You're graded only in part by aligning with the proposal. You're also graded on innovation, technical depth and software design. The TAs compare it to figure sk

You're graded only in part by aligning with the proposal. You're also graded on innovation, technical depth and software design. The TAs compare it to figure skating / high diving -- you should be able to say what you can do, and then nail it. In my experience, the students who take the project courses at UW are ambitious and driven. I suspect the chief effect of this policy is an ambitious project whose plan has been fleshed out by a healthy back-and-forth with the TAs upfront, vs a ridiculously ambitious project that hasn't been fleshed out.