Courses and Course Sequences

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Chapter 6: Courses and Course Sequences

This chapter presents a set of example curricula that can be used to teach the knowledge

described in the SEEK (Chapter 4), according to the guidelines described in Chapter 5.

This section is organized as follows. In Section 6.1, we describe how we have categorized

courses and the coding scheme we use. In the subsequent sections, we discuss patterns for

introductory courses, intermediate software engineering courses, and other courses, respectively.

Details of the courses, including mappings to SEEK, are left to Appendix A.

This document is intended as a resource for institutions that are developing or improving

programs in software engineering at the undergraduate level, as well as for accreditation

agencies that need sample curricula to help them make decisions about various institutions'

programs. The patterns and course descriptions that follow describe reasonable approaches to

designing and delivering programs and courses, but are not intended to be prescriptive nor

exhaustive. We do suggest, however, that institutions strongly consider using this chapter as a

basis for curriculum design, since similarity among institutions will benefit at least three groups:

1) students who wish to transfer, 2) employers who wish to understand what students know, and

3) the creators of educational materials such as textbook authors.

Even if an institution decides to base their curriculum on those presented here, it should still

consider its own local needs, and adapt the curriculum as needed. Local issues that will vary

from institution to institution include 1) the preparation of the entering students, 2) the

availability and expertise of faculty at the institution, 3) the overall culture and goals of the

institution, and 4) any additional material that the institution wants its students to learn.

Developing a comprehensive set of desired student outcomes for a program (see Chapter 2)

should be the starting point.

Relationship to CCCS

The CC2001 Computer Science volume (CCCS) [ACM 2001] contains a set of recommendations

for undergraduate programs in Computer Science. While undergraduate degrees in Software

Engineering are different from degrees in Computer Science, the two have much in common,

particularly at the introductory levels. We will refer to descriptions developed in CCCS when

appropriate, and show how some of them can be adopted directly. This will be important for

many institutions that offer both computer science and software engineering degrees.

How this section was developed

To develop these curricula, a subcommittee of volunteers created a first draft. Numerous

iterations then followed, with changes largely made by steering committee members as a result

of input from various workshops. The original committee members started with SEEK, CCCS,

and a survey of 32 existing bachelors degree programs from North America, Europe and

Australia. A key technique to develop curricula was to determine which SEEK topics can be

covered by reusing CCCS courses. A key subsequent step was to work out ways to distribute the

remaining SEEK material into cohesive software engineering courses, using the existing

programs as a guide. It should be noted that many of the existing bachelors degree programs do

not, in fact, cover SEEK entirely, so the proposals did not originally, exactly match any program.

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Since the first draft of this document, at least one university implemented many of the courses in

this document; feedback from that exercise was used to refine the courses shown here.

6.1

Course Coding Scheme

In this document we have used a coding scheme for courses as follows:

XXnnn

Where:

XX is one of

CS for courses taken from CCCS

SE for software engineering courses defined in this document

NT for non-technical courses defined in this document

MA for a mathematics course defined in this document

nnn is an identifying number, where:

· the first digit indicates the earliest year in a four-year period at which the course

would typically be taken

· the second digit divides the courses into broad subcategories within SE

0 means the course is broad, covering many areas of SEEK

1 means the course has a heavy weight in design and computing fundamentals

that are the basis for design

2 means the course has a heavy weight in process-oriented material

· the third digit distinguishes among courses that would otherwise have the same

number

Except where specified, all courses are "40-hour" standard courses, in the North-American

model. As discussed earlier, this does not mean that there has to be 40 hours of lecturing, but that

the amount of material covered would be equivalent to a traditional course that has 40 hours of

lectures, plus double that time composed of self-study, labs, tutorials, exams, etc.

The course identifiers will use different shading, font, and labels to distinguish between various

categories of courses.

The first category of courses would typically be taught early and represent essential introductory

material. Specific courses and sequences of these are discussed in the next section.

SE+CS introductory courses - first year start

Introductory computer science courses from CCCS

Mathematics fundamentals courses

The second category of courses primarily cover core software engineering material from SEEK.

