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LSET Capstone Projects are Meant to Provide a Practical Experience of Real Professions

Capstone Project

London School of Emerging Technology > Capstone Project

LSET Capstone Projects

While studying in the LSET certificate courses, students may become acquainted with the term ‘Capstone Projects’ and wonder “, what are they and why are they required?”. LSET Capstone Projects might vary from course to course and are often necessary to give students the practical opportunity to apply the learned concepts in the area of their professional practice.

LSET Capstone Projects are Meant to Provide a Practical Experience of Real Professions

Capstone Project

LSET gives you an opportunity to work on the real world project which will greatly help you to build your technical portfolio

Project Topic: Online Banking

London has been a leading international financial centre since the 19th century. In recent years, London has seen many FinTech start-ups and significant innovations in the banking sector. This project aims to introduce students to the financial industry and technologies used to handle billions of daily transactions. As part of this project, students will learn the current technological advances and build up their knowledge to start a simple banking application. This application uses agile project management practices to build basic functionality. Students will be presented with user stories to create the initial project backlog. Students need to enhance this backlog by adding more relevant user stories and working on them.

LSET emphasises project-based learning as it allows the students to master the course content by going through near real-world work experience. LSET projects are carefully designed to teach the industry-required skills and mindset. It motivates the students on various essential aspects like learning to work in teams, improving communication with peers, taking the initiative to look for innovative solutions, enhancing problem-solving skills, understanding the end user requirements to build user-specific products, etc.

Capstone Projects build students’ confidence in handling projects and applying their newly learned skills to solve real-world problems. This allows the students to reflect upon their learning and find the opportunity to get the most out of the course. Learn more about Capstone Projects here.

Guidance and Help

A dedicated project coordinator who can mentor students on the process will be assigned to this project. Students can also avail of the instructor’s hours as and when needed. LSET may get an industry expert with subject-specific experience to help students understand the industry and its challenges.

Project Management

A five-stage project management process
The project management process is generally divided into phases that take the project from its inception to its completion. Stages include:

initiation

planning

execution

monitoring & control

closure

There is often overlap between these phases and the project life cycle. They can assist you in determining the optimal flow and sequence of operations to bring your project to a successful conclusion. In addition, our project management checklist can assist you in segmenting the tasks for each phase of the project.

1. Project initiation

An initiation is the formal start of a project. The process usually begins with the issuance of a project mandate that briefly describes the purpose of the project and authorises budget expenditures for the project.

You should define the project at this stage in a broad sense. Typically, this begins with:
  • Making a business case - demonstrating the need for the project and estimating its potential benefits
  • Feasibility study - evaluates the problem to determine whether the project will solve it
  • your business case
  • project goals, scope and size
  • project constraints
  • project risks
  • stakeholders
  • project controls and reporting framework
  • the criteria for closing and assessing the project
  • project organisation (defining the 'who, why, what, when and how' of the project)

2. Project definition and planning

The planning of a project is an essential component of successful project management. Typically, this stage begins with the setting of goals. There are two most common approaches:
  • SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
  • CLEAR (collaborative, limited, emotional, appreciable, refineable)

It is at this stage that you will also define the project scope, develop a project plan, and develop a work breakdown schedule. The process involves identifying:

  • time, cost and resources that are at your disposal
  • roles and responsibilities for the project
  • quality
  • milestones
  • baseline performance measures
  • progress checkpoints
  • risk and resources for resolving unforeseen issues

2. Project definition and planning

The planning of a project is an essential component of successful project management. Typically, this stage begins with the setting of goals. There are two most common approaches:
  • SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
  • CLEAR (collaborative, limited, emotional, appreciable, refineable)

It is at this stage that you will also define the project scope, develop a project plan, and develop a work breakdown schedule. The process involves identifying:

  • time, cost and resources that are at your disposal
  • roles and responsibilities for the project
  • quality
  • milestones
  • baseline performance measures
  • progress checkpoints
  • risk and resources for resolving unforeseen issues

A communication plan (especially if you have external stakeholders) as well as a risk management plan should also be developed during this stage.

3. Project launch and implementation

Implementation (also known as project execution) is the process by which your project plan is put into action. A 'kick-off meeting' is often held at the beginning of a project.

As part of this phase, you will complete the tasks and activities specified in your project plan in order to produce the project deliverables. If you are creating a promotional pack for a trade show, for example, you might collect product information and prices, and complete all of your product photography and get the customer's approval.

Managers may direct this work in the following ways:
  • overseeing a team
  • managing budget and resources
  • communicating to stakeholders

Careful monitoring and control at this stage can help you keep the project plan on track. You can use a range of tools and processes to help you manage things like time, cost, quality and risks, or to communicate progress and manage customer acceptance.

4. Project monitoring and control

Due to the fact that monitoring and control often occur simultaneously, they overlap with execution. They must also resolve any issues that arise during the course of daily operations in addition to measuring project progress and performance.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) can be used to determine whether your project is on track. Some examples of things you could measure are as follows:
  • if your project is on schedule and budget
  • if specific tasks are being completed
  • if issues are adequately addressed

It may be necessary to adjust schedules and resources during this period to ensure that your project remains on schedule. Learn how to measure performance and set goals.

5. Project close

You will complete your work during this final phase and dissolve the project. Closure does not necessarily indicate success, but rather the completion of a project - for example, cancellation of unsuccessful projects can lead to closure.

Closing a project typically involves the following activities:
  • handing over the deliverables
  • releasing staff and resources
  • archiving or handing over any relevant project documents
  • cancelling supplier contracts
  • completion of all activities across the project
  • preparing the final project budget and report
  • handover into business as usual if this applies

It is possible to conduct a post-implementation project review (sometimes referred to as a ‘post mortem’ meeting) after the project has been closed. This is an opportunity to evaluate what went well and what did not go well. It is important to understand failures, if there were any, in order to improve the way you conduct future projects in the future.

The problem in the Industry

Many educational courses are solely based on theoretical knowledge and rarely let the students gain some practical exposure. However, this learning system was only effective in the past, and today we require more practical experience to align students with the real work environment. The professionals might get the chance to gain practical knowledge while being employed, but the fresh students might not get enough opportunities for practical experience. These students might perform exceptionally well in theoretical knowledge tests but often lack applied knowledge. This creates challenges in cracking job interviews. Despite having strong educational qualifications, the lack of practical experience or project work puts their resume down. All they need is an interactive research-based project that can be conducted either physically or virtually. This could be the best way to encourage students to participate in groups with a strong team spirit. The real-life simulated environment can provide the best space for students to apply what they have learnt in the class.

What is a Capstone Project?

A capstone project is basically a practical project where the students have to identify an existing real-world problem and apply their learned skills and methods to solve the problem directly. Such a project creates a culminating academic and intellectual experience for the students for a course. These types of projects could be challenging, but they are rewarding as well. The students taking a capstone project can experience the practical side of learning and can polish their professional knowledge and skills.

What Exactly is there in a Capstone Project?

Capstone projects could be present in different forms. Either they could be present in a series of tests or a comprehensive exam. Most commonly, though, educational institutions want students to complete a project by solving a real-world problem.

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