MECHENG 270 : Software Design

Engineering

2024 Semester Two (1245) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Fundamentals of software design and high-level programming making use of case studies and programming projects. Includes: requirements analysis, specification methods, software architecture, software development environments, software quality, modularity, maintenance, reusability and reliability; models of software development.

Course Overview

Programming is fundamental to all engineering disciplines. Engineers solve real-world problems and they extensively use computers to do this. Programs are written in high-level languages, which are eventually executed as a series of instructions within the computer. The world of the computer is in bits and bytes, which is very different from the real world. The real world, unlike the binary world of computers, uses many kinds of entities such as natural languages, diagrams, maps and the like for communication. How does an engineer connect these two diverse worlds? This course tries to address this question using software engineering methods. Lessons learned here, though mainly from software engineering, can be transferred to many other engineering domains such as computer systems engineering, mechatronics and mechanical engineering.

The Object Oriented (OO) methodology is one such approach, which can be used to connect real world problems with the digital world, so that these problems can be solved efficiently. This will be the focus of this course. In addition to this, we will also teach algorithms (mathematical representation of programs in a generic format called pseudocode), and data-structures (mathematical objects for data representation and manipulation on a computer). The combination of all these concepts encompasses an approach to connect the digital world with the real world in a systematic way for engineering problem solving. Topics covered will include the following: 

    Weeks 1 to 6: Introduction to git version control (using GitHub), Linux command line, review programming basics, OOP fundamentals, classes, abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism.
    Weeks 7 to 12: Test-driven development and test-first programming, abstract data types, data-structures such as stacks, queues, linked-lists, recursive algorithms and binary trees, searching and sorting. Algorithm analysis and Big O notation.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: ENGGEN 131 Restriction: COMPSYS 202, SOFTENG 281

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 8: Ethics and Professionalism

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand and apply version control to manage software development, and will develop the habit to consistently use it (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 8.2)
  2. Understand and apply the core programming concepts, such as functions, data-types, arrays, pointers and structs (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2 and 5.1)
  3. Understand and apply typical OO principles such as inheritance, association, aggregation and encapsulation during the implementation of small-scale assignments in C++ (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 6.1)
  4. Understand and apply suitable data-structures to different computational problems (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 6.1)
  5. Understand formally describing a program as an algorithm and the concept of comparing the efficiency of algorithms using the notion of its asymptotic complexity (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 6.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Assignments 50% Individual Coursework
Test 50% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5
Assignments
Test

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15-point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15-point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 3 hours of lectures, 2 hours reading and thinking about course content, and 5 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including clinics to complete components of the course.

Lectures will be available as recordings.

The course may include live online events including group discussions/tutorials.

Attendance on campus may be required for tests.

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Health & Safety

Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety section of the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

We closely monitor student feedback with a mind to improving the content and delivery of this course year on year.

In light of this year's feedback, we have planned no major changes to the syllabus, or its delivery.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.