CS 471 Fall 2025  >  Case Study Presentation

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CS 471 Fall 2025
Case Study Presentation

General

In class on Monday, November 17, or the following class meeting day if we run out of time, each of the case study groups will make an in-person presentation on their assigned case study. This is worth 80 points in the course grade.

Presentations will be made in the classroom. They are expected to be 15–20 minutes long, not including time for questions at the end. Presentations will be recorded and may be viewed by other CS faculty members. The order in which groups will present will not be announced in advance.

In Assignment 5, you will turn in a draft version of your presentation slides. This will be worth an additional 40 points.

Formality

This is to be an informal presentation. No special dress is required.

Audience

As with previous presentations this semester, the intended audience for each of your presentations is the class. Pitch each presentation at a level that a CS 471 student can understand. You do not need to explain things that every CS 471 student will know, but specialized terminology, abbreviations, etc. must be explained.

Slides

During your presentation, slides (that is, PowerPoint, Google Slides, or similar) must be displayed on the classroom projector. You will turn in your slides twice, both times in the form of a PDF file. First, a draft of your slides will be submitted for Assignment 5. Second, by the day of your presentation, you will turn in the slides that you actually use in your presentation. A spot will be created on the UA Canvas site to allow for this.

Participation

All group members must be involved in the presentation, with each member doing a substantial portion of the speaking.

Content

Cover the following in your presentation. Acknowledging sources is required.

• Summary of the project
  • What was the purpose of the system?
  • What was promised?
  • What was delivered?
  • Would you call the project a success or a failure?
    • Your answer may be more nuanced, indicating that the project succeeded in some ways and failed in others. Regardless, do answer the question.
• If this was a successful project:
  • What were the reasons for the project’s success?
  • Were any aspects the result of the software process used?
  • What should be repeated in future projects?
  • Where there any issues that almost caused the project to fail?
• If this was a failed project:
  • What were the reasons for the project’s failure?
  • Could the project have been successful, or was it doomed to failure?
  • If the project could have been successful, then, in hindsight, how would you have fixed it? For example:
    • Improved the development processes somehow?
    • Revised the communications methods and expectations?
    • Handled deadlines and deliverables differently
    • Changed the scope to solve a different problem?
    • … something else?

When you are done, open up the floor for questions or comments. Be clear about when the question period begins.

Notes

• The above is about what to cover in your presentation. However, it does not dictate how your presentation is to be organized. Think about this. In what order should information be presented to your audience to facilitate understanding? How should slides be titled and formatted? Etc.
• Do not settle for the non-technical reasons that you will find in most information sources. Dig deeper to discover the true causes.
• Software is always for something, so you will probably need to discuss non-software aspects of your assigned project. However, the emphasis needs to be on issues related to software and/or web development.
• We have spent a lot of time talking about how to communicate information well. Apply these ideas to your slides and your presentation!