create a prototype): Deliverable 3 + Diagrams, system requirements, design descriptions, and code repositories	25%	Proof of concept prototype
Deliverable 6: Final version of the proposal report + presentation	25%	Final report
Deliverable 7: Final presentation	10%	Presentations

 

 

Presentations:

• For the interim presentations, each student will have 15 minutes to present the results, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session.  Please refer to the deadlines posted in the corresponding module.
• For the final presentations, each student will have 20 minutes to present the results, followed by a 10-minute Q&A session.  This presentation will be during the exam week, and all ISE faculty will be present. Please refer to the deadlines posted in the corresponding module.

 

Late submission policy for the deliverables:

• Prompt notification  (for good reason, documented illness, etc.) is required. Late submissions will not be accepted if not communicated with the instructor before the deadline (results in a 0 grade).
• Otherwise, a 10% penalty per day.
• After 3 days,  it will result in a 0 grade for the specific deliverable. 

 

Attendance: 

Regular attendance is expected. This course proceeds at such a pace that class absence can have an impact on student performance and final grades. Each student is responsible for all the work in all class sessions. Unavoidable schedule changes may be announced in class and class participation and in-class activities may impact final grade determination in some cases. 

Students must wait 15 minutes if the professor is late for class.

Anticipated Absences. Anticipated absences should be reported to the instructor at least seven days before the absence is scheduled to occur. Situations in which an instructor is encouraged to approve a documented anticipated absence include:

• Attendance at university-sponsored activities in which the student is representing UNCW, e.g., a professional meeting in which the student presents his or her research, required varsity athletic events for team members, or required events for SGA officers. Instructors may require certification of the student’s participation from the administrator in charge of the activity. Absences for university-affiliated, but not directly sponsored, activities (such as a club or Greek life events) do not qualify under this policy.
• Required court attendance as certified by the Clerk of Court.
• Required military duty as certified by the student’s commanding officer.

Unanticipated Absences. Students are encouraged to communicate with instructors in a timely fashion after unanticipated absences from class. Each faculty member determines how to treat such absences but typically will excuse absences due to health emergencies, death in the family, or a comparable emergency when supported by verifying documentation from the student. 

Two missed submissions or three unexcused absences will result in an F grade in the class.

 

 

Academic Integrity

Use of any AI code generators is not allowed. Violators will be reported. See here for more details

https://uncw.edu/about/university-administration/student-affairs/departments/dean-students/honor-code/Links to an external site.

For this course, we will gradually adopt the following guidelines from https://www.ieee-ras.org/publications/guidelines-for-generative-ai-usage

However, the first deliverables must be done without any help from AI!

 

University Policy on academic integrity will be followed for this course. Cheating will be taken very seriously, resulting in harsh penalties. Since the skills required in this class are also required in the next class, cheating in this class will seriously hamper your ability to pass the next class. Please refer to this page for more information about the University policies. 

Any dissemination of class notes, lecture slides, recordings, handouts, copies of exams, or any other course materials without permission of the instructor is prohibited by UNCW policy.  UNCW Copyright Use and Ownership Policy (http://www.uncw.edu/policies/documents/01210.copyrightpolicy.pdf) specifies that class notes and related materials are considered derivative of the original intellectual property of the course instructor. Therefore, the instructor (not the student) owns the copyright and must provide specific permission to distribute and/or reuse those materials for anything other than personal use and scholarship by the student. Commercial use, display, or dissemination of such notes, copies, or recordings—as well as posting to websites--will generally constitute an infringement of copyright and the Honor Code.  Materials that qualify as student-owned are listed in the policy.

Health and Safety Protocols:

Please do not come to class when you are not feeling well or are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. Inform the instructor so that proper measures can be taken for you to keep up with the class pace. If you have been exposed to COVID-19 or are concerned about exposure, please contact the Student Health Center at (910) 962-3280 for specific information about testing, contact tracing and quarantine/isolation requirements, which differ for vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals, according to CDC guidance. Remember, keeping healthy is essential to keeping campus open! Thank you for your help and compliance.