Software Engineering -- CS511
Boston University -- Fall 2001

Topics / Schedule

February 2007 -- This page has continued to be popular for software engineering courses, so I have updated it to fix some stale links.

In general, each class session will be divided into three sections:

• A lecture by the instructor for 1-2 hours.
• A presentation by a student team for 30-40 minutes.
• Flexible time for team meetings, guest speakers, etc.

Although it is not required, you might want to set aside the hour after class to continue working with your team.

For reading assignments: SE = Software Engineering (Sommerville), RD = Rapid Development (McConnell), CC= Code Complete (McConnell).

Sept 6

• Reading assignment -- SE chapter 1; SE chap 2; SE chap 3; RD chap 7; Why Software Engineering Is Not BS
• Introduction. Overview of the course -- topics, grading, team projects, team assignments, adds/drops, etc.
• Quiz on class preparation
• Lecture -- What is software engineering? Why does it matter? The state of software engineering.
• Lecture -- Models of software development.
• Team meetings. Choose a project and assign people for early presentation topics.

Sept 13

• Reading assignment -- SE 5; SE 6; RD 14; SEC Handbook of Plain English (read the preface and chaps 1,3,4,5,  skim contents of other chapters for later use.)
• Quiz on class preparation
• Lecture -- System analysis, requirements analysis, writing skills
• Project Help -- examples of good functional specifications

Sept 20

• Reading assignment -- SE 10; SE 11; RD 19; CC 7 (SE 14 not required)
• Quiz on class preparation
• Lecture -- Design / architecture
• Class exercise -- outlining project functional specifications

Sept 27

• Reading assignment -- CC 19; CC 31; CC 32
• Quiz on class preparation
• Team #1 presentation -- Death March projects
• Lecture -- Programming
• Project deliverable -- Functional specification.

Oct 4

• Reading assignment -- SE 19; SE 20; SE 21
• Quiz on class preparation
• Team #2 presentation -- Adaptive software development
• Lecture -- Quality and testing
• Project Help -- examples of good design specifications

Oct 11

• Reading assignment -- RD 8; RD 9; SE 4 (except 4.4); SE 23
• Quiz on class preparation
• Team #3 presentation -- Aspect oriented programming
• Lecture -- finish quality / testing
• Lecture -- estimating, scheduling, tracking
• Lecture -- MS Project product demo (probably not time)
• Mid-term test review -- You will drive the review. I have not prepared a structured review session. Bring your textbooks and questions. 

Oct 18   (WARNING: There is a lot due this week. You should finish your design specs early, so you have time to study for the midterm.)

• Reading assignment -- SE 27; SE 29
• Mid-term exam
• Team #4 presentation -- Safety-critical software (human risks)
• Lecture -- Configuration and release management
• Lecture -- MS Source Safe product demo
• Project deliverable -- Design specification.

Oct 25

• Repeat last week's reading -- SE 27; SE 29
• Quiz on class preparation
• Team #5 presentation -- Mythical Man Month
• Lecture -- Demonstration of MS Project and MS Source Safe
• Project Help -- Discussion of test plans, if needed

Nov 1

• Reading -- SE 25.4; www.chc-3.com/class/tr24.93.pdf (Read Chapters 1 and 2 in detail, then skim the rest of the document.)
• Quiz on class preparation
• Team #6 presentation -- Teamwork and performance within software development groups
• Lecture -- Capability Maturity Model
• Recruiting visit -- Raytheon / Lourdes Martinez, Emily Sweeney, Jennifer Lewis

Nov 8

• Reading assignments -- 
  http://catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/ (read the summary on this page, then read the whole paper by clicking on each chapter link below);
  http://www.chc-3.com/pub/manage_themselves.htm (my reply to Eric Raymond);
  http://www.chc-3.com/pub/manage_themselves_r1.htm (Eric's reply to me);
  http://www.chc-3.com/pub/manage_themselves_r2.htm (my response)
• Quiz on class preparation
• Team #7 presentation -- ISO 9000 applied to software development
• Lecture -- Open Source development
• Project deliverable -- Test plan.
• Recruiting visit -- Sun / Brendan Murphy

Nov 15

• Reading assignment -- SE 4.4; RD 5  (risk management)
• Reading assignment -- SE 8; RD 2; RD 6  (rapid development)
• Quiz on class preparation
• Team #8 presentation --  Extreme Programming
• Lecture -- Risk management
• Lecture -- Web-time development, web software engineering
• Project deliverable -- Complete, working code from each programmer. Integration begins. (This is an internal deadline for your team. Not to be handed in.)

Nov 22

Thanksgiving vacation. No class.

Nov 29  

• Reading assignment -- RD 16  (project recovery)
• Team #9 presentation --  Software engineering methods for game development
• Lecture -- Turning around troubled projects
• Project deliverable -- Source code, executable program, simple readme to install and run.

Dec 6

• Team #10 presentation --  Licensing of SW engineers (After the Gold Rush book)
• Team #11 presentation --  Software re-use
• Final exam review -- You will drive the review. Bring your textbooks and questions. 
• Project deliverable - User guide.

• Extra credit papers due -- Hand in one printed copy and email soft copy.

Dec 13

5:00 -- Final exam
6:30 -- Pizza and beer/soda at Uno's

Copyright 2001 by Charles H. Connell Jr.