External Projects and Partners: Addressing Challenges and Minimizing Risks from the Outset

Software development projects sourced from external organizations can serve as an excellent platform to help build student competencies because they often provide an environment where students can practice applying their knowledge and skills in an authentic context. However, there are many challenges and risks that can jeopardize the successful execution of such projects. In this report, we discuss some of the lessons learned about the pain points encountered by computing faculty with over a decade of experience running a software engineering studio where teams of undergraduate students work on long-term projects sourced from external partners. Our experience is based on working with a mix of project partners with a major emphasis on non-profit and community organizations and non-technical project partners. We focus on a strategy to carefully screen prospective projects to reveal possible challenges in order to avoid or minimize risks that could impact student learning outcomes.