CPSC 310: Introduction to Software Engineering (2012 Summer)

Quick Links

• Project page
• Assignments
• Lecture notes and readings
• Marks (Blackboard)
• News and Forum (Piazza)

Course Description & Prerequisites

Introduction to Software Engineering: Specification, design, implementation and maintenance of large, multi-module software systems. Principles, techniques, methodologies and tools for computer aided software engineering (CASE); human-computer interfaces, reactive systems, hardware-software interfaces and distributed applications.

When you complete this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the technical and interpersonal challenges of software development
• Communicate technical matters with programmers, managers, and clients effectively
• Perform the activities of software development effectively, using up-to-date methodologies or tools

Prerequisite

1. CPSC 210 (Note, CPSC 211 is also an acceptable pre-req although the SSC may display a warning. Please email me if you're having trouble registering.)

People

Meghan Allen (Instructor)

• Office: ICICS 243
• Email: meghana AT cs DOT ubc DOT ca
• Office Hours: TBA

I will also see students outside of scheduled office hours – email me if you would like to schedule an appointment to speak to me. If you send me emails regarding course content, I will post your question on the discussion forum so that other students can see it and my answer.

TAs

• Joel Ferstay - joelaf AT cs DOT ubc DOT ca
• Reza Harikandeh - babanezhad AT gmail DOT com
• Rahul Jiresal - jiresal AT cs DOT ubc DOT ca
• Nima Kaviani - nima DOT kaviani AT gmail DOT com

Lectures & Labs

Labs are an important part of this course. Labs will provide you with the practical knowledge and skills required for the completion of your course assignments. Each lab is designed to give you the opportunity to meet and work as a group, and attendance is mandatory.

Each lab session is supervised by a teaching assistant (TA), who will introduce the necessary tools, provide instructions for the projects, answer questions and meet with each group to discuss the progress of the project.

Course Resources

Textbook

There is no required textbook for the course. Lectures, labs and assigned readings will contain all information on the exams. Each week you will be given an assigned reading from an available online resource.

Lecture material

Lecture slides and other material will be posted after lecture on the lectures page.

Piazza forum

The discussion forum is hosted at Piazza.com. The forum is required reading as the instructor and TAs will post important information and updates there. Please check it, as this is the official communication channel in the event of cancelled classes or labs, rescheduled deadlines, and so on. In addition, you are encouraged to post your questions about the course material on the course bulletin board. You are also encouraged to respond to questions for which you know the answer. Participation in the forum is part of your mark. In case you need a face-to-face discussion, you can bring you questions regarding the course material, assignments, project and labs to:

• the lab sessions,
• the instructor’s office hours listed above,
• appointments made with the instructor or your TA.

Please join the CS310 group by logging into Piazza with a cs.ubc.ca or ubc.ca email address.

Watch the 2 minute introduction video to learn how Piazza is designed to get you answers fast: video link

Project Resources

See the project page

Evaluation

Your grade in this course will be based on exams, labs, a project and class participation as shown in the table below.

To pass this course, you must obtain a 50% overall mark and, in addition, you must:

• pass the project overall, AND
• pass the final examination.

Students who fail the project or the final exam will be assigned as the final grade in the course the minimum of 45% (an F) and the grade computed using the above formula. (I reserve the right to change the grading formula during the term).

The participation mark is easy to achieve. You will get full marks for good lab attendance; good group participation, as determined by your peers; engaged forum participation; and engaged class participation.

Grade disputes

• For project or assignment grades, first contact your TA and try to resolve the issue with them.
• Unresolved project/assignment disputs and exam grading disputes must be brought to the instructor. Midterm exam grade disputes must be brought to Meghan within one week of the midterm being returned, regardless of whether or not you are present to pick up your exam. Remarked assignments and exams may go up or down in grade. If you ask me to remark your exam, I will remark the entire exam.

Posting grades

Grades will be posted regularly via Blackboard.

Late policy

Assignments will be due at a specific time, typically in your lab. If you are not prepared for the lab it makes it very difficult to complete the remainder of the project. Although you will have to complete your assignment so that you can continue working on the project, assignments that are not completed by the due date and time will be worth 0.

Examinations

There will be a midterm and a final examination.

Note that I will not re-schedule the final exam if you will be travelling over August 2nd. Do not register for this course if you have travel plans that preclude you from taking the final exam on August 2nd.

Labs and Project

There will be a large, semester-long group project, using an ‘agile-like’ approach. Deliverables will be broken into several milestones, including two major sprints. Assignments will be geared toward the completion of the project.

The submission procedure will be clearly specified in each assignment.

Your projects are group work, but no inter-group communication about projects is permitted unless explicitly noted in the assignment description.

Note that the project is a mandatory component of this course. You must obtain a passing grade in the project in order to pass the course.

Course Objectives

The following is a tentative list of the objectives of this course by topic. When you complete this course, you will be able to:

1. Process
   • Explain the basic software development phases
   • Explain the risks of skipping or reducing any phase
   • Recognize the types of tools that are used in each phase
2. Requirements
   • Explain the typical difficulties of technical communication
   • Describe several types of requirements
   • Argue for the need for requirements
   • Elicit requirements from a client
   • Recognize good and bad requirements
3. Design
   • Design a project with UML
   • Explain and apply good design principles
   • Explain and apply common design patterns
   • Design a project in a group setting
4. Implementation
   • Implement high-quality code from a design
   • Improve code quality and productivity by using software tools
   • Explain several implementation philosophies
   • Coordinate implementation efforts using a code repository
   • Break up implementation work into units for parallel implementation
   • Identify and fix problems using an issue tracking system
5. Testing
   • Test code with unit tests, system tests, and user tests
   • Explain basic testing terminology
   • Recognize common testing frameworks employed in the industry
6. Intellectual Property
   • Explain basic intellectual property issues
   • Recognize the implications of common licenses
   • Explain the differences between patents, copyrights, and licenses

General Advice

• Start the project early.
• Attend lectures and labs. If you miss a lecture, find out what you missed from a fellow student. Once you've discussed the material with a fellow student, come and see me if you still have questions.
• Takes notes during lecture. Takes notes when you are reading. Re-read the material after lecture or lab to make sure you understand the main points.
• Do the assigned reading (if there is one). Some reading will be assigned before lecture or lab. Reading this material prior to lecture or lab will ensure you get the most out of attending and will ensure we can cover more interesting material.
• Be a good group member. Part of your mark will be based on peer-evaluation.
• Do your share of the work.

Accommodation

• Lab attendance is mandatory. If you must miss a lab, please notify your teammates and your TA. Your overall project mark will reflect your participation, but it is possible to make up for your absence by doing work outside of scheduled class time.
• If you are sick and unable to write the midterm, please contact Meghan.
• Students who miss the final exam due to illness should consult the Faculty of Science Policy on missed exams immediately after (or preferably even before) the exam. Note that a student who does not complete sufficient course work (labs, assignments and midterm) during the term may not qualify for academic concession if they miss the final.
• Students who require dispensation based on their unique circumstances should refer to the UBC policy on Academic Concessions.
• Cell phones, calculators, translators, and all other electronic devices are prohibited on desks during exams. They must be turned off and placed in your bag or on the ground.
• Students who need exam accommodation must make an official request to the Access and Diversity Office.

Academic Conduct

Each student is responsible for understanding and abiding by the University and Departmental policies on academic conduct. Specifically:

• UBC policy on Academic Misconduct
• Computer Science Department Lab policies and responsibilities.