This course offers students a unique opportunity for the advanced study of a special thematic area within the disciplines of human-centred and creative computing. The topics will vary from year to year in response to emerging challenges in these disciplines, as well as the research interests and expertise of academics and sessional staff. Topics will be drawn from the broad areas of human-computer interaction and creative computing, and could include (but not limited to) the following topics: human-centred AI, design research methodologies, interface design with e-textiles, interface design with recycled materials, augmented reality and spatial computing.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1.  Demonstrate a broad knowledge in the advanced topic and its role and applications in computing
2. Critically evaluate the scholarly literature related to the advanced topic and/or applications of the advanced topic in computing
3. Plan and execute project work and/or a piece of research and scholarship in the advanced topic
4. Reflect on current approaches of the advanced topic and evaluate their limitations

Research-Led Teaching

This course is taught at the frontier of agentic software development. LLM-based coding agents are a fast-moving area with little settled pedagogy; COMP4020 is among the first courses designed around the agentic paradigm rather than retrofitted to it. Teaching draws on current practitioner and scholarly writing, and students engage directly with that literature when critiquing and developing their own prototypes. Reflective practice — reflection-in-action with the agent, reflection-on-action on your own transcripts, and reflection-with-others in the crit — is the core of the course pedagogy.

Additional Course Costs

None - see "Recommended Resources" below.

Required Resources

You need to be able to run Claude Code (claude.com/product/claude-code) and the other command-line tools common in web development (for example Node.js, nodejs.org). You will also need a GitHub account (github.com) and a Fly.io account (fly.io).

Recommended Resources

The course also uses a range of web and agentic tooling, for example Vitest (vitest.dev) and agent-browser (github.com/vercel-labs/agent-browser). None of this will leave you out of pocket: the required software is free of charge, and for the few services that do cost money — Claude Code usage and Fly.io hosting — you will be given a credit allocation to cover your coursework.

Required and recommended readings are primarily online resources and will be hosted on or linked to from the course website.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

Workload: 130 hours of student learning across the semester including learning activities and independent work outside of class.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Bootstrap: the agent loop; your first prototype	No crit (orientation)
2	Specs and self-portrait	Crit 1
3	The good gradient	Crit 2
4	Context engineering	Crit 3 (Assignment 1 retro); Assignment 1 due
5	Learning to judge	Crit 4
6	Evidence of practice	Crit 5. Mid-semester teaching break follows (7–20 September).
7	The hinge: static ? full-stack	Crit 6 (Assignment 2 retro); Assignment 2 due
8	Data	Crit 7
9	Sessions, auth, things that go wrong	Crit 8
10	Orchestration and observability	Crit 9
11	Critique, security, taste	Crit 10
12	Wrap-up; Assignment 3 finalisation	No crit. Final Project (Assignment 3) due in the exam period (Monday 9 November).

Tutorial Registration

Register for tutorials using MyTimetable.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Studio Crit	20 %	*	*	2, 3, 4
Assignment 1	20 %	17/08/2026	28/08/2026	1, 3
Assignment 2	20 %	21/09/2026	02/10/2026	1, 3, 4
Final Project (Assignment 3)	40 %	09/11/2026	*	1, 3

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Canvas’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

COMP8020 runs as a design studio. The weekly studio crit is a collaborative, in-person session in which you demonstrate work-in-progress prototypes and give and receive critique from both peers and course instructors. Attendance and active contribution are expected and are assessed (see Studio engagement). Because the crits are built around live demonstration and discussion, they cannot be completed remotely.

Examination(s)

This course does not have an examination.

Assessment Task 1

Studio Crit

In the weekly studio crit you demo a work-in-progress prototype and give and receive feedback from peers and instructors. There are ten crits across the semester (Weeks 2–11). Each is worth 2%: one mark for the prototype submitted against that week's spec, and one for your contribution to the crit discussion, including explaining how the agent produced it — its model capabilities, tool use and context.

Alongside each prototype you submit a short written reflection on the developer you want to become and the breakthrough that moved the work forward (exact prompts on the course website).

Studio engagement is marked in class by the tutor against a per-criterion mark sheet with two criteria each week. The first, prototype fit to spec, is assessed from the prototype as submitted for that crit and covers how well it meets the week's spec, including whether it is an appropriately scoped response to the brief. The second, crit contribution, is judged live in the session and covers your contribution to the discussion and your account of how the agent produced the work (its model capabilities, tool use and context). Because studio engagement is non-written assessment worth more than 10% of the course, its validation record is the tutor's completed mark sheet together with your submitted prototype (in your repository) and written reflection; these stand as the assessable record in place of a recording. Late or remote submission is not available, as the crit is a live activity.

Assessment Task 2

Assignment 1

Assignment 1 is the first individual prototype: a static web app, designed and built with an agentic coding workflow and deployed via GitHub Pages. The emphasis is on getting something out the door and on the legibility of your process — how you directed, grounded and corrected the agent — as much as on the finished artefact.

Your submission includes the deployed prototype, its source repository, and evidence of process. The assessment criteria are the working deployed artefact (does it run and meet the brief), the legibility of your process (how you directed, grounded and corrected the agent), and the fit of your submission to the brief, including an appropriately scoped and concise write-up. See the course website for the detailed specification and submission details. This is an individual assessment.

Assessment Task 3

Assignment 2

Assignment 2 returns to a static prototype, but the bar moves from "get it out the door" to "make it good": artefact quality together with reflective evidence of a maturing practice. You are expected to bring the tooling and harness that put backpressure on the agent (for example linting, testing, accessibility and performance checks) and to show how the scholarly and practitioner literature informed your decisions.

Your submission includes the deployed prototype, its source repository, and reflective evidence of process. The assessment criteria are artefact quality, the tooling and harness you bring to bear on the agent, reflective evidence of a maturing practice informed by the literature, and the fit of your submission to the brief, including an appropriately scoped and concise write-up. See the course website for the detailed specification and submission details. This is an individual assessment.

Assessment Task 4

Final Project (Assignment 3)

The final project is a full-stack web application with a persistent backend, deployed to fly.io. You design, build, test and deploy the prototype using an agentic coding workflow, choosing and justifying your stack and your agent workflow.

Your work is submitted as a portfolio including the deployed application, its source repository, evidence of process, and a reflection on the workflow you ran and where it succeeded or failed. The assessment criteria are the deployed full-stack application, the justification of your stack and agent workflow, and the evidence and reflection on process, including a portfolio that is an appropriately scoped and concise response to the brief.

As the 8000-level component, the portfolio also carries a short critical research note (~1000 words, worth 10% of the 40%): a position on what constitutes good agentic software-development practice, or where the field is heading, argued from and cited against the scholarly and practitioner literature. The note is reflection-on-action in scholarly register — it asks you to synthesise and critically evaluate the literature engaged across the course rather than merely summarise it, and it is what brings Learning Outcome 4 into the capstone. The note is marked on the quality of your argument, your engagement with the cited literature, and whether it is an appropriately scoped and concise response at around the indicated length.

See the course website for the detailed specification and submission details. This is an individual assessment.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students