CIS 422/522: Software Methodology I

Lecture Time: Tue/Thu 12:00-13:20
Lecture Location: B040, Price Science Commons
CRN: 11660

Instructor: Joe Sventek
Instructor Office Hours: Tue/Thu 10:30-11:45 and by appointment
Office Hours Location: 333 Deschutes Hall
email: jsventek@uoregon.edu

Expectations

This is a project-oriented course on software engineering. You will work as teams to construct software systems, including not only programs but also specification, 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. In the past 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 forseeable future.

Using this website

Project 1 handout: Handout and marking scheme for Project 1.
Team roles: Read this to understand what is expected from different roles on the team projects.
Schedule: Provides course details including class schedule, class topics, copies of lecture slides, copies of the various readings, and due dates.

Course Materials

There is no mandatory textbook for this course. The Schedule link above provides links to the readings that are assigned from a number of sources. You must complete the assigned reading before class in order to be able to participate in the in-class discussions.

Projects

You will learn the principles of Software Engineering, teamwork, and management though hands-on software development. You will work in teams on two software projects. The first will last four weeks and be assigned by the instructor. The second will last five weeks and will be proposed by the groups. The second project will be due during the final week of classes. A detailed description of Project 1 is provided in the Project 1 handout page above.

Grading

Grades will be determined based on

• your group's performance on group projects
• your performance on two exams
• your teammates' evaluations of your contributions to group projects
• your attendance and class participation.

Provided that you have fewer than five unexcused absences, which would result in an "F" for the course, individual grades are calculated based on the following criteria:

10%		Class Participation
15%		Midterm exam
15%		Final exam
20%		Project 1
40%		Project 2
?%		Teammates' evaluations may significantly raise or lower your grade

Grades for the course are determined by the following scale:

A	90-100%
B	80-89%
C	70-79%
D	60-69%
F	0-59%

Any grading of discrepancies (I miscount points) must be resolved within a week after a grade has been returned, both for exams and projects.

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 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-.

Success on the exams requires attending lecture and understanding the materials presented. If you are struggling with this, please make an effort to meet with the instructor before the exams. Success in teamwork requires regular attendance at team meetings, and dependably doing your fair share of the work.

Academic Misconduct

Students who are found to have committed an academically dishonest act in this course will receive an F for the course.

Academic honesty includes the following. You should do all of the following:

• Clearly list each person and his or her contribution to any project or exam. Include this information in all documents that are submitted, and in the header of all affected source code files. The contributor might be a tutor, roommate, officemate, fellow student, or any other person that contributed in any way to your work.
• Clearly identify and delimit any code that is derived from any source whatsoever, published or unpublished, with the original source and author indicated in the header of every affected source code file, and front and center in all submitted documents.
• Protect your own work and insure that other students cannot obtain and use your solutions without attribution. Do not put your solutions on a web site with no password protection, even if no other pages point to this web page.

Academic dishonesty includes the following. You should not do any of the following:

• Misrepresent someone else's work, including anything you find on the web, as your own work, or in any way contributing to such a misrepresentation.
• Submit someone else's work as your own without indicating the source.
• Knowingly or accidentally make your work available to another student such that they can submit your work as their own.

All evidence of academic dishonesty will be rigorously pursued consistent with the University of Oregon Faculty Guide for Addressing Academic Misconduct.

Piazza

I have set up a forum; you may sign up for it by visiting Piazza signup. Thereafter, you can access it at Piazza Q&A. I guarantee to respond to questions raised there within 24 hours, although the average response time for my previous courses is closer to 2 hours. I encourage you all to respond to questions there if you know the answer. I may award extra credit to students who are particularly helpful on the forum. The amount of credit will vary based on involvement, with a maximum of 5%.

Late Policy

Late submissions of projects will NOT be accepted.