2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Abstract: Task planning is a foundational project management activity in North Carolina State University’s Computer Science (CS) senior capstone wherein student teams collaboratively outline their preliminary requirements and system architecture along with an early vision of implementation and testing. However, there are currently no student-centered assessments designed to evaluate which task planning activities teams find more effective and which they perceive as less effective to their learning process.

To address this gap, we have developed a PreTask Planning Survey (Pre-TPS) to gauge students’ perceptions of course activities and team cohesiveness prior to the project management activity, and a Post-Task Planning Survey (PostTPS) to evaluate their approaches to task division and project scoping after the activity. This paper describes the steps taken to develop and deploy the surveys to 70+ student learners across two sections of Senior Design during the Fall 2024 semester. Results are presented along with a qualitative analysis of student feedback. Considerations for improving the surveys and their implications on future sections of the capstone are also discussed.