These are discussed in Section 6.3

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Software engineering core courses

Capstone project course

The next group of courses cover material that is essential in the curriculum; but, the group is

neither introductory nor core software engineering material. Such courses are discussed in

Section 6.4

Intermediate fundamental computer science courses

Non-technical (NT) compulsory courses

The following course categories will be elective and optional in at least some institutions, while

perhaps required in others. These are also discussed in Section 6.4.

Mathematics courses that are not SE core

Technical elective (Tech elect) courses (SE/CS/IT/CE) that are not SE core

Science/engineering courses covering non-SEEK topics

General non-technical (Gen ed) courses

Unconstrained (--)

The last category is used when course slots are specified, yet no specific course is specified for

the slot.

6.2

Introductory Sequences Covering Software Engineering, Computer

Science and Mathematics Material

There are several approaches to introducing software engineering to students in the first year-

and-a-half of a bachelors degree program. In this section, we briefly describe the sequences and

the courses they include. We initially describe sequences that teach introductory computing

material, and then we discuss sequences for teaching mathematics. Full details of new courses,

including a formal calendar description, prerequisites, learning objectives, teaching modules,

mapping to SEEK, and other material, is found in Appendix A. Appendix A also has a mapping

to SEEK of courses borrowed from the CCCS volume.

The distinguishing feature of the two main computing sequences is whether students start with

courses that immediately introduce software engineering concepts, or whether they instead start

with a pure computer science first year and are only introduced to software engineering in a

serious way in second year. There is no clear evidence regarding which of these approaches is

best. The CS-first approach is by far the more common, and, for solid pragmatic reasons, seems

likely to remain so. However, the SE-first approach is suggested by some as a way to ensure

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students develop a proper sense of what software engineering is all about. The following are

some of the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches:

Arguments for the SE-first approach:

· Students are taught from the start to think as a software engineer, to focus on the problem to

be solved, to consider requirements and design before coding, to think about process, to work

iteratively, and to adopt other software engineering practices. In other words, they are taught

the habit of thinking about everything required to develop a large system, right from the start.

Students are less likely to develop the habit of thinking primarily in terms of code, or of code

as the objective as opposed to a means to an end. It is felt by some that this mindset is hard to

break later, and leads to students being skeptical of many of the tenets of software

engineering. A good CS-first approach can still avoid this, but some people feel that an SE-

first approach is likely to more readily avoid it.

Exposure to SE early will make them feel more comfortable with their choice of discipline.

Arguments for a CS-first approach

· Programming is a fundamental skill required by all software engineers; it is also a skill that

takes much practice to become good at. The more and earlier students practice programming

the better they are likely to become. Some would disagree with the importance of

programming to a software engineer, but the consensus among those developing this

document is that it is an essential skill.

Students who know little about computers or programming may not be able to grasp SE

concepts in first year, or would find that those concepts have little meaning for them.

There are many textbooks for standard first-year CS courses, and few that take a truly SE-

first approach. Teaching in an SE-first manner might therefore require instructors to produce

much of their own material.

Since many institutions offer both SE and CS degrees, they will want to share courses to

reduce resource requirements.

There is a shortage of SE faculty in many institutions. Those SE faculty who are available

are needed to teach the more advanced courses. Diverting them to teach first year can reduce

the quality of later SE courses.

Most employment open to students after their first year will involve programming.

Employers will be reluctant to give students responsibilities for design or requirements until

they have matured further. Thus, development of programming skills should be emphasized

in the first year.

There is clearly some wisdom in both approaches, and little convincing evidence that either is as

`bad' or as `good' as some people might claim. In order to strike some middle ground, the

courses in both sequences do indeed have some material from the `other side'. The core CCCS

first-year courses have a certain amount of SE coverage, while the first-year courses we propose

for the SE-first approach do also teach the fundamentals of implementation, although not as

deeply as the CS courses.

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It is intended that by the time students reach the end of either introductory sequence, they will

have covered the same topics.

6.2.1

Introductory Computing Sequence A: Start software engineering in first year.

In this sequence, a student's first year involves two courses, SE101 and SE102 (described later)

that introduce software engineering in conjunction with some programming and other computer

science concepts. These courses differ from traditional introductory computer science courses in

two ways: (1) Because of the inclusion of a more in-depth introduction to software engineering,

less time is spent on developing programming skills; and (2) The engineering perspective plays a

major role in the course. Thus, the impact of a few extra hours formally devoted to software

engineering is multiplied through an emphasis on using a software engineering approach in all

programming assignments.

