During The Examination

When you are defending your projects, here are a few rules to follow:

Don’t talk

Don’t talk unless you are asked to: when a person is asked a question, s/he is the only one to answer. You must not talk to each other either: often, when one cannot answer a question, the question is asked to another member. It is then obvious why the members of the group shall not talk.

Don’t touch the screen

Don’t touch my display! You have nice fingers, but I don’t need their prints on my screen.

Tell the truth

If there is something the examiner must know (someone did not work on the project at all, some files are coming from another group etc.), say it immediately, for, if we discover that by ourselves, you will be severely sanctioned.

Learn

It is explicitly stated that you can not have worked on a stage provided this was an agreement with the group. But it is also explicitly stated that you must have learned what was to be learned from that compiler stage, which includes C++ techniques, Bison and Flex mastering, object oriented concepts, design patterns and so forth.

Complain now!

If you don’t agree with the notation, say it immediately. Private messages about “this is unfair: I worked much more than fabrice.bardeche but his grade is better than mine” are thrown away.

Conversely, there is something we wish to make clear: examiners will probably be harsh (maybe even very harsh), but this does not mean they disrespect you, or judge you badly.

You are here to defend your project and knowledge, they are here to stress them, to make sure they are right. Learning to be strong under pressure is part of the exercise. Don’t burst into tears, react! Don’t be shy, that’s not the proper time: you are selling them something, and they will never buy something from someone who cries when they are criticizing his product.

You should also understand that human examination is the moment where we try to evaluate who, or what group, needs help. We are here to diagnose your project and provide solutions to your problems. If you know there is a problem in your project, but you failed to fix it, tell it to the examiner! Work with her/him to fix your project.