A Hybrid Design Methodology for an Introductory Software Engineering Course with Integrated Mobile Application Development

Vignesh Subbian; Carla C. Purdy

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Conference: 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Publication Date: June 15, 2014
Start Date: June 15, 2014
End Date: June 18, 2014
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Software Engineering Constituent Committee Division Technical Session 1
Tagged Division: Software Engineering Constituent Committee
Page Count: 10
Page Numbers: 24.56.1 - 24.56.10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--19948
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/19948
Download Count: 589

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Paper Authors

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Vignesh Subbian University of Cincinnati orcid.org/0000-0001-9974-8382

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Vignesh Subbian is an instructor/teaching assistant in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computing Systems at the University of Cincinnati. His research interests include embedded computing systems, medical device design and development, point-of-care technologies for neurological care, and engineering education.

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Carla C. Purdy University of Cincinnati

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Carla Purdy is an associate professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computing Systems, College of Engineering and Applied Science, at the University of Cincinnati and an affiliate faculty member in UC's Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She received her Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Illinois in 1975 and her PhD. in Computer Science from Texas A&M University in 1986. She is the head of UC's B.S. in Computer Engineering Program and the coordinator of the Preparing Future Faculty in Engineering Program. Her research interests include embedded systems and VLSI, intelligent embedded systems, software and systems engineering, computational biology and synthetic biology, agent based modeling and simulation, mentoring, and diversity in science and engineering.

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Abstract

A Hybrid Design Methodology for an Introductory Software Engineering Course with Integrated Mobile Application DevelopmentAbstract: This paper discusses an experimental version of a core undergraduate softwareengineering course at the University of _______ (U__). EECE 3XXXC – Software Engineeringis a 4-credit hour undergraduate course with an integrated laboratory component. It is a requiredcourse for all computer science and computer engineering students. Traditionally, this courseconsisted of in-class lectures, and laboratory projects that required students to develop softwarefor a serious game based on a discrete-event simulation model using Java. The course designprocess was built on the waterfall model, integrated with important concepts from extremeprogramming (XP), including test-driven development using three levels of design and testing(system, black box, and glass box) and an onsite customer. When U__ recently converted theiracademic calendar from quarters (10 weeks) to semesters (15 weeks), the additional instructiontime provided an opportunity to revisit and expand the design process model of the course. Inaddition to the existing features of the course that allow effective instruction in contemporarysoftware engineering principles, the experimental version of the course incorporated thefollowing variations:1. the laboratory project now involves open-source mobile application development;2. the hybrid design methodology (waterfall and XP) is further explored by incorporating two or more development cycles into the project, while additional classroom activities furthers understanding of connections between the development process and application needs;3. five active-learning sessions are included to enable reflection on past co-operative education or internship experiences and relate them to classroom learning. The objective of this novel pedagogical strategy, which we call UnLecture, is to bridge the gap between software engineering practice and computing education.This experimental version of the course was offered during the summer 2013 semester. Thispaper will describe course design, pedagogical methods, and assessment results from thisoffering of the course. The course design provides simple solutions to effectively integrate thehybrid design methodology, mobile application development, and active learning techniques. Itis anticipated that this work will be especially useful for first time course developers and/orinstructors interested in migrating from general-purpose/web application based softwareengineering courses to mobile application-based courses. Furthermore, the paper will address thefollowing aspects from a classroom instruction perspective: (1) the importance of structureddesign and requirements analysis in building secure and reliable software systems, (2) thebenefits and pitfalls of using XP in a classroom setting, and (3) the need to introduce conceptsimportant for secure and safety-critical systems into introductory software engineering courses.

Citation
Format

Subbian, V., & Purdy, C. C. (2014, June), A Hybrid Design Methodology for an Introductory Software Engineering Course with Integrated Mobile Application Development Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--19948

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -            A Hybrid Design Methodology for an Introductory Software            Engineering Course with Integrated Mobile Application                                DevelopmentAbstract: This paper discusses an experimental version of a core undergraduate softwareengineering course at the University of _______ (U__). EECE 3XXXC – Software Engineeringis a 4-credit hour undergraduate course with an integrated laboratory component. It is a requiredcourse for all computer science and computer engineering students. Traditionally, this courseconsisted of in-class lectures, and laboratory projects that required students to develop softwarefor a serious game based on a discrete-event simulation model using Java. The course designprocess was built on the waterfall model, integrated with important concepts from extremeprogramming (XP), including test-driven development using three levels of design and testing(system, black box, and glass box) and an onsite customer. When U__ recently converted theiracademic calendar from quarters (10 weeks) to semesters (15 weeks), the additional instructiontime provided an opportunity to revisit and expand the design process model of the course. Inaddition to the existing features of the course that allow effective instruction in contemporarysoftware engineering principles, the experimental version of the course incorporated thefollowing variations:1. the laboratory project now involves open-source mobile application development;2. the hybrid design methodology (waterfall and XP) is further explored by incorporating two   or more development cycles into the project, while additional classroom activities furthers   understanding of connections between the development process and application needs;3. five active-learning sessions are included to enable reflection on past co-operative education   or internship experiences and relate them to classroom learning. The objective of this novel   pedagogical strategy, which we call UnLecture, is to bridge the gap between software   engineering practice and computing education.This experimental version of the course was offered during the summer 2013 semester. Thispaper will describe course design, pedagogical methods, and assessment results from thisoffering of the course. The course design provides simple solutions to effectively integrate thehybrid design methodology, mobile application development, and active learning techniques. Itis anticipated that this work will be especially useful for first time course developers and/orinstructors interested in migrating from general-purpose/web application based softwareengineering courses to mobile application-based courses. Furthermore, the paper will address thefollowing aspects from a classroom instruction perspective: (1) the importance of structureddesign and requirements analysis in building secure and reliable software systems, (2) thebenefits and pitfalls of using XP in a classroom setting, and (3) the need to introduce conceptsimportant for secure and safety-critical systems into introductory software engineering courses.
AU  - Vignesh Subbian
AU  - Carla C. Purdy
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Hybrid Design Methodology for an Introductory Software Engineering Course with Integrated Mobile Application Development
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/19948
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--19948
ER  -