In second year, students then take courses CS103 and SE200, which prepare students for the

intermediate sequences discussed in Section 6.3. CS103 and SE200 combine to finish the

development of basic computing knowledge and programming skills in the students in the

program. SE200 contains some of the programming-oriented material normally found in

introductory computing courses but not included in SE101 and SE102. CS103 and SE200 can be

taken concurrently or either one before the other. For scheduling purposes, it will often be best of

they are taken at the same time.

SE101 → SE102 →

CS103

SE200

The following are brief descriptions for the above courses.

SE101 Introduction to Software Engineering and Computing

A first course in software engineering and computing for the software engineering

student who has taken no prior computer science at the university level. Introduces

fundamental programming concepts as well as basic concepts of software engineering.

SE102 Software Engineering and Computing II

A second course in software engineering, delving deeper into software engineering

concepts, while continuing to introduce computer science fundamentals.

SE200 Software Engineering and Computing III

Continues a broad introduction to software engineering and computing concepts.

CS103 Data Structures and Algorithms

Any variant of CS 103 from the CCCS can be used (e.g., those from the imperative-

first or objects-first sequences). Normally, this course has CS102 as a prerequisite; in

this sequence, SE102 is the prerequisite. The description from the CCCS volume is:

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Builds on the foundation provided by the CS101I-102I sequence to introduce the

fundamental concepts of data structures and the algorithms that proceed from

them. Topics include recursion, the underlying philosophy of object-oriented

programming, fundamental data structures (including stacks, queues, linked lists,

hash tables, trees, and graphs), the basics of algorithmic analysis, and an

introduction to the principles of language translation.

6.2.2

Introductory Computing Sequence B: Introduction to software engineering in

second year

In this sequence, a student starts with one of the initial sequences of computer science courses

specified in the CCCS volume for CS degrees. Specialization in software engineering starts in

second year with SE201, which can be taken at the same time as the third CS course.

→

CS101

CS102

CS103

SE201

The CCCS volume offers several variants of the CS introductory courses. Any of these can be

used, although the imperative-first (subscript I), and objects-first (subscript O) seem the best as

foundations for software engineering. CS103 was described in the last subsection; the

imperative-first versions of the first two CS courses, along with SE201-int are briefly described

below and in Appendix A. Note that CS101 and CS102 cover mostly computing fundamentals

topics from SEEK, but also cover small amounts of software engineering material from other

SEEK knowledge areas. Even with the inclusion of the basics of software engineering, it is not

expected that software engineering practices will be strongly emphasized in the programming

assignments.

The CCCS volume also allows for a `compressed' introduction to computer science, in which

CS101, CS102, and CS103 are taught instead as a 2-course sequence CS111 and CS112. If such

courses are used in software engineering degrees, coverage of SEEK will be insufficient unless

either students are admitted with some CS background or extra CS coverage is added to other

courses.

CS101I Programming Fundamentals

This is a standard introduction to computer science, using an imperative-first

approach. The description from the CCCS volume is:

Introduces the fundamental concepts of procedural programming. Topics include data

types, control structures, functions, arrays, files, and the mechanics of running, testing,

and debugging. The course also offers an introduction to the historical and social context

of computing and an overview of computer science as a discipline.

CS102I The Object-Oriented Paradigm

This is the second in a standard sequence of introductory CS courses. The description

from the CCCS volume is:

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Introduces the concepts of object-oriented programming to students with a

background in the procedural paradigm. The course begins with a review of

control structures and data types with emphasis on structured data types and

array processing. It then moves on to introduce the object-oriented programming

paradigm, focusing on the definition and use of classes along with the

fundamentals of object-oriented design. Other topics include an overview of

programming language principles, simple analysis of algorithms, basic searching

and sorting techniques, and an introduction to software engineering issues.

SE201 Introduction to Software Engineering

This is a central course, presenting the basic principles and concepts of software

engineering and giving a firm foundation for many other courses described below. It

gives broad coverage of the most important terminology and concepts in software

engineering. Upon completing this course, students will be able to do basic modeling

and design, particularly using UML. They will also have a basic understanding of

requirements, software architecture, and testing.

