CompSci 408 : Fall 2025

Design isn’t finished until somebody is using it. — Brenda Laurel

The exact order and details of these topics is subject to change during the semester based on the pace needed.

As much as possible, materials discussed in class will be posted here in case you miss class
Readings should be completed before class in the week on which they are listed

Date	Topic	Readings	Deliverables
Sprint 0 - Discovery (Understand the Problem)
Aug 25 Week 1	Course Overview Project Milestones Rules of Engagement Client Pitches	Tapworthy Mythical Man Month Mental Health in Software Engineering Coding and Coping with ChatGPT	Thu 8/28: Project Preferences
Sep 1 Week 2	No Class - Labor Day	Empathy in UX Design Human Change Management Using Ethics In Design
Sep 8 Week 3	From Consumer to Creator Exercises Personas and User Stories Agile Process	Scrum Guide User Personas Tips for Writing Good User Stories	Wed 9/10: Executive Summary Thu 9/11: Warmup Spike Phase 1
Sprint 1 - Pretotype (Mockup UI with Navigation)
Sep 15 Week 4	Team Building (with Duke Improv!) Team Contract User Stories	Understanding The Agile Mindset Validating Design with Low-fidelity Wireframes Usability 101	Wed 9/17: Team Contract First Draft Thu 9/18: Warmup Spike Phase 2 Fri 9/19: User Interview Report
Sep 22 Week 5	Demo and Feedback	Using the ACM Ethics Code Using ChatGPT Prompts for Coding Tasks Backlog: The Ultimate ToDo List	Mon 9/22: Pretotype Demo, during class Wed 9/24: Project Contract Fri 9/26: Wireframe User Test Report
Sprint 2 - Prototype (Most Basic Features)
Sep 29 Week 6	Developing with LLMs Agile Project Planning Example Project Board	Agile Sprint Planning Agile: Follow the Rhythm What is Kanban?	Wed 10/1: Project Plan in Wiki Fri 10/3: Project Plan as Issues
Oct 6 Week 7	Demo and Feedback Standup Meeting Ethical Impact of Software	Lean Data Practices Standup Meetings 101 Definition of Done	Mon 10/6: Prototype Demo, during class Fri 10/10: Baseline Milestone as Issues
Sprint 3 - Baseline Prototype (Core Functionality)
Oct 13 Week 8	No Class — Fall Break	Nurturing a Team to High Performance Teamwork Is An Individual Skill Software Architecture Design Reasoning	Fri 10/17: Team Contract, Version #2
Oct 20 Week 9	Standup Meeting UX Design for Accessibility Team Accessibility Activity	Designing for Web Accessibility Access For All: It’s Not Only The Law; It’s Ethical Inclusive Design at Microsoft	Wed 10/22: Accessibility Plan Fri 10/24: Design Justification
Sprint 4 - Alpha (Partial Full Functionality)
Oct 27 Week 10	Demo and Feedback Release Management Open Source Licensing	Release Management Best Practices Pick a License, Any License Open Source Ethical Considerations	Mon 10/27: Baseline Demo, during class Wed 10/29: Alpha Milestone as Issues Fri 10/31: Midpoint Team Review
Nov 3 Week 11	Guest: Ed Summers, GitHub Standup Meeting Software Testing	Automated Testing for CI/CD Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names You Are Not Done Yet	Mon 11/3: Release Management Plan Wed 11/5: User Testing Report Fri 11/7: Test Plan in Wiki and as Issues
Sprint 5 - Beta (Full Functionality)
Nov 10 Week 12	Demo and Feedback Sprint Planning	What is Agile Mindset? Agile versus Cowboy Coding See Crunch as Failure	Mon 11/10: Alpha Demo during class Wed 11/12: Beta Milestone as Issues Fri 11/14: Test Plan Implemented
Nov 17 Week 13	Standup Meeting User Testing Security	OWASP Top Ten Top 10 Secure Coding Practices Security on the Web	Wed 11/19: License Justification Fri 11/21: Final User Testing (tasks and survey)
Nov 24 Week 14	No Class — Thanksgiving	No Silver Bullet The Failure of Agile Scrum Is Modern Agile	Mon 11/24: Final Team Contract
Sprint 6 - Production (Robust Full Functionality)
Dec 1 Week 15	Final Demo and Feedback Technical Documentation Wrap Up	Checklist for Handing Off a Software Project Agile Documentation Best Practices Working Ethically At Speed	Mon 12/1: Beta Demo, during class Wed 12/3: Production Milestone as Issues Fri 12/5: Final User Testing Report
Week of Dec 8 Week 16	Technology Transfer Meeeting with Client		Mon 12/8: Final Team Review Wed 12/10: Technical Documentation Fri 12/12: Project Handoff