Spring 2020 CSCI 5300: Software Engineering

Course Information

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11am - 11:50am
Zoom Video Conference (see your email for a link)
Instructor: Kate Holdener, Ph.D.
Office hours are listed on the instructor page.

Course Catalog Description

Key aspects of the software engineering discipline, including software process models, software project initiation, software analysis and design, software project planning and management, and software process and product metrics. Pre-requisite: CSCI 5030.

Detailed Course Description

What is this course about?

The goal of this course is to learn how to create quality software and to prepare students for jobs in the software industry. You will be learningthe processes involved in software engineering, tools, and techniques. A significant portion of the class is dedicated to a semester long project, where you'll apply the material you learned in class along with your prior computer science knowledge and skills. After completing the course, you can proudly share this project with potnetial employers as an example of your work. This can be a useful tool during interviews or a conversation starter at career fairs.

During this semester, you will be running a software team at an imaginary small startup that is responsible for delivering software to the client - the course instructor. You will work with the client to figure out the requirements of this software and to ensure that your final product satisfies the client's needs.

What happens during class time?

What happens during class will vary, and each class time will fall into one of the following categories:

How should you prepare for class?

I will assign reading from the selected chapters of the course textbook, listed in the Required Course Resources section of this document. You are responsible for completing this reading PRIOR to next class. In addition to reading the assigned chapters, you must complete an at-home reading quiz. The reading quizzes are due at the start of class. The purpose of the quizzes is to guide you through the reading, help you highlight the key points, and provide an opportunity to reflect on the reading.

When we start working on the semester project, you will be working in a team of 3-4 students. At that time, we will routinely dedicate the first 5 minutes of each class for team meetings. During these meetings, teams will talk about what tasks everyone completed since the last meeting, what tasks they expect to complete prior to the next meeting, and what (if anything) is preventing them from making progress on the project. Come to class prepared to talk about these topics: make notes of what you are planning to say at the meeting to ensure that the meetings are efficient.

Learning Outcomes

After successfully completing this course the students will be able to:

Major topics covered in the course are:

See Schedule and Notes for a more detailed list of topic and schedule.

Required Course Resources

The following resources will be used throughout the semester:

Grading

Your grade will be based on at-home reading quizzes, in-class exams, individual assignments, and individual contribution to the team project.

You will be able to access your grades throughout the semester for this course via Blackboard.

Final letter grade will be assigned based on the following scale:

Attendance

Come to class. Be on time. Individual contribution to the team project is part of your grade, and on-time presence in class is required to contribute to the team project, as we'll be discussing, planning, and reporting on the project during lecture time. When you arrive late, you are disrupting the entire team, therefore, it is important that you are in class on time. Reading quizzes are due at the start of class and will not be accepted if you arrive late.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is honest, truthful and responsible conduct in all academic endeavors. The mission of Saint Louis University is "the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity." Accordingly, all acts of falsehood demean and compromise the corporate endeavors of teaching, research, health care, and community service via which SLU embodies its mission. The University strives to prepare students for lives of personal and professional integrity, and therefore regards all breaches of academic integrity as matters of serious concern.

The governing University-level Academic Integrity Policy was adopted in Spring 2015, and can be accessed on the Provost's Office website at: https://www.slu.edu/provost/policies/academic-and-course/policy_academic-integrity_6-26-2015.pd.

Additionally, each SLU College, School, and Center has adopted its own academic integrity policies, available on their respective websites. All SLU students are expected to know and abide by these policies, which detail definitions of violations, processes for reporting violations, sanctions, and appeals. Please direct questions about any facet of academic integrity to your faculty, the chair of the department of your academic program, or the Dean/Director of the College, School or Center in which your program is housed.

Title IX

Saint Louis University and its faculty are committed to supporting our students and seeking an environment that is free of bias, discrimination and harassment. If you have encountered any form of sexual misconduct (e.g. sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, domestic or dating violence), we encourage you to report this to the University.

If you speak with a faculty member about an incident of misconduct, that faculty member must notify SLU's Title IX coordinator, Anna R. Kratky (DuBourg Hall, room 36; anna.kratky@slu.edu; 314-977-3886) and share the basic fact of your experience with her. The Title IX coordinator will then be available to assist you in understanding all of your options and in connecting you with all possible resources on and off campus.

If you wish to speak with a confidential source, you may contact the counselors at the University Counseling Center at 314-977-TALK. View SLU's sexual misconduct policy.

Disability Services

Students with a documented disability who wish to request academic accommodations must contact Disability Services to discuss accommodation requests and eligibility requirements. Once successfully registered, the student also must notify the course instructor that they wish to access accommodations in the course.

Please contact Disability Services, located within the Student Success Center, at Disability_services@slu.edu or 314.977.3484 to schedule an appointment. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries. Once approved, information about the student’s eligibility for academic accommodations will be shared with course instructors via email from Disability Services and viewed within Banner via the instructor’s course roster.

Note: Students who do not have a documented disability but who think they may have one are encouraged to contact to Disability Services.

Student Success Center

In recognition that people learn in a variety of ways and that learning is influenced by multiple factors (e.g., prior experience, study skills, learning disability), resources to support student success are available on campus. The Student Success Center assists students with academic-related services and is located in the Busch Student Center (Suite, 331). Students can visit https://www.slu.edu/life-at-slu/student-success-center/ to learn more about tutoring services, university writing services, disability services, and academic coaching.

University Writing Services

Students are encouraged to take advantage of University Writing Services in the Student Success Center; getting feedback benefits writers at all skill levels. Trained writing consultants can help with writing projects, multimedia projects, and oral presentations. University Writing Services offers one-on-one consultations that address everything from brainstorming and developing ideas to crafting strong sentences and documenting sources. For more information, visit https://www.slu.edu/life-at-slu/student-success-center/ or call the Student Success Center at 314-977-3484.

Basic Needs Security

Students in personal or academic distress and/or who may be specifically experiencing challenges such as securing food or difficulty navigating campus resources, and who believe this may affect their performance in the course, are encouraged to contact the Dean of Students Office (deanofstudents@slu.edu or 314-977-9378) for support. Furthermore, please notify the instructor if you are comfortable in doing so, as this will enable them to assist you with finding the resources you may need.