6.2.3

Introductory Mathematics Sequences

Discrete mathematics is the mathematics underlying all computing, including software

engineering. It has the importance to software engineering that calculus has to other branches of

engineering. Statistics and empirical methods also are of key importance to software

engineering.

The mathematics fundamentals courses cover SEEK's FND.mf topic and some of FND.ef that

is, discrete mathematics plus probability, statistics, and empirical methods. We have reused

CCCS courses CS105 and CS106. Since the CS volume lacks an appropriate course that covers

certain SEEK material, we have created a new course MA271 to cover statistics and empirical

methods.

It is recommended that these courses be taught starting in first year, although that is not strictly

necessary. This material is needed for some, but not all, of the intermediate software engineering

courses discussed in the next section.

→

CS105

CS106

MA271

CS105 Discrete Structures I

Standard first course in discrete mathematics. Taught in a way that shows how the

material can be applied to software and hardware design. The description from the

CS volume is as follows:

Introduces the foundations of discrete mathematics as they apply to computer science,

focusing on providing a solid theoretical foundation for further work. Topics include

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functions, relations, sets, simple proof techniques, Boolean algebra, propositional logic,

digital logic, elementary number theory, and the fundamentals of counting.

CS106 Discrete Structures II

Standard second course in discrete mathematics. The description from the CS

volume is as follows:

Continues the discussion of discrete mathematics introduced in CS105. Topics in the

second course include predicate logic, recurrence relations, graphs, trees, matrices,

computational complexity, elementary computability, and discrete probability.

MA271 Statistics and Empirical Methods

Applied probability and statistics in the context of computing. Experiment design

and the analysis of results. The course is taught using examples from software

engineering and other computing disciplines.

6.3

Core Software Engineering Sequences

In this section, we present two sequences, each containing six intermediate software engineering

courses. We also present the capstone course. Full details of the new courses, including a formal

calendar description, prerequisites, learning objectives, teaching modules, mapping to SEEK,

and other material, can be found in Appendix A.

None of the courses in these sequences are fully specified (i.e., none have all of the 40 hours

allocated to topics). This allows institutions and instructors to be flexible as they adapt the

courses to their needs.

The reasons for having two packages are the following:

· Some institutions may have existing courses that fit one of the packages and that they would

like to reuse as much as possible. For example, package I has a requirements course, whereas

Package II distributes this material in other courses. Package II, on the other hand has a pure

testing course, whereas Package I instead has a course that covers both testing and quality

assurance.

There may be individual or institutional preferences for organizing material in one way or

another. For example, while some like having a formal methods course as a separate entity

(Package II), others distinctly do not (Package I).

No matter which package is chosen, coverage of essential SEEK topics at the end will be the

same. However, coverage of desirable and optional topics, as well as those topics added by each

institution, will differ somewhat.

Both six-course sequences have either SE201-int or SE 200 as prerequisites, and would normally

be started in second year. Also, both sequences contain SE212. In both sequences, the courses

are labeled (A), (B) ... (F). These letters are used in the course patterns discussed in section 6.5;

they indicate the slots into which the courses can be placed.

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Indentation from the left margin means that a course should not be taken too early in the

curriculum since it requires maturity, but that there is no explicit prerequisite preventing it from

being taken early.

6.3.1

Core Software Engineering Package I

→

SE211 (A)

SE311 (D)

SE212 (B)

→

SE321 (C)

SE323 (F)

→

SE322 (E)

The following are titles and brief summaries of the courses in this package.

SE211 Software Construction

Covers low-level design issues, including formal approaches.

SE212 Software Engineering Approach to Human Computer Interaction

Covers a wide variety of topics relating to designing and evaluating user interfaces, as

well as some of the psychological background needed to understand people. This course

is also found in Core Software Engineering Package II.

SE311 Software Design and Architecture

Advanced software design, particularly aspects relating to distributed systems and

software architecture.

SE321 Software Quality Assurance and Testing

Broad coverage of software quality and testing.

SE322 Software Requirements Analysis

Broad coverage of software requirements, applied to a variety of types of software.

SE323 Software Project Management

In-depth course about project management. It is assumed that by the time students take

this course, they will have a broad and deep understanding of other aspects of software

engineering.

