CSE4002 Software Engineering Studio Project , Unit Information Guide (Semester 1, 2006)

At the completion of this unit, students will have:

Experience of:

• all stages in the development of a SE project
• the role and responsibilities of clients and developers in a SE project

Understanding of:

• the way in which computer systems are designed, developed and implemented
• the role of methodologies, tools and techniques
• the processes and components of a quality system

Skillsin:

• planning and managing the full range of activities in an SE project
• working productively in a team and individually
• communicating effectively with clients and users
• developing and delivering on time a computer system that meets the specified requirements

Attitudes:

• adopt a systematic and professional approach to the production of quality computer systems
• enquiring mind
• ethical behaviour

Required text(s)

Text books are available from the Monash University Book Shops. Availability from other suppliers cannot be assured. The Bookshop orders texts in specifically for this unit. You are advised to purchase your text book early.

Software requirements:

as specified in the Monatar entry

customised SE lab called MUSE lab at clayton with the standard lab image plus high end software engineering & testing tools from IBM/Rational, Websphere software from IBM, Testing tools from Mercury Interactive, and Compuware. Open source tools such as Eclipse, Junit & coverage testing tools

Hardware requirements:

On-campus students, and those studying at supported study locations may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook. You will need to allocate up to 4 hours per week for use of a computer.

Study resources for CSE4002 are:

CSE4002 is a final year capstone project which runs over 2 semesters.

see url http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/courseware/cse4002

weekly lecture/seminar series topics are also available at the site.

The timetable for on-campus classes for this unit can be viewed in Allocate+

Assessment for the unit consists of n assignments with a weighting of x% and an examination with a weighting of y%. Read this section VERY carefully.

Assessment is in terms of hurdles, seminar presentation, semester 1 & 2 group presentation, client sign offs of legal agreement, Requirement spec & acceptance sign off.

Hurdles - fortnightly progressive reports, 1 individual seminar, 2 group presentations, weekly supervision & client meetings

all of the above on the subject web page - www.csse.monash.edu.au/courseware/cse4002

To pass this unit you must:

Schedule of Deliverables

While the software life cycle, process and organisation may be different for each project, overall milestones, hurdles and timelines are the same for grading and external project tracking by the unit leader and the academic supervising the project. Some of the assessed deliverables are 'major' efforts and most are group efforts and therefore need to be developed incrementally. To cater for different processes and life cycles, we refer to multiple versions of key milestone documents and product releases: our terminology distinguishes an Preliminary Version, a Penultimate Version and a Final Version. The preliminary and penultimate versions are assessed as a major assessment item in the first and second semester, respectively. They are also the basis for client sign-off before the end of the respective semester. Further improvements will then refine some of these documents and software packages until the end of the respective semester.

Depending on the agreed process (which may differ from project to project) and possibly depending on agreements with the client, subsequent revisions will be very rare and must be approved by a rigorous revision control protocol, where any ramifications, in terms of further work and resources implied must be considered carefully beside the desirability of the change from the viewpoint of the client, and must be balanced against the original plan and other tasks still planned.

In any event the penultimate version is going to be the key deliverable for the purposes of hurdle requirements and also for client sign-off on the major project results in second semester.

Regular supervision meetings and progress reports are hurdle points. Meetings and hurdle deliverables follow a weekly or fortnightly pattern.

In addition, some assessable items must be delivered at a particular hurdle point (a) to define major group work in achievable chunks and (b) for the supervisor to provide early feedback and help steer group work in the right direction.

The individual student must miss no more than 3/12 meetings and no more than 3/12 lectures. Moreover, the group must not deliver late more than 2/6 progress reports in each semester and not more than 2/6 specific hurdles.

Finally, in order to pass the subject, a student must achieve at least 32/65 project marks and 17/35 individual marks.

Beside final deliverables, milestones include one-on-one interviews, group walkthroughs, public presentations and seminars (given to all students and supervisors).

Walkthroughs are conducted in the MUSE Studio or elsewhere in a meeting with the supervisor and/or the client. Your are required to demonstrate your prototype (1. semester) or product (2. semester) and walk the supervisor and/or client through parts of the accompanying code and design documents (1. semester) or through code and test suite (2. semester) with the help of your development tools.

Since these are installed in the MUSE Studio, you will typically use the MUSE Studio for the walkthrough. The walkthrough is a group effort. Every group member gets the same time allocated for presenting one part or aspect of the system - typically but not necessary her/his own part in the project. The individual mark will reflect the knowledge of the system as displayed by the individual, their presentation skills and handling of questions etc. The group mark reflects the overall merits of the system as demonstrated and presented by all.

SWEBOK interviews are short oral exams (15 min) typically conducted in the exam period by a panel of two supervisors. Your supervisors may be prepared to schedule the interview prior to the exam period. SWEBOK interviews make up a major part of your individual marks in this subject.

