Software Engineering 2014 

Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Software Engineering

Presented byRichard LeBlanc

Education Council Liaison to the

SE 2004 Revision Committee

Preliminary “scoping” study Conducted as an update of previous SE

curriculum recommendation (SE2004), so the result is an edited version of the earlier volume, not a completely new document

Calling the result SE2014, even though it is being approved in 2015

Unusual aspects of this project

Consult with stakeholders in industry and higher education

Analyze input to assess need for change and scope

Report to the IEEE-CS EAB and ACM Ed Board

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SE 2004 Review Task Force Charge

Appointed in 2010; worked through 2011 Goal: estimate required revision to SE

2004

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SE 2004 Review Task Force

IEEE Computer Society ACMMark Ardis (chair) Jo AtleeGreg Hislop David BudgenMark Sebern Renee McCauley

Attempt to survey the SE community broadly◦ Academic programs

Every known BSSE program SE and CS department chairs

◦ Industrial and governmental organizations Outreach via CSDP and CSDA programs

◦ U.S. and international◦ Conferences and professional organizations

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Survey - Outreach

Demographic information SE topic discussion

◦ Based on Software Engineering Education Knowledge (SEEK) categories

◦ Suggestions for additions SE 2004 content and organization

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Survey Content

477 completed surveys 42 countries

◦ 333 responses from the U.S. 156 software developer responses

◦ 268 respondents with > 12 years SE practice 383 respondents had graduate degrees

◦ 245 with doctorates◦ 71 degrees in SE

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Survey Response

All SEEK areas still considered relevant◦ Software Evolution and Software Management

area had the lowest levels of support Lots of suggestions for adjustment

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Survey on Software Engineering Topics

Moderate revision needed Plan

◦ Six-person team to revise SE2004 document◦ 15-month effort◦ Start in January 2012

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Review Task Force Conclusion

Began work in 2012 Actual start: September 2012

Original goal: SE2013 Quickly recognized that 2014 was a more

practical target

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SE 2004 Revision Group

IEEE Computer Society ACMMark Ardis (chair) David BudgenGreg Hislop Jeff OffuttMark Sebern Willem Visser

Document update◦ Moving from a first round of curriculum

recommendation to an on-going series◦ Reflecting larger community of BSSE programs◦ Terminology update◦ Reflecting ideas from other curriculum

recommendations including CS2013 SEEK revisions

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Revision Work Areas

• As well as revising content, the Task Force undertook quite a lot of restructuring of the chapters, partly to accommodate the changes and also to strengthen each one in terms of the role it was meant to play.

• The following slides will go through the main chapters (excepting the Introduction) to examine what changed (and why) and also to examine what role this chapter is intended to perform.

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The changes…

1. Introduction2. The Software Engineering Discipline3. Guiding Principles4. Overview of Software Engineering Education

Knowledge (SEEK)5. The Guidelines6. Designing and Undergraduate Degree Program7. Adaptation to Alternate Environments8. Program Implementation and AssessmentA. Curriculum ExamplesB. Course Examples

SE2014 Table of Contents

Purpose Provide support when making a case for a new SE program, emphasising what makes SE different in terms of material and why it needs to be taught by people who know about SE.

Changes 1. Wider range of reference disciplines, including more ‘soft’ ones, less emphasis on mathematics

2. Move from implicit waterfall model to one that is independent of development processes

Rationale Greater confidence about the role and nature of SE as a distinctive academic topic enables us to be more assertive in positioning our needs.

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Chapter 2: The Software Engineering Discipline

Purpose These partly provide a checklist for the curriculum designer and help to highlight what makes an SE curriculum ‘different’.

Changes Largely a matter of reorganisation and presentation.1.Expected student outcomes2.Special nature of SE within computing3.The goals for the guidelines themselves

Rationale These were felt to have stood the test of time well and so revision was largely concerned with making the groupings more explicit.

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Chapter 3: Guiding Principles

Purpose A collective view of what topics should be taught in an SE undergraduate degree, to what level, and how extensively.

Changes A mix of reorganisation and some updating of both areas and units [Detailed on next slides]

Rationale The SEEK provides the curriculum designer with a ‘best judgement’ assessment of what should form the core material. Can also be used to resist pressure to include relatively minor or specialist topics!

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Chapter 4: Overview of Software Engineering Education Knowledge [the SEEK]

• Splitting Modelling & Analysis (MAA). This KA has now been split into two:Modelling & AnalysisRequirements Analysis & Specification

• Merging of three KAs into one, the KAs formerly labelled as:• PRO (Software Process)• EVO (Software Evolution)• MGT (Software Management)

are now one single KA: labelled as PRO (Software Process)

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The SEEK: changes (1)

• Creating a new KA in response to concerns identified in the survey and in the workshops. The Security (SEC) KA addresses what was seen as a significant gap.

• Designation of two KAs (SEC and QUA) as being cross-cutting, to indicate that this is material that may well not (in fact, probably should not) form distinct teaching units, but instead should be integrated in with the material of the other KAs.

• Fewer KUs. Also, the ‘optional’ designation has been removed.

• Fewer examples of languages, methods and tools.

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The SEEK: changes (2)

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The SEEK: KAdependencies

CMP FND PRF

MAA

VAV REQ

DES

QUA PRO

CMP provides to

In the form of

MAA Understanding of characteristics of software and processes

VAV Understanding of error types and causation factorsREQ Knowledge about behaviour of systems and their

interactionsDES Understanding of software properties and

architectural issuesPRO Understanding of the nature of software

development activitiesQUA Knowledge about software structures and

organisation

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The SEEK: Example dependencies

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Chapter 5: The Guidelines

Purpose This chapter pulls the material of the preceding ones together and provides advice on how to use the material of the SEEK in the context of the issues raised in the other chapters.

Changes Structure is largely unchanged, but it has been revised and updated to be process-agnostic rather than implicitly based on the waterfall model.

Rationale This aims to draw upon wider experience of designing curricula around software engineering material.

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Chapter 6: Designing an undergraduate degree program

Purpose This chapter looks at the wider issues involved in designing a curriculum.

Changes The structure of the chapter has been extensively revised and links design advice to the Guidelines provided in Chapter 5.

Rationale While the previous version provided example programs, it gave little advice about the actual design task. The new version should be more geared to the needs of someone undertaking this for the first time.

• The remaining chapters and appendices are intended to provide further help for the person undertaking curriculum design for the first time. They address such issues as delivery, how the program might need to be adapted to a particular academic context, how assessment might be organised, and discuss interactions with industry and professional bodies. These have been revised and updated where necessary.

• The Appendices are new, providing examples of some actual programs in detail.

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And the rest…