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6.3.2

Core Software Engineering Package II

→

SE213 (A)

SE312 (D)

SE313 (F)

SE212 (B)

SE221 (C)

SE324 (E)

Note that SE212-hci has already been discussed in the context of Package 1. The main

differences between this package and Package I are as follows:

· This package groups all of the formal methods material in to a single course: SE313,

introducing this material later in the program than Package I does.

The process, management and quality material is packaged in different combinations.

The design material is treated in a more top-down manner, starting with architectures first.

SE213 Design and Architecture of Large Software Systems

Modeling and design of large-scale, evolvable systems; managing and planning the

development of such systems including the discussion of configuration management

and software architecture.

SE221 Software Testing

In-depth course on all aspects of testing, as well as other aspects of verification and

validation, including specifying testable requirements, reviews, and product assurance.

SE312 Low-Level Design of Software

Techniques for low-level design and construction, including formal approaches. Detailed

design for evolvability.

SE324 Software Process and Management

Software processes in general; requirements processes and management; evolution

processes; quality processes; project personnel management; project planning.

SE313 Formal Methods in Software Engineering

Approaches to software design and construction that employ mathematics to achieve

higher levels of quality. Mathematical foundations of formal methods; formal modeling;

validation of formal models; formal design analysis; program transformations.

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6.3.3

Software Engineering Capstone Project

As has been discussed in the guidelines presented in the last chapter, a capstone project course is

essential in a software engineering degree program. The capstone course provides students with

the opportunity to undertake a significant software engineering project, in which they will

deepen their knowledge of many SEEK areas. It should cover a full-year (i.e. 80 lecture-

equivalent-hours). It covers a few hours of a variety of SEEK topics, since it is expected that

students will learn some material on their own during this course, and will deepen their

knowledge in several areas to the `a' level of Bloom's taxonomy.

SE400

SE400 Software Engineering Capstone Project

Provides students, working in groups, with a significant project experience in which they

can integrate much of the material they have learned in their program, including matters

relating to requirements, design, human factors, professionalism, and project

management.

6.4

Completing the Curriculum: Additional Courses

The introductory and core SE courses discussed in the last two sections cover much of the

required material, but there are still several categories of courses remaining to discuss. Full

details of new courses, including a formal calendar description, prerequisites, learning

objectives, teaching modules, mapping to SEEK, and other material, is found in Appendix A.

Appendix A also has a mapping to SEEK of courses borrowed from the CCCS volume.

6.4.1

Courses covering the remaining compulsory material

Intermediate fundamental computer science courses (Int)

The intermediate fundamental computer science courses are CCCS courses in the 200 series, and

cover much of the remaining CMP.cf topics. Any curriculum covering SEEK will need at least

two of these; the patterns in the next section all have three selected courses, but that illustrates

only one possible approach. Some curricula, not shown here, may want to spread the

intermediate SEEK CMP.cf material out over more than three courses.

Non-technical (NT) compulsory courses

The non-technical compulsory courses primarily cover the FND.ec topic and the PRF area of

SEEK that is, engineering economics, communication, and professionalism. Although it would

be possible to compress the necessary SEEK material into a single course, we have shown the

material spread over three courses so it can be covered in more depth.

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NT272 Engineering Economics

This is a standard engineering economics course as taught in many universities. A

relatively small fraction of this course is actually required by SEEK, but it would be

desirable for software engineering students to learn more than that minimum.

NT181 Group Dynamics and Communication

Communication and writing skills are highly regarded in the software industry, but they

are also fundamental to success in collegiate careers.

NT291 Professional Software Engineering Practice

Professional Practice is concerned with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that software

engineers must possess to practice software engineering in a professional, responsible,

and ethical manner. A suitable alternative course would be CS280 from the CCCS

volume.

6.4.2

Non-SEEK courses

Certain curriculum slots in the patterns described below cover material outside of the scope of

SEEK. We have included these to assist curriculum designers in developing programs that cover

more than just SEEK. A certain number of such courses are essential for any interesting and

well-rounded SE program. Curriculum designers and/or students have the flexibility to make

their own choices based on their institutional or personal needs, or based on the needs of

accreditation agencies that look for a broader engineering, science, or humanities background.

Mathematics courses that are not SE core

These cover two types of mathematics courses: a) material such as calculus that is not essential

for a software engineering program according to SEEK, but is nonetheless required in many

curricula for various reasons; b) elective mathematics courses. We show sample course

sequences containing such courses.