The interviews are conducted individually and assess your individual knowledge of the project and the application of the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) to the project. Since the interviews are short, not all of the SWEBOK can be tested in each interview. The supervisor will randomly pick relevant topics. You must be prepared for every SWEBOK topic since you may be examined on any SE knowledge and your skills in applying this knowledge. For example the supervisor may examine your detailed knowledge of the project documents and solutions, define hypothetical changes to your project requirements and ask you to modify your current project solution, or, if s/he so chooses, ask you to demonstrate your practical skills with tools in the MUSE Studio.

Prepare well and revisit your SE textbooks. You are not allowed to use the text book during the interview. However you are allowed to bring your project documents along. I suggest your project keeps one complete set of documents as a binder for this purpose.

The best preparation for the interview is a review of your SWEBOK knowledge BEFORE you perform the corresponding task prior to the interview. Then - come the interview - you will be best prepared to briefly summarise the relevant knowledge, discuss how this is manifested in the project and detail the relevant project artifact (document or software etc).

Group marks are given for group deliverables and adjusted according to the individual contribution. The latter is defined by a contribution factor as per supervisor assessment of the each project member. The contribution factor is measured in percentage points, i.e., it is given as a mark out of 100. The group peer assessment (per semester) will also be considered by the supervisor in assessing the individual project contribution.

The following adjustment formula will be used Max(30, N x G x C), where N is the number of project members, G the group mark and C the contribution percentage.

Example 1: Project W achieves full marks of 30 in semester 1 with even contribution of 20% per team member. Each team member will get a group mark of 30.

Example 2: Project X might attract 15 group marks (of the total of 30 marks). Project X has 5 project members contributing 10%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 30% respectively. Then their respective marks will be scaled accordingly to 7.5, 7.5, 15, 22.5 and 22.5 marks.

Example 3: Project Y might attract 15 group marks (of the total of 30 marks in semester 1). The project has 5 project members contributing 0%, 0%, 0%, 0% and 100% respectively. Then their respective marks will be adjusted accordingly to 0, 0, 0, 0, 30 marks.

Example 4: Project Z attracts 6 group marks (of 30). The project has 5 project members contributing 0%, 0%, 0%, 0% and 100% respectively. Then their respective marks will be scaled accordingly to 0, 0, 0, 0, 30 marks.

Your score for the unit will be calculated by:

see www.csse.monash.edu.au/courseware/cse4002

Assessment Requirements

Assignment specifications will be made available . Information about assignments will be published on the Unit's Notices Newsgroup.

CSE4002 is a 2 semester Project unit with a number of hurdles, milestones, group & individual presentations & group & individual interviews. For Details:see www.csse.monash.edu.au/courseware/cse4002

Late submission of assignments

given above

This policy is strict because comments or guidance will be given on assignments as they are returned, and sample solutions may also be published and distributed, after assignment marking or with the returned assignment. 

Extensions

It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. 

Requests for extensions must be made by 'email to the unit lecturer'] at least two days before the due date. You will be asked to forward original medical certificates in cases of illness, and may be asked to provide other forms of documentation where necessary. A copy of the email or other written communication of an extension must be attached to the assignment submission.

Grading of assessment

Assignments, and the unit, will be marked and allocated a grade according to the following scale:

We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt.

You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This feedback may be provided through your participation in tutorials and class discussions, as well as through your assignment submissions. It may come in the form of individual advice, marks and comments, or it may be provided as comment or reflection targeted at the group. It may be provided through personal interactions, such as interviews and on-line forums, or through other mechanisms such as on-line self-tests and publication of grade distributions.

You will be asked to provide feedback to the Faculty through a Unit Evaluation survey at the end of the semester. You may also be asked to complete surveys to help teaching staff improve the unit and unit delivery. Your input to such surveys is very important to the faculty and the teaching staff in maintaining relevant and high quality learning experiences for our students.

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem with your study. The semester is short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with Student Rights and Responsibilities and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

Lecture seminar series

supervisor meetings - face to face & follow up emails

client meetings- face to face & follow up emails

Lecturer consultation in her office & emails

Notices related to the unit during the semester will be placed on the Notices page in the Unit Website. Check this regularly. Failure to read the Notices page is not regarded as grounds for special consideration.

Consultation Times

Mondays & Wednesdays outside of my lecture hours

Mon 3-5pm & Wed 9-11am

If direct communication with your unit adviser/lecturer or tutor outside of consultation periods is needed you may contact the lecturer and/or tutors at:

Ms Sita Ramakrishnan
Senior Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 32702
Fax +61 3 99031777

All email communication to you from your lecturer will occur through your Monash student email address. Please ensure that you read it regularly, or forward your email to your main address. Also check that your contact information registered with the University is up to date in My.Monash.