Class Details

CIS 422/522: MWF 12:00 - 12:50 Lokey Education Building 117, CRN 11667/11682

Mandatory Attendance! Attendance is required for CIS 422 students. Missing the first week of class will result in an automatic drop.

Textbook
No textbook. Rather, we will read topical and seminal articles from the the web and from Software Engineering literature. CIS 522 students will have some additional readings for depth.

Instructor:
Stuart Faulk Ph.D.
Office: 354 Deschutes
Office hours: MWF 10:00 - 11:00, by appointment, or any time my office door is open. It works best to email me or talk to me in class for an appointment.

News

CIS 422/522 Introduction

This is a project-oriented course on software engineering. You will work as teams to construct software systems, including not only programs but also specifications, design documents, end-user documentation, maintenance guides, etc. You will also be expected to think about principles and issues in software engineering, to read and respond to papers, and to participate in class discussions.

Software Engineering is an applied discipline for which years of experience are required to develop real expertise, this course is only a start. The objective is to prepare you to learn more effectively from real-world experiences based on an understanding of the broad principles that pervade Software Engineering. Because these principles and issues are fundamental, they appear again and again even as popular methods and tools evolve. Yesterday we had structured development, today we have object-oriented development, tomorrow we can expect something else ... but the fundamental challenges of teamwork, complexity, and managing change, have been with us from the beginning and will be with us for the foreseeable future.

Using this Website

Home Page: this page. Check for news items such as changes to class schedule or group meetings.
Syllabus: A summary of course policies and administrative details, required reading when beginning the course.
Schedule: Go-to point for all course details including class schedule, class topics. copies of lecture slides, and due dates of all kinds. Check this page frequently!
Project: Description of the application development project(s) students will work on during the class.
Project Grading: Read this to understand how the project will be graded, hence what to focus on during project development.
Team Roles: Read this to understand what is expected from different roles on the team project.

The Project

You will learn the principles of Software Engineering, teamwork, and management though hands-on software development. You will work in teams on one or two software projects. A detailed description is provided on the Projects page. You can see examples of of project work products from past 422 and 423 classes: Example1, Example2 and Example3. While these are overall good examples, they each have strengths and weaknesses. You should not emulate what they have done without giving some thought to how it might be improved.

Grading

Details of course grading are discussed in the Syllabus. To succeed in CIS 422, you must keep in mind that Software Engineering requires both an individual understanding of the body of knowledge as well as the ability to work effectively as part of a team. For this reason, you must demonstrate competency in both areas to pass the course with a grade of C- or better. The specific requirements include:

Your average grade on the two midterm exams must exceed 65/100 (i.e., cannot be an "F").
Your contribution to the team effort based on the number and quality of artifacts, attendance at team meetings, and peer reviews must (in the instructor's judgement) meet or exceed a C-.