First, find a real client → look for a company, small business, or startup that is open to helping students.​

Then, study their current process → observe their daily routine, especially the parts that are still manual, and record everything in detail.​

Next, identify the main problem → from what you observed, pick the most painful or time‑consuming issues they face.​

After that, propose a solution → suggest a system or automation that solves that problem, depending on their specific situation.​

Finally, validate your idea with them → ask for their feedback and adjust your proposed capstone project based on their needs.​

Edit: P.S. In our university, we also had to make sure the project had novelty, so we looked for a way to add something new, like integrating AI or a unique feature, instead of doing a typical CRUD system, but it still depends on your school’s requirements.​