CS 350 Introduction to Software Engineering -- Fall 2016

Steven J Zeil

Last modified: Apr 10, 2016

Contents:
1. Course Description
1.1 Instructor
1.2 Course Pre-requisites
1.3 Meeting Times and Delivery Method
2. Basic Course Information
2.1 Required Text:
2.2 Resources for Getting Started
2.3 Computer Accounts
2.4 Hardware & Software Requirements
3. Course Policies
3.1 Attendance
3.2 Due Dates and Late Submissions
3.3 Academic Honesty
3.4 General University Policies
3.5 Grading:
4. Topics:
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Expectations

Website: https://www.cs.odu.edu/~zeil/cs350/f16/

1. Course Description

This course explores the software development process. It will discuss the major activities common to software development processes, and some of the ways in which those activities are organized and managed.

Heavy emphasis will be placed on the day-to-day skills required during software construction. The course will explore lessons and tools offered by the major successful open-source software efforts.

The course requires each student to participate as a member of a team in a significant team project. Each student will be required to demonstrate proficiency in several software development tools.

1.1 Instructor

Steven Zeil E&CS 3208
(757) 683–4928 zeil@cs.odu.edu

Please make sure to include the course name “CS350” in the subject line of any email related to this course.

Office Hours

Office hours are posted online at http://www.cs.odu.edu/~zeil/officehours/

1.2 Course Pre-requisites

1.3 Meeting Times and Delivery Method

Students must register for both a lecture section and a recitation section.

2. Basic Course Information

2.1 Required Text:

Readings from the internet will be assigned from the course website.

2.2 Resources for Getting Started

2.3 Computer Accounts

Students will need two network accounts to participate in this class:

2.4 Hardware & Software Requirements

Students will need frequent access to a PC capable of hosting software development activities or of connecting remotely to CS Dept servers where such activities can be performed.

Students will be attending network conferences requiring the use of a microphone. Webcams are optional.

For both remote access to CS Dept servers and for network conferencing, a good-quality internet connection is important.

The course will introduce students to a wide variety of software packages. All of these are open-source, free software, but students will need to install some of these on their chosen development machine (whether their own PC or in their account on the CS network).

3. Course Policies

3.1 Attendance

Project review sessions will be scheduled for selected weeks during the recitation periods. Attendance at these is mandatory. Failure to attend will result in substantial grade penalties for that portion of the project.

3.2 Due Dates and Late Submissions

Late assignments and make-up exams will not normally be permitted.

Exceptions to this and other grading policies will be made only in situations of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the student’s control, and such arrangements must be made prior to the due date in any situations where the conflict is foreseeable.

I’ve fallen behind and can’t catch up”, “I’m having a busier semester than I expected”, or “I registered for too many classes this semester” are not grounds for an extension.

3.3 Academic Honesty

Everything turned in for grading in this course must be your own work, or, for team projects, the work of your own team. Opportunities for teamwork will be clearly identified as such.

Students are expected to conform to academic standards in avoiding plagiarism.

The instructor reserves the right to question a student orally or in writing and to use his evaluation of the student’s understanding of the assignment and of the submitted solution as evidence of cheating.

Students who contribute to violations by sharing their code/designs with others may be subject to the same penalties. Students are expected to use standard Unix protection mechanisms (chmod) to keep their assignments from being read by their classmates. Failure to do so will result in grade penalties, at the very least.

This policy is not intended to prevent students from providing legitimate assistance to one another. Students are encouraged to seek/provide one another aid in learning to use the operating system, in issues pertaining to the programming language, or to general issues relating to the course subject matter.

Student discussions should avoid, however, explicit discussion of approaches to solving a particular programming assignment, and under no circumstances should students show one another their code for an ongoing assignment, nor discuss such code in detail.

Violations of this policy will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity for consideration for punitive action.

3.4 General University Policies

The ODU Catalog lays out a wide variety of University policies that are binding upon both students and faculty. All students are required to abide by these.

3.5 Grading:

Assignments: 15%
Semester project: 45%
Midterm exam: 15%
Final exam: 25%

Grading is normalized.

4. Topics:

Topics will include:

4.1 Objectives

Students completing this course should be able to:

4.2 Expectations

Students will engage in team projects in this course. Students are expected to actively participate in and contribute to their teams, and this engagement with the team will be part of the grade.