FIT3037 Software Engineering , Unit Information Guide (Semester 1, 2006)

ASCED Field of Education: 020199 Computer Science, Not Elsewhere Classified

Software engineering is much more than the ability to analyse, design and develop program code to solve particular information system problems. Software engineering includes project management, team and personnel management, quality assurance, configuration management and many other aspects.

In this unit students will learn about many aspects of working with a large team on large projects to produce quality software products on time and within budget. The student will gain an appreciation of the tools and techniques used to develop software systems within a group context.

Topics to be studied include:

At the completion of this unit, students will have:

Knowledge of:

• the continuing software crisis, problems encountered in the development of large software systems: poor quality, late delivery and budget overruns
• techniques used in software engineering to counter these problems

Understanding of:

• the role of software lifecycle models in project control and planning
• different categories of software metrics
• software estimation methods
• methods for specifying real-time systems
• techniques and tools to support configuration management
• strategies for testing software
• the roles and responsibilites of project team members

Skills in:

• applying techniques for scheduling and control of large projects
• constructing and validating a software specification
• formal methods specification of software systems
• functional design of software systems
• describing large software systems using appropriate language and technical sprecification techniques to suit the intended audience

Awareness:

• that quality software is not a luxury but essential in solving the software crisis

Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed FIT2005, or equivalent.

You should have knowledge of

FIT3037 is a core unit in the Application Development and Networks major of the BITS degree.

You may not study this unit and GCO3811 in your degree.

Required text(s)

Pressman R.S., Software Engineering: A Practitioners Approach, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2005. ISBN 0-07-123840-9

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.

Hardware requirements:

Students studying off-campus are required to have the minimum system configuration specified by the faculty as a condition of accepting admission, and regular Internet access. 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 n hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

Sommerville, Ian. Software Engineering, Sixth Edition, Addison-Wesley, 2000. ISBN 0-201-39815-X

Van Vliet Hans, Software Engineering: Principles and Practice, Second Edition, John Wiley and Sons, 2000. ISBN 0-497-97508-7

Pfleeger Shari Lawrence, Software Engineering Theory and Practice, Prentice-Hall, 1998. ISBN 0-13-081272-2

Study resources for FIT3037 are:

Study resources for FIT3037 are:

• A printed Unit Book containing 7 Study Guides (52 pages), sent from CeLTS
• This Unit Information outlining the administrative information for the unit on the unit website
• The FIT3037 web site, where lecture slides, weekly tutorial requirements, assignment specifications and sample solutions will be posted
• Newsgroups that can be linked to from the Unit Homepage

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

Assessment for the unit consists of 3 assignments with a weighting of 45% and an examination with a weighting of 55%. Read this section VERY carefully.

To pass this unit you must:

• attempt all assignments and the examination
• score at least 50% of the possible marks for the unit
• achieve no less than 40% of the total available marks for the assignments overall, and the examination

Your score for the unit will be calculated by:

Final Mark Calculation If both the examination mark and the assignment mark is at least 40%, then the final mark is obtained by:

final mark = ( R * A * E ) / ( ( (R-1) * A ) + E )

Assessment Requirements

Assignment specifications will be made available on the FIT3037/GCO3811 web site assignment page. Information about assignments will be published on the Unit's Notices Newsgroup.

Assignments will be submitted through the WebFace Assignment Submission System.

Late submission of assignments

Assignments received after the due date will be unit to a penalty of 5% per day or part thereof up to one week late. Assignments received later than one week after the due date will not normally be accepted.

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 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.

Contact the Unit Adviser by email to request extensions.

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/three 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.

Questions of a personal nature may be emailed directly to the lecturer.

More general queries and comments should be directed to the appropriate newsgroup.

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

Consultation Times

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:

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.