Most universities, especially in North America, will teach calculus, often in first year. SEEK

does not contain calculus, because it is not used by software engineers except when doing

domain-specific work (e.g., for other engineers, for scientists, and for certain optimization tasks)

and hence is not essential for all software engineering programs. However, there are a number of

reasons why most programs will include calculus: 1) It is believed to help encourage abstract

thinking and mathematical thinking in general; 2) Many statistics courses have a calculus

prerequisite; and 3) Although needed in the workplace by only a small percentage of software

engineers, it is just not readily learned in the workplace.

Other mathematics areas commonly found in SE curricula are linear algebra and differential

equations. See section 6.2.3 for Math courses (discrete math and statistics) that are part of the SE

core.

Technical elective (Tech elect) courses (SE/CS/IT/CE) that are not SE core

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These courses, cover technical material beyond the scope of the essential SEEK topics. Such

courses could be compulsory in a particular program or electives chosen by students. They might

cover topics in SEEK in greater depth than SEEK specifies, or else might cover material not

listed in SEEK at all. This chapter does not give detailed specifications of such courses, but slots

are shown in the course patterns. The reader can consult the Computer Science, Information

Systems, or Computer Engineering volumes for examples.

Science/engineering courses covering non-SEEK topics

These cover material such as physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, etc. Most software

engineering programs, especially in North America, will include some such courses, particularly

physics courses.

The rationale for including science courses is that they give students experience with the

scientific method and experimentation. Similarly, taking other engineering courses expands

students' appreciation for engineering in general. Taking some science and engineering courses

will also help students who later on want to develop software in those domains.

Courses in this category are not specified in this document in detail.

General non-technical (Gen ed) courses

These slots are for courses in business, social sciences, humanities, arts etc. Most programs will

make some such courses compulsory, particularly in the US, where there is a tradition of

requiring some `liberal arts'. Some universities will want to incorporate specific streams of non-

technical courses (e.g., a stream of business courses).

6.5

Curriculum Patterns

In this section we present some example patterns showing how the courses described in the last

three sections can be arranged into a degree program along with additional non-core courses.

All of the patterns should be seen as examples; they are not intended to be prescriptive (unlike

SEEK). They illustrate approaches to packaging SEEK topics in various contexts.

The main features that differentiate the patterns are:

· The international context

The computer science or engineering school context

Whether software engineering is to be taught starting in the first year or second year

Whether there are two semesters per academic year or three quarters

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Pattern SE - Recommended General Structure

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sem 1A Sem 1B

Sem 2A

Sem 2B

Sem 3A

Sem 3B

Sem 4A

Sem 4B

Intro Computing Sequence

CS(Int)

SE400

CS105

CS106

Calc 1

Calc 2

MA271

Tech elect

SE200/201

Tech elect Tech elect

Tech elect

The remainder of the chapter is devoted to illustrating specific instances of applying Pattern SE

in varying contexts.

Pattern N2S-1 - North American Year-2-Start with Semesters

This pattern illustrates one way that courses can be arranged that should be widely adaptable to

the needs of many North American universities operating on a semester system. Many course

slots are left undefined to allow for adaptation. Two example adaptations are shown later.

The pattern starts its technical content with CS101, CS102, and CS103 The pattern also has

SE201 taken in parallel with CS103 (see above for discussion of this sequence); SE101, SE102,

CS103, SE200 sequence could be substituted. Following the introductory course SE201 (or

SE200), students would take one of the packages of six SE courses described above that cover

specific areas in depth.

There is considerable flexibility in the intermediate fundamental CS courses; a set of CCCS

courses that cover appropriate areas of SEEK is suggested.

We have included three non-technical courses to cover relevant areas of SEEK. We suggest

starting with a communications course (e.g., NT181) very early, and deferring the ethics course

(e.g., NT291), as shown, until students gain more maturity. Many variations are, however,

possible, including rolling the SEEK material in these courses into one or two courses instead of

three.

We have shown the traditional Calculus 1 and Calculus 2 in first year, with the software

engineering mathematics starting in second term of first year. From a pedagogical point of view,

it could be argued that calculus should being delayed; however, teaching calculus in first year

allows SE programs to mesh with existing CS and SE programs; it also ensures that SE students

take calculus in classes with other students of the same age group.

