COS 333 Project Demo Suggestions
Wed Apr 27 07:59:36 EDT 2005
Demos will be on Thursday May 5 in Friend 006 [not the regular classroom!]
between 1 and 5:30.
Check out your equipment before then
to make sure things work.
I will bring my Windows XP SP2 laptop with Office 2000, Internet
Explorer 6, Mozilla Firefox 1.0, Java 1.4, and a network connection behind
the CS firewall. That's more for backup than something to count on, however;
you will almost surely do better to use your own machine. But make
sure things work in that room -- don't leave connectivity to the last minute.
No matter what you plan, be able to keep talking even if something breaks.
As to content, the "trade show" metaphor is useful, but you should
aim for more than just a glitzy demo. We're really looking for
evidence that you accomplished something, that you learned something,
and that you can present something clearly. You might think of
- a short introduction to what your system is supposed to do
- a quick summary of major features
- a demo of a small number (two or three?) of features; glitzy is
fine but pick features known to work
- a brief overview of architecture, implementation, or how it works
- something that worked well or failed to work out
or that you might explore if there were more time
You are allotted 30 minutes. Plan on using 25 minutes, to leave time
for questions, setup and teardown, and other delays.
Here are some minor suggestions that might help things go smoothly.
- Rehearse! Most groups in previous years have done well on timing; keep the streak alive.
- Don't do a demo that requires a lot of typing or mousing. As you've
seen in class, things sometimes go awry and audiences get restless while
you poke around.
- Focus on a few representative things, whether features or details
or interesting topics; don't get too wrapped up in trivia.
- Have fun. These projects are really interesting, and the enthusiasm
of their presenters helps make that evident.
- Come to other presentations too (cf. fun, above), and bring friends
and family if you like.
Grading criteria include the following:
- good organization of material
- clear overview, motivation
- good examples to illustrate the system
- system apparently works most of the time
- smooth presentation, with evidence of rehearsal
- stays within allotted time