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Prospective Client Information

Do you need a custom-made app? a webapp? a mobile app? a desktop app? Maybe you want an app that uses one of the many AI APIs out there?

USC CSE Seniors are looking for clients for their Capstone projects. They can build your app. For free. You just have to be available to answer their questions and give them feedback.

You can watch videos of last year's projects to get an idea of what we do.

How to Apply

If you are interested in being a client for this class then simply email Dr. Vidal a short description of your idea, by August 20. You should include:

  1. What you want the app to do, and who will use it. A short paragraph is enough.
  2. Any platform requirements you might have, such as: must be an Android app, must run on Windows, etc.

The students will read all these project descriptions and decide if they want to work on you project.

Engineering Projects

If you have an idea for a project that requires not just Computer majors, but maybe also Electrical Engineers, or Mechanical Engineers, or Civil, or Chemical, etc, then you will be interested in our College's Capstone Design Experience.

Clients will agree to the following:

There is no implied guarantee that the software provided by a team of students will work, or meet any requirements.

I (the teacher) might ask a team to implement more, or fewer, features than those requested by the client. Ultimately, the requirements for this class are dictated by the teacher. I will try to interfere as little as possible. But, I must ensure that the scope of the project is neither too large or too small. Of course, students are free to implement more features if they want to.

Clients will agree to meet with their student team about once every other week and to be available via email to answer questions about their requirements. The more feedback you give the developers the more likely it is that the final product will meet your needs.

Unless they agree otherwise before the start of the project, students will own all the code and other artifacts they produce for this class (other arrangements are possible, email me if interested) as per the University's intellectual property policy: ACAF 1.33 Procedures B:

A student who creates an Invention that results from work the student performs for a university class shall retain all rights to the intellectual property unless the student performs the work as part of a sponsored project

This means that teams are free to release their software under a license of their choosing. I recommend they choose the MIT Open Source License because

  1. It allows the client, the students, anyone, to get the full source code and continue working on it as they see fit. For example, a client can continue developing and selling the software. The students can also continue developing the code into a closed-source product if desired.

  2. It allows the students to publish their github repo to show prospective employers their work.

However, that is just my recommendation and students are free to choose as they please.

In the past, students have chosen to give the client exclusive rights to the software they write, sometimes for free, sometimes for a small fee, etc. If you want to keep all, or some, rights to the software you are free to ask for those rights up front. The students are free to choose your project, and your terms, or not. So, if you require a special licensing arrangement simply state it up front when you submit your idea.

Your idea will be posted on a webpage for the whole world to see. The students will pick their projects from this list. So, your idea will be disclosed to the whole world if I accept it. Neither the students nor I will sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement).

Important Dates

The projects start in August and end the following May. I accept project proposals from clients during the Summer before classes start, on August 20th.

You can also view all our deadlines.