Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Synopsis

This unit provides an introduction to the discipline of Software Engineering. The emphasis is upon a broad coverage of the areas, since students will at this early stage not have adequate programming skills to tackle many of the topics in greater depth. The notion of a software system as a model or approximation of a desired system is introduced, and used as a way of describing such things as the software life cycle and its various models, programming by contract, design and testing issues, maintenance, reuse, complexity, divide and conquer strategies, metrics and measurement, project management and software legacy.

Objectives

At the completion of this unit students will have:

• an understanding of the breadth and nature of the discipline of Software Engineering;
• an understanding of the effect and implications of complexity in large software systems;
• an understanding of the issues in constructing large software systems from its components, and the nature and design of those components;
• an awareness of the responsibilities placed upon a software engineer;
• an ability to use basic modelling techniques to define and describe the behaviour of software systems;
• an understanding of common software team structures and have developed practical skills in solving small problems in teams.

Assessment

Examination (3 hours): 60%; In-semester assessment: 40%

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Ann Nicholson

Contact hours

2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs laboratories/wk, 1 hr tutorial/wk

Prerequisites

FIT1002 or equivalent

Prohibitions

CSE1401

Additional information on this unit is available from the faculty at:

http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/units/fit1010