This assignment is the second addressing presentation skills - an important part of the communication that's central to software engineering.

A reminder from last time: No presentation can be successful if its authors do not consider who the audience is. What can you assume they know? What can you tell them in the time you have that they can absorb and remember? What do you want them to come away with? How can you make sure they stay awake? I'm sure you've attended many lectures where you wish the instructor had asked him or herself these questions. Now you have a chance to do it right.

Your audience is again the rest of the class, this time acting as themselves rather than pretending to be foundation executives.

Your assignment is to present some technical material that you learned while working on your project. It might be tools you found and mastered, or design issues you faced and solved. The goal is to provide your classmates with some information they can really use - this year on their own projects, if possible. Later in their careers as engineers if that's not feasible. Stories about things that went wrong are always instructive.

Again, each team will prepare a single presentation. The two team members who only listened last time will present this time.

Your presentation should take between 25 minutes and half an hour. Be prepared to answer questions, both during and after. The audience will be prepared to ask them.

You probably should use powerpoint, but need not if it's not appropriate for the material you choose. You may want to provide handouts covering technical things you present.

The four presentations will fit in the two class periods on one day. I'll decide on the order by lot, at the last minute.

After the talks you should go home and prepare notes about each presentation - comment on both substance and style. Turn in two copies, one signed, one not. I will read them and then pass them (anonymously) on to the presenters so that they can learn from you what they did well and what they did poorly.

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