A realistic capstone timeline: two semesters mapped to the SDLC

Most Philippine programs split the capstone across two terms. Capstone 1 (sometimes called Capstone Project 1 or Thesis 1) ends with a proposal defense on Chapters 1 to 3. Capstone 2 ends with a final defense on the working system and the full manuscript. The exact dates depend on your school calendar, but the shape below holds for most BSIT, BSIS, and BSCS programs.

The one rule that protects you

Plan the build to finish in about 60 percent of the time you have. The remaining 40 percent goes to testing, evaluation, documentation, revisions, and defense preparation. Teams that plan to code until the last week do not have time to fix what the panel finds.

Capstone 1: proposal term (about 14 to 16 weeks)

Weeks 1 to 2: constraints and candidate titles. Write down team size, time, required stack, hardware, and budget. Shortlist three titles that fit, each with a named beneficiary.

Weeks 3 to 4: title hearing. Present the shortlisted titles to the adviser or the panel. Get the chosen title approved in writing before you write a chapter.

Weeks 5 to 8: Chapters 1 and 2. Interview the beneficiary and document the current process. Write the objectives and scope, then the literature and studies with a synthesis.

Weeks 9 to 11: Chapter 3 and system design. Choose the development model, draw the use case, entity relationship, and data flow diagrams, and decide the stack. Draft the test plan and the evaluation instrument.

Weeks 12 to 13: proposal defense preparation. Build a clickable prototype or a thin working slice so the panel sees the shape of the system. Rehearse the presentation at least twice.

Weeks 14 to 16: proposal defense and revisions. Record every panel comment on a revision sheet and address each one before the term ends.

Capstone 2: build and defend (about 14 to 18 weeks)

Weeks 1 to 2: setup. Repository, database schema, hosting, and the project board. Agree on the module each member owns and the dates each one is due.

Weeks 3 to 8: core build. Build the main workflow first, the one that directly satisfies the primary objective. Add roles, reports, and secondary features only after the core works end to end.

Weeks 9 to 10: testing and fixes. Run unit, integration, and user acceptance testing with real users from the beneficiary. Log every defect and its fix; this becomes part of Chapter 4.

Weeks 11 to 12: evaluation. Deploy the system, run the ISO 25010 or school-prescribed questionnaire with the respondents named in Chapter 3, and compute the results.

Weeks 13 to 14: Chapters 4 and 5. Screenshots per module, test results, evaluation tables with interpretation, conclusions per objective, and recommendations.

Week 15: code freeze and mock defense. No more changes to the system. Prepare the live deployment, an offline copy, a recorded demo, and seeded sample data.

Weeks 16 to 18: final defense, revisions, and submission. Address the revision sheet, get the approval sheet signed, and submit the bound manuscript and the system per your manual.

Signs you are behind, and what to do

• The core workflow is not working end to end by the middle of Capstone 2: cut secondary features now, not later.
• No real users have touched the system by week 9: schedule user testing immediately, even with three people.
• Evaluation is pushed to the last week: the results must be in the manuscript, so this is the first thing to rescue.
• Only one member can run the demo: cross-train in the last two weeks.

A note on school calendars

Programs on the August to December and January to May calendar usually hold proposal defenses around November to December and final defenses around April to May. Programs on a June start shift everything earlier. Check your capstone manual for the exact defense windows and plan backwards from those dates.

Where we fit in

If you are short on weeks, Karakoa can take the build while you focus on the manuscript, the evaluation, and the defense. We work in milestones that line up with this timeline, so the system is ready for user testing and evaluation on schedule. See the capstone and thesis service page for what is included.