Syllabus
There are two parts of CS 416: software quality engineering and software cost estimation. The first part relates to testing, verification, and validation. The second relates to estimating the cost of developing software.
Why do I care?
The two topics of CS 416 (testing and effort estimation) are core topics of software engineering. Every programmer needs to find defects and determine the quality level of their software. Every programmer needs to accurately forecast how long it will take to accomplish a given task. Without these two essential skills, we are essentially hackers.
Outcomes
Successful graduates of CS 416 will:
- Critique the quality of a given article and identify the assumptions on which an author's conclusions were made.
- Define, describe, gather evidence for, and report the level of software quality as it pertains to a given software project.
- Describe and conduct a software effort estimation for a given software project.
- Enumerate, define, and relate the factors in software effort estimation to a given software project.
- Accept the principles of software engineering and commit to apply them in the workplace.
Course Materials
There is no standard textbook for CS 416. All the content will be research articles available on the Welcome : Textbook part of the I-Learn site. You will also be expected to use library resources on occasion to complete the various assignments.
There will be additional material available through I-Learn, including:
- Schedule
- Assignments
- Additional material pertaining to a given week
Assessment
The grading breakdown for the class will be:
Preparation | 15% | Thirteen reading quizzes due Monday night. For most weeks, there will be about 15 pages of reading. |
Teach-One-Another | 20% | Every week, there will be a Teach-One-Another activity where you will work in pairs, small groups, or as a class to address problems relating to software quality. |
Ponder & Prove | 65% | There will be one assignment per week, each worth 5% of your overall grade. |
Grades are as follows: | 100% → 90% | A: | Demonstrated mastery of the class |
89.9% → 80% | B: | All of the key concepts and skills have been learned | |
79.9% → 70% | C: | Acceptable, but might not be ready to graduate | |
69.9% → 60% | D: | Developing, the class has yet to be mastered | |
59.9% → 0% | F: | Failed to understand or complete the course |
There will also be the usual +’s and -’s. All grades are reported on I-Learn. If you feel that I-Learn does not accurately reflect your earned grade, please discuss this with your instructor.
Policies
You may work with your classmates, but all submitted work must be original. The penalty for copying or plagiarizing of assignments might be one or more of the following: -100% on an assignment, being asked to withdraw from the class, a failing grade in the class, or disciplinary action by the university.
Homework assignments are to be completed as scheduled. Late work is generally not accepted. However, assignments may be rescheduled for a limited number of emergency situations if you discuss your situation with me before (not on and especially not after) the scheduled due date. There will be no routine extensions of due dates; be prepared to justify any requests for extensions.
Communication
There will be two main ways to communicate with the instructor in CS 416: BYU-Idaho e-mail and the Instructor Space:
- E-Mail. All students are required to use their BYU-Idaho e-mail when communicating with the instructor. Please do not count on using the phone (unless explicitly arranged by the instructor), Facebook, smoke signals, or any other form of communication. The instructor will answer all your e-mails in less than 24 hours. Please contact your instructor directly for questions about your grade.
- Instructor Space. All questions about the course content, help with problems, questions about expectations regarding any of the assignments, a shoulder to cry on, or just about anything else should be done through the Instructor Space. This is your lifeline for CS 416.
Accessibility
BYU-Idaho is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by BYU-Idaho Disability Services. If you need assistance or feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established policy and procedures.
If you have any disability that may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact Disability Services as soon as possible, preferably before the beginning of the semester, in order to insure that you receive appropriate accommodations.
Disability Services Contact Information:
- Phone: 208 496 9210
- Email: disabilityservices@byui.edu
- Fax: 208 496 5210
- Website: http://www.byui.edu/disabilities/disability-services