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Year1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sem 1A Sem 1B

Sem 2A Sem 2B

Sem 3A Sem 3B

Sem 4A

Sem 4B

CS101

CS102

CS103 CS (Int)

CS (Int)

CS(Int)

SE400

Calc 1

Calc 2

CS106

SE A

MA271

SE D

SE F

Tech elect

NT 181

CS105

SE201

SE212

SE C

SE E

Tech elect Tech elect

NT 272

NT 291 Tech elect

Pattern N2S-1c - in a computer-science department

The pattern shown below is typical of a software engineering program that might be built in a

computer science context. This is an adaptation of Pattern N2S-1, as shown above. Such

programs may have evolved from computer science programs or may co-exist with computer

science.

Year1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sem 1A

Sem 1B

Sem 2A

Sem 2B

Sem 3A Sem 3B

Sem 4A

Sem 4B

CS101

CS102

CS103

CS220

CS226

CS270T

SE400

Calc 1

Calc 2

CS106

SE A

MA271

SE D

SE F

Tech elect

NT181

CS105

SE201

SE212

SE C

SE E

Tech elect Tech elect

Physics Any science NT272 Linear Alg

NT291 Tech elect Tech elect Tech elect

Gen ed

Pattern N2S-1e - in an engineering department

Programs in a North American engineering department typically begin with a rigorous calculus

sequence (three semesters) probability and statistics, physics and chemistry. Introductory courses

in other areas of engineering are given during the first year. For SE programs in EE or CE

departments, circuits and electricity are common. Programming for engineers is usually required

in the first year. The introductory computer science sequence is often the compressed CS111,

CS112 (CCCS) sequence, although we have maintained the 3-course sequence below because we

believe this is much better for software engineers.

Year1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sem 1A

Sem 1B

Sem 2A

Sem 2B

Sem 3A Sem 3B

Sem 4A

Sem 4B

CS101

CS102

CS103

CS220

CS226 CS270T

SE400

Calc 1

Calc 2

CS106

SE A

MA271

SE D

SE F

Tech elect

NT181

CS105

SE201

SE212

SE C

SE E

Tech elect Tech elect

Physics 1

Physics 2

NT272

Lin Alg

NT291 Tech elect Tech elect Tech elect

Chemistry Engineering

Calc 3

Gen ed

SE2004 Volume 8/23/2004

Pattern E-1 - Compressed model for a country in which it is assumed calculus and science

is not needed or is taught in high school, and less general education is needed

Some countries, including most of the UK, have secondary school systems that bring students to

a higher level of science and mathematics. Such systems also tend to have very focused post-

secondary education, requiring much less in the way of general education (humanities etc.). The

following pattern shows one way of teaching SE in those environments.

Year1

Year 2

Year 3

Term 1A Term 1B

Term 2A

Term 2B

Term 3A Term 3B

CS101

CS102

CS103

CS merged

SE400

CS105

CS106

MA271

SE D

SE F

Tech elect

NT181

SE201

SE A

SE E

Tech elect Tech elect

NT272

NT291

SE C

SE212

Tech elect Tech elect

Pattern E-2 Another model for a country where calculus and science is not needed.

This pattern also illustrates the use of SE101 and SE102, as well as the delay of some of the core

SE courses until students have gained maturity.

Year1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sem 1A

Sem 1B Sem 2A Sem 2B Sem 3A

Sem 3B

Sem 4A Sem 4B

SE101

SE102 CS103 SE200

SE A

SE212

SE D

SE F

CS overview CS106 CS220 CS226 Tech elect

SE C

SE E

SE400

CS105

MA271 NT291 CS270T Tech elect Tech elect

SE400 Tech elect

NT181

NT272

Pattern N3Q-1 - North American year 3 start Quartered

Some North American universities operate on a quartered system, with three quarters instead of

two semesters. The following pattern accommodates this, assuming that four courses are taught

each quarter. This pattern also illustrates one way of delaying the SE core courses until third

year.

