SOFTENG 750 : Software Development Methodologies

Engineering

2024 Semester One (1243) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Software lifecycle; software process models; examples of software processes; software process improvement; project management; tool support for software development; issues in software engineering.

Course Overview

State-of-the-art software development, particularly in teams, requires the use of advanced tools to deliver high quality software across the many platforms that we encounter today.  It is characterized by a wide variety of techniques ranging from the formal to the informal, from automated to manual operations, and covering programs as well as data. In industry there is an increasing demand to apply recent research into software development tools. This course has a lecture component and a group project component which work together to give a broad picture of current software development tools and techniques, in addition to the latest in industry-relevant web technologies. The group projects often explore a novel take on interesting problems and offer both an authentic application of software development practices and an opportunity to deliver an exciting result.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: COMPSYS 302 or SOFTENG 306 Restriction: COMPSCI 732

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Create a project deliverable of reasonable size and complexity that is complete for demonstration and ready for handover to a subsequent team. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1 and 7.1)
  2. Demonstrate state-of-the-art software development skills using powerful tools. (Capability 3.1, 3.2 and 6.1)
  3. Understand advanced concepts in code analysis and software development based on recent research and the latest industry trends. (Capability 3.1, 3.2 and 4.2)
  4. Analyse software projects at various stages of development with advanced tools and methods. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1 and 4.2)
  5. Communicate strengths and issues of software development projects to technical and non-technical audiences. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 5.1 and 6.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Indivdual work 38% Individual Coursework
Group work 42% Group Coursework
Test 20% Individual Test
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5
Indivdual work
Group work
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.

Workload expectations for the course include:

  • A full-semester team project, around 50 hours per student
  • An individual assignment, around 25 hours per student
  • An individual mini-project, around 4 hours per student
  • Attendance at labs, lectures, and classmates' seminars, around 50 hours per student
  • Self-study, around 20 hours per student

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including labs / tutorials / drop-in clinics.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including tutorials will also be available as recordings.
The course will include live online events, for those who cannot attend in-person.
Attendance on campus is not required for the test.
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.

This course deals with very recent advances in software development,  all required material learning is provided as lecture material and code examples.

Health & Safety

Students require only the use of computers. No specialist lab equipment is required. 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.

In the coming year, students really enjoyed the majority of the content and the group project aspect. Therefore, these will remain. There was room for improvement identified in the balancing of the workload of various assessments, so these will be tweaked. Finally, the second half of the course material felt a little disconnected from the first half and from the group project. This will be rectified.

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.