The big idea: Your capstone is one project told in many deliverables: each one builds on the last, so the weekly work you do in the fall is what your report and poster stand on in the spring.
In 60 seconds
- BUAD 497 is one year, one real client and one design challenge.
- Every deliverable builds on the last, so your weekly briefs become your report and poster.
- Plan the year as one project, and flag risks in your brief the week you see them.
Do this: plan your year from the Summer Prototype Update to EUReCA and write a Weekly Consulting Brief every week.
How the capstone year works
BUAD 497 is one year, one real client and one design challenge. You move through the three phases of IDEO’s human-centered design process: Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation. Then you share what you built in a technical report and a public poster at EUReCA.
Inspiration
Summer. Go back to people and check what you learned in BUAD 317 still holds.
Show it: Summer Prototype Update.
Ideation
Fall. Generate ideas, build and test prototypes, iterate with your client.
Show it: Weekly Consulting Briefs and the Final Prototype Presentation to Class.
Implementation
December into spring. Turn the idea into a plan someone can run: canvases, roadmap, pilot, success measures.
Show it: your implementation plan, briefs every week.
Share it
Spring. Write it up, rehearse it and defend it in public.
Show it: HCD Technical Report, EUReCA abstract and poster.
One thread runs through all of it
Your weekly briefs record what you did, what you learned and what changed. That record feeds every presentation, and it becomes the methods and iteration story in your technical report. The report and the poster follow a very similar outline, and your abstract summarizes both. Do the small weekly work well and the big spring work mostly writes itself.
What you bring from IB 407 and BUAD 317
From IB 407 in London
Empathy, defining the problem with How Might We questions, ideation, prototyping, testing, storytelling and leading a design team.
Shows up in: every prototype round, both fall presentations and your poster story.
From BUAD 317 in Knoxville
Action research, literature review, interview questions, ethical stakeholder interviews, analysis and synthesis, research quality, street testing and your Capstone Presentation.
Shows up in: your weekly briefs, the research sections of your report and your EUReCA abstract.
Your client is real
Treat every class session as a client meeting. Outside guests may join without notice, so dress the part. Keep confidential client information out of public AI tools.
Expect honest feedback
Lane and Jules give direct, human-centered feedback aimed at your best work. Treat it as data, not a verdict. The syllabus names two traps to watch for: imposter syndrome and the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Time, grades and expectationsWhat the syllabus asks of you across both semesters
- Two semesters, one course. BUAD 497 is 3 credit hours spread over fall and spring. The fall grade is formative, the spring grade is summative, and you need a C or better in both.
- Time outside class. Plan on about 200 minutes or more each week, roughly 50 or more hours a semester. Some weeks take more.
- Class time. Tuesday evenings, mostly consulting time with your team and faculty.
- Fall points (100). Punctual attendance 15, Summer Update 15, Weekly Consulting Updates 20 (2 points each week), Final Prototype PowerPoint Presentation 50.
- Spring. Attendance, weekly team consulting reports, the poster presentation, EUReCA participation and the HCD Technical Report. Check Canvas for points and dates.
Schedules and deliverables can change. Canvas and email from Lane and Jules are the final word.
The Implementation toolkitThe topics that start in December, with the guides that go with them
The Implementation phase draws on the HCD Field Guide. It covers the Business Model Canvas, the Value Proposition Canvas, live prototyping, a roadmap, resource assessment, partnerships, a ways to grow framework, staffing, a funding strategy, a pilot, defining success, iterating, creating a pitch, sustainable revenue, monitoring and evaluating, and getting feedback.
Working with a client for a whole yearHabits that keep the relationship strong
Scope it together
Agree on the challenge, who you can talk to and what a useful result looks like. Revisit it after the Summer Prototype Update.
No surprises
Flag risks early in your weekly brief and tell your client before small problems grow.
Protect their information
Ask what you can share in your report and on a public poster. Keep private data out of public AI tools.
Plan the handoff
Your work only matters if someone keeps it going. Ask early who would own the idea after you graduate.
Where 497 fits in the certificateThe last course in the Human Centered Consulting sequence
BUAD 497 is the final course in the Human Centered Consulting Certificate. Completing IB 407, BUAD 317, BUAD 417, BUAD 427 and BUAD 497 earns the certificate. The required text is the same one you used in BUAD 317: The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design by IDEO.org.
Try it: Capstone Year Planner
Tool · BUAD 497
Capstone Year Planner
See the whole capstone year on one page and know exactly what to do next.
- 1Locate
- 2Check off
- 3Share
Builds on, feeds, start now
All done criteria
Put it to work: plan your year from the Summer Update to EUReCA
Every graded piece of BUAD 497 builds on the one before it. Plan the year as one project, not a string of separate assignments. Use the Capstone Year Planner at the start of each semester and whenever your team feels behind.
Plan your year in seven steps
Reset the baseline
Recap where you left off in BUAD 317, say plainly what happened over the summer and bring the prototype as it is today.
Your deliverable: the Summer Prototype Update, 15 minutes plus 5 minutes of discussion.
