Welcome to Phase 5! Now that you are in Phase 5 of the Software Engineering program at Flatiron School it’s time for you to build your Capstone project. This project is intended to provide you with an opportunity to implement and demonstrate the full scope of the skills that you have acquired in your program.

You will build this project independently with some support from your Cohort Lead. In this lesson, we will provide clarification on the following:

• Project requirements: what needs to be built
• Schedule and process: what you should do and when

You must meet the following Phase 5 Project Minimum Requirements:

• Include a many to many relationship.
• Implement a minimum of 4 models.
• Implement a minimum of 5 client side routes using React router.
• Implement password protection and authentication.
• Include full CRUD on at least 1 model, following REST conventions.
• Implement validations and error handling.
• Implement something new not taught in the curriculum. (Check in with your instructor to ensure the scope of your idea is appropriate.)
• Implement useContext or Redux.
• Fully deploy and host your project.

** Please discuss with your instructor if you have any issues aligning these requirements with your project.

This is when you get to pitch whatever ideas you have for what you would like to build. We're not yet worried about what your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is or whether your idea is practical — just come up with ideas. Think of this as your research and development phase. Take some time to research and learn some additional concepts that could be helpful in your project plan such as Auth, Redux, and complex APIs and libraries. Your instructor will give you an idea of what is and isn't practical, and provide some guidance on the technologies you're investigating.

Project proposals must be submitted, presented, and approved in advance of building your capstone. You must complete a project pitch meeting with an instructor. Your proposals should be submitted as a worksheet, slide deck, wireframe, or draw.io and must include all tables, models, relationships, associations, attributes, and views.

Resources:

• How to put together a software project proposal
• How to Write a Software project Proposal from Rutgers
• How to write a proposal and get what you want

After your proposal is approved by your instructor, you may proceed with building your project.

Create a schedule that allows you to build out the bulk of your project. We encourage you to jump into the watercooler to connect with other classmates or join an Open Office Hour if you have questions about how to implement something in your project. You can find the schedule for these sessions in the calendar in Homeroom on Canvas.

Please take a week to build out the full scope of your project plan. Ensure that all bugs have been resolved and that the project is fully functional.

Take some time during this week to improve the styling of your project. While you will not be assessed on styling, this is an important skill that you want to practice and demonstrate to potential hiring managers in your job search. Once your project is completed, please submit the project, video, and blog in Canvas and schedule a 1:1 with your instructor to review your project and confirm completion of your graduation requirements.