Assignment 2: Technology Presentation

DUE FRIDAY, MAR 14 AT 11:59 PM.

Table of Contents

Overview

In this assignment, you will work in a group to create and deliver a presentation that educates the class about a specific technology of interest. This technology should be one of the options you surveyed in Assignment 1. Your presentation should provide a comprehensive overview of the technology, its applications, and its significance in the business and technical landscape.

General Guidelines

  • Presentation Length: For a team of N members (N = 3, 4, or 5), the total presentation time is 5N + 3 minutes. Target 5N minutes for the presentation and reserve the final 3 minutes for Q&A. For example, a team of 4 should aim for a 20-minute presentation followed by 3 minutes of Q&A.
  • Timing: Each team member should speak for approximately 5 minutes. Time should be divided as evenly as possible with logical transitions between speakers, but variations in timing are acceptable. Aim for one or two slides per minute.
  • Submission: Email your slides to the course staff at cs4440-staff@groups.gatech.edu by 2:00 PM on the day of your presentation. Use the subject line: “CS4440 Tech Presentation Slides - [X]” (replace [X] with your group number).

Presentation Content

Your presentation should cover the following key areas:

1. Introduction

  • Provide a general description of the technology, including definitions of key terms and concepts commonly used in business or technical literature.
  • Explain the purpose of the technology and its role in the business context.
  • For research-focused topics, highlight main research problem and its significance in the field.

2. Product Overview

  • Describe the features and functionalities typically offered by systems or tools in this technology domain.
  • Include a comparative chart of leading products in the field, highlighting their features (e.g., a Y/N matrix or detailed feature comparisons). Include at least three products for a comprehensive comparison.
  • Research-focused topics: If commercial products are not available, focus on comparing relevant research systems, frameworks, or papers. Use the comparative chart to highlight key differences in methodologies, performance, or applications. Include at least three research systems or papers.

3. Technical Details

  • Provide an in-depth technical analysis of two systems/products/tools (or one system for teams of 3). Cover aspects such as architecture, typical use cases and key technical differentiator.
  • Research-focused topics: Analyze the technical approaches of two research systems or papers. Discuss their methodologies, algorithms, or frameworks, and explain how they address the problem.

4. Sample Applications

  • Highlight one or two real-world applications of the technology. Identify major companies using the technology and discuss how they leverage it. You may present this as a case study (e.g., how Netflix uses AWS).
  • Research-focused topics: Discuss industry adoptions (if any). Present a case on how the method/system in the paper could fit into products and workflows at a company of your choice. Discuss at least one positive and negative impact of this integration.

5. Market Analysis (Optional)

  • Provide insights into the market positioning of the technology, including:
    • Relative standing of products
    • Annual revenues
    • Marketing strategies
  • Research-focused topics: Discuss the potential market impact of the technology. Analyze how the research could influence future products or industry trends.
  • Give your own prognosis and what you can gather from literature about how this product family/technology is evolving and what is likely to be happening in future.
  • Research-focused topics: Discuss open challenges, ongoing research directions, and potential breakthroughs in the field.

7. Research References (Optional)

  • Include two research paper references at the end of your presentation. Briefly summarize their contributions and relevance to the technology.

Additional Notes

  • Demos: Short demos are encouraged but not required due to time constraints or software availability issues.
  • Acknowledgment of Sources: If you use external material (e.g., figures, charts), you must acknowledge the source with a URL at the bottom of the slide where the material appears. Proper attribution is mandatory.

Submission and Grading

  • Submission: Submit your presentation slide deck on Canvas. Only one submission per group is required.
  • Grading:
    • Presentation (36 points): The team will be evaluated as a whole based on:
      • Content Quality and Depth (12 points): Evaluates the depth, accuracy, and relevance of the content presented.
      • Organization and Structure (12 points): Evaluates the logical flow and clarity of the presentation.
      • Delivery and Presentation Quality (12 points): Evaluates the effectiveness of the team’s delivery and engagement with the audience, as well as the quality and effectiveness of the slides and visual aids.
    • Participation (4 points): Your team must ask at least two questions during other groups’ presentations (on days that you are not presenting). Inform the staff of your group number before asking questions.

This assignment is worth 10% of your final grade.