Set the weekly rhythm
Pick a day to write the brief, a teammate to own it and a shared folder to keep every one.
Your deliverable: a Weekly Consulting Brief in Canvas, every week, one page.
Build and test toward November
Prototype, test with real people, change what testing tells you to change.
Your deliverable: the Final Prototype Presentation to Class.
Turn the idea into a plan
Use the Implementation toolkit: canvases, roadmap, resources, partners, pilot and success measures.
Your deliverable: an implementation plan your client has reacted to.
Register and write the abstract
Register for EUReCA as a capstone group project during the spring window, with Lane and Jules as faculty mentors.
Your deliverable: your EUReCA abstract and registration confirmation, uploaded to Canvas.
Write the report as you go
Fill the SMITH GLS template section by section from your briefs. Write the executive summary last.
Your deliverable: the Honors Capstone HCD Technical Report.
Show it in public
Turn the report into a poster, rehearse it in class and present it at EUReCA.
Your deliverable: the Final Poster Presentation and your EUReCA participation.
Example: one insight, traced across the yearHow a single finding travels from a weekly brief to a poster
| Deliverable | How the insight shows up |
|---|---|
| Summer Prototype Update | “We ended 317 believing families wait because paperwork is slow. Over the summer we started to doubt it.” |
| Weekly Consulting Brief | Key insight: in 6 of 8 shadowed discharges, nurses did not know pharmacy was finished until a family member asked. |
| Final Prototype Presentation | A paper status card, tested on one unit, with what testers did and what the team changed. |
| Implementation plan | A one-unit pilot, an owner on the unit and a measure of success the hospital already tracks. |
| HCD Technical Report | The insight with its evidence, the prototype rounds and the recommendation. |
| EUReCA abstract and poster | One sentence of insight, one photo of the card and one result. |
This is an invented example to show the flow, not a real project.
Do this, not thatHabits of teams that finish strong
Do this
- Save every brief, photo, quote and test note in one shared folder.
- Start the report file in the fall.
- Book testing sessions and client check-ins weeks ahead.
- Flag risks in the brief the week you see them.
- Ask for feedback before deadlines, not after.
Not that
- Treating each deliverable as a fresh start.
- Writing the whole report in the last two weeks.
- Skipping briefs in slow weeks.
- Polishing slides instead of testing with people.
- Assuming class is over before Canvas says so.
Before each semester startsA quick team check in August and January
- [ ] We can say our client, our design challenge and our current prototype in two sentences.
- [ ] We know which deliverables are due this semester and roughly when.
- [ ] One shared folder holds every brief, photo, quote and test note.
- [ ] Someone owns the weekly brief, and we know which day we write it.
- [ ] We blocked about 200 minutes a week each for work outside class.
- [ ] We know who our client contact is and how often we check in.
- [ ] We used the Capstone Year Planner and agree on the next thing to finish.
Go deeper
Back to all BUAD 497 topics · Next: Scoping the Client Challenge
In-class team activity · 25 min
Backcast From EUReCA
By the end: A one-page backcast of your client project's year: where you really are, the poster headline you are aiming for, the deliverables that must make it true and the top risk you will act on this week. Your instructor will give you the password in class.
Part of the Smith GLS human-centered leadership sequence: IB 407, BUAD 317 and BUAD 497, toward the Human Centered Consulting Certificate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the BUAD 497 capstone?
BUAD 497 is the final course in the Human Centered Consulting Certificate: one year, one real client and one design challenge. Teams move through IDEO's three human-centered design phases, Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation, then share their work in an HCD Technical Report and a public poster at EUReCA. It is 3 credit hours spread over fall and spring.
How do the BUAD 497 deliverables connect?
Every graded piece builds on the one before it. Weekly Consulting Briefs record what the team did, learned and changed, and that record feeds the Summer Prototype Update, the Final Prototype Presentation, the implementation plan and the methods story in the HCD Technical Report. The report and poster follow a similar outline, and the abstract summarizes both.
How much time does the BUAD 497 capstone take each week?
Plan on about 200 minutes or more outside class each week, roughly 50 or more hours a semester, and some weeks take more. Class meets Tuesday evenings and is mostly consulting time with your team and faculty. The fall grade is formative, the spring grade is summative, and students need a C or better in both.
What are common mistakes teams make in a year-long consulting capstone?
Common mistakes include treating each deliverable as a fresh start, writing the whole report in the last two weeks, skipping briefs in slow weeks and polishing slides instead of testing with people. Strong teams save every brief, photo, quote and test note in one shared folder, start the report file in the fall and flag risks the week they see them.
Which courses lead into BUAD 497 in the Human Centered Consulting Certificate?
Completing IB 407, BUAD 317, BUAD 417, BUAD 427 and BUAD 497 earns the certificate. From IB 407 in London, students bring empathy, How Might We questions, ideation, prototyping, testing and storytelling. From BUAD 317 in Knoxville, they bring generative research, literature review, stakeholder interviews, analysis and synthesis, research quality and street testing.