Year 1

Year 2

Quarter 1A Quarter 1B Quarter 1C Quarter 2A Quarter 2B Quarter 2C

CS101

Calc 2

CS102

CS 103

CS270T

CS226

Calc 1

Chemistry

Calc 3

CS220

CS106

Math

Physics 1 Physics 2 Engineering

CS105

NT291

Gen ed

NT181

Gen ed

Math

SE2004 Volume 8/23/2004

Year 3

Year 4

Quarter 3A

Quarter 3B

Quarter 3C

Quarter 4A

Quarter 4B

Quarter 4C

SE201

SE A

SE D

SE400

SE212

SE C

SE E

SE F

Tech elect

MA271

Tech elect

Gen ed

Tech elect

Gen ed

NT272

Gen ed

Pattern N1S - US model showing starting SE early in CS courses

This model shows the use of the first-year-start sequence: SE101, SE102, and SE200

Year1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sem 1A

Sem 1B

Sem 2A

Sem 2B

Sem 3A Sem 3B

Sem 4A Sem 4B

SE101

SE102

CS103

CS270

CS220

SE D

CS226

SE400

Calc 1

Calc 2

SE200

SE212

SE A

SE E

SE400 Tech elect

CS105

CS106

Physics 1

MA271

SE C

Tech elect

SE F Tech elect

Gen ed Psychology

NT181

Physics 2

Sci Elect

NT291

Gen ed Gen ed

Gen ed

Sci Elect

NT272

Pattern Jpn 1 Japanese pattern 1

This pattern shows how the courses could be taught in Japan. This is based on a model produced

by the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ). The IPSJ curriculum has been adapted

slightly so as to include the courses in this document. Some of the distinguishing features are as

follows: no calculus or science electives, a large number of prescribed computer science courses,

general education mostly in the first year, and extra programming courses in the first year. The

IPSJ program has a variable numbers of hours for the courses. To simplify, we have shown a

program where courses have a standard number of hours.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sem 1A Sem 1B Sem 2A Sem 2B

Sem 3A

Sem 3B

Sem 4A

Sem 4B

Calc 1 Calc 2

SE400

CS111 CS112

SE C

SE E

Tech elect

NT181

CS extra CS extra CS

SE D

SE F

Tech elect Tech elect

CS105 CS106

NT291

NT272

Gen ed Gen ed MA271 SE A SysApp Spec SysApp Spec

Gen ed Gen ed SE201 SE212 SysApp Spec SysApp Spec

SE2004 Volume 8/23/2004

Pattern Aus1: Australian model with four courses per semester

This pattern shows a pattern that might be suitable in Australia. It has been adapted from the

curriculum of an Australian university. Many universities in Australia are moving towards

having only four courses per semester, with students consequently learning more per course than

if they were taking five or six courses. As a result, the 40-hour courses discussed in this

document don't fit and would have to be adapted.

Some of the adaptations are:

· The essentials of NT181 and NT272 are covered in a single somewhat longer course.

The Discrete math material is combined into a single somewhat longer course.

The six-course software engineering sequences are not used. Instead there are five

compulsory SE courses beyond SE201. Two of these courses are project courses, allowing

for learning using a non-lecture format.

Material from SE323 and NT291 are taught in the same course.

Some of the SE courses broadly introduce SEEK topics, with depth being achieved by

choosing from particular sets of technical electives.

Year1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sem 1A Sem 1B

Sem 2A Sem 2B Sem 3A Sem 3B

Sem 4A

Sem 4B

CS101

CS102

CS220

CS103

Team proj

SE400

Calc 1

Lin. Alg

CS270T

Tech elect SE323 NT291 Tech elect

NT181/

Team

Dig Logic

SE201

Tech elect Tech elect

Tech elect

NT 272

proj

CS105

MA271

Intro EE

CS 106

Pattern Isr 1: Model for Israel

This pattern is derived from an Israeli university's computer science program. The program has a

large number of prescribed computer science courses. To make an SE program, we have

replaced some of these with SE courses.

Year1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Sem 1A

Sem 1B

Sem 2A Sem 2B Sem 3A Sem 3B Sem 4A Sem 4B

CS101

CS102

CS103

SE A

SE D

SE400 SE400

Dig sys

SE212

SE E

SE F

Calc 1

Calc 2

SE C NT291 NT272

Lin. Alg

Abst Alg

MA271

CS105

NT181

Combinatorics

CS106

SE2004 Volume 8/23/2004

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