Using Graph Theory Visualization to Motivate Software Engineering Concepts

Shane Markstrum; Gary M. Haggard

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Vancouver, BC
Publication Date: June 26, 2011
Start Date: June 26, 2011
End Date: June 29, 2011
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: SE Tools and Techniques
Tagged Division: Software Engineering Constituent Committee
Page Count: 16
Page Numbers: 22.1621.1 - 22.1621.16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--18923
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/18923
Download Count: 454

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Shane Markstrum Bucknell University

visit author page

Shane Markstrum is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Bucknell University. His primary research focus is on the intersection of programming languages and software engineering language tools. His recent work in this area includes the JavaCOP pluggable type framework for Java, and refactoring support in Eclipse for the X10 language. At Bucknell, he has taught the Introduction to Computer Science courses, as well as courses on the theory of computation and theory of programming languages. Prior to arriving at Bucknell, Prof. Markstrum received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA.

visit author page

author page

Gary M. Haggard Bucknell University

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

Using Graph Theory Visualization to Motivate Software Engineering Concepts Gary Haggard Shane Markstrum Bucknell University Bucknell University Abstract The step from programming simple, well-deﬁned problems to solv- ing open-ended problems is important for students to take several times in their education. The Graphs, Algorithms, and Software Engineering course provides an open-ended, event-driven software development project suited for small groups that ﬁts well as a second or third year elective and allows experience with project design prior to a culminating undergradu- ate experience. The primary project of the course is a GUI-based visual- ization tool written in Java for describing concepts of graph theory such as connectedness, traversal orderings, spanning trees, and Euler circuits. By varying the number and type of graph theory topics implemented by the GUI, the project can adapted to suit the expected background the students in the elective. While this course is described as using Java, the approach can be used with any language with good support of data ab- straction and a signiﬁcant library that allows for easy GUI development. The course is built to reinforce good software development practices through the academic term. As there are many possible design decisions to make at each stage of the project, students learn the value of developing clear software speciﬁcations for group cohesion. The requirement to share parts of the code among groups further motivates the use of a number of design patterns such as singleton, template, and abstract factory. Further, it promotes the beneﬁts of a well-deﬁned class or module interface and document generation tools such as Javadoc. Students learn about code reuse by using appropriate library-implemented data structures. Students must also design and administer a user study to a targeted group of users, such as students in an introductory level computer science course, for feedback on their developed prototype. By conducting a user study, they learn how early feedback is incorporated back into the software develop- ment lifecycle. Signiﬁcant attention is paid to the design and implementation process. Group dynamics are very important so that the early foundational work of each group can be leveraged to make the project bigger than they expect. Once the class decides on speciﬁcations for the overall design of the project a great deal of interaction between and among groups shows students how to leverage both their own and others’ speciﬁc knowledge in solving problems. The class reexamines design issues at the end of the project. 1Students become so familiar with design decisions that were made andenforced throughout the project that a very sophisticated conversationtakes place with students explaining what they liked about the designand changes they would like to see. These discussions are used to explorediﬀerent design options each time the course is oﬀered. 2

Citation
Format

Markstrum, S., & Haggard, G. M. (2011, June), Using Graph Theory Visualization to Motivate Software Engineering Concepts Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--18923

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Using Graph Theory Visualization to Motivate       Software Engineering Concepts            Gary Haggard                     Shane Markstrum          Bucknell University               Bucknell University                                   Abstract      The step from programming simple, well-deﬁned problems to solv-  ing open-ended problems is important for students to take several times  in their education. The Graphs, Algorithms, and Software Engineering  course provides an open-ended, event-driven software development project  suited for small groups that ﬁts well as a second or third year elective and  allows experience with project design prior to a culminating undergradu-  ate experience. The primary project of the course is a GUI-based visual-  ization tool written in Java for describing concepts of graph theory such  as connectedness, traversal orderings, spanning trees, and Euler circuits.  By varying the number and type of graph theory topics implemented by  the GUI, the project can adapted to suit the expected background the  students in the elective. While this course is described as using Java, the  approach can be used with any language with good support of data ab-  straction and a signiﬁcant library that allows for easy GUI development.      The course is built to reinforce good software development practices  through the academic term. As there are many possible design decisions  to make at each stage of the project, students learn the value of developing  clear software speciﬁcations for group cohesion. The requirement to share  parts of the code among groups further motivates the use of a number of  design patterns such as singleton, template, and abstract factory. Further,  it promotes the beneﬁts of a well-deﬁned class or module interface and  document generation tools such as Javadoc. Students learn about code  reuse by using appropriate library-implemented data structures. Students  must also design and administer a user study to a targeted group of users,  such as students in an introductory level computer science course, for  feedback on their developed prototype. By conducting a user study, they  learn how early feedback is incorporated back into the software develop-  ment lifecycle.      Signiﬁcant attention is paid to the design and implementation process.  Group dynamics are very important so that the early foundational work of  each group can be leveraged to make the project bigger than they expect.  Once the class decides on speciﬁcations for the overall design of the project  a great deal of interaction between and among groups shows students  how to leverage both their own and others’ speciﬁc knowledge in solving  problems. The class reexamines design issues at the end of the project.                                       1Students become so familiar with design decisions that were made andenforced throughout the project that a very sophisticated conversationtakes place with students explaining what they liked about the designand changes they would like to see. These discussions are used to explorediﬀerent design options each time the course is oﬀered.                                   2
AU  - Shane Markstrum
AU  - Gary M. Haggard
CY  - Vancouver, BC
DA  - 2011/06/26
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Using Graph Theory Visualization to Motivate Software Engineering Concepts
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/18923
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--18923
ER  -