CS 364 SYLLABUS

There are two parts of CS 364: requirements engineering and design specification. The first part relates how we as software engineers come to understand the client's needs and how those needs are documented. The second relates to how we as software engineers develop and represent a design for a software system that meets the client's needs.

Why do I care?

There are two main purposes of this class. The first is to understand the purpose and techniques behind software elicitation and system design. These are essential processes that all software engineers will need to master.

The second and perhaps more important purpose is to learn how to work in large teams on large projects. There are some issues that simply do not crop up unless the team and project size is a big. After having done this twice in CS 364, you will be far better prepared for similar situations in the workplace.

Outcomes

Successful graduates of CS 364 will:

Schedule

The course is organized around a weekly schedule designed to facilitate the creation of the SRS and SDD:

Week 01 Course Overview Overview of requirements engineering, pick a project, and organize into teams
Week 02 Elicitation Techniques Group presentations on different elicitation techniques
Week 03 Elicitation Application Debate elicitation issues and collect data for the project
Week 04 SRS Standard Create the first draft of the SRS
Week 05 SRS Application Work on the SRS
Week 06 Midterm Complete the SRS and reflect on the process
Week 07 Design Techniques Group presentations on diffrent design techniques
Week 08 Design Application Create the first draft of the design of the project
Week 09 SDD Standard First draft of the SDD document
Week 10 Design Representation Group presentations on different representation tools & techniques
Week 11 Software Engineering Overview of the entire software engineering process
Week 12 Software Engineering Careers Career options and how to find a job
Week 13 Final Exam Review all that was learned this semester
Week 14 Course Conclusion Complete the SDD and reflect on the process

Course Materials

All the material for this course will be provided on the course I-Learn site. This includes assigments as well as reading material.

Assessment

The grading breakdown for the class will be:

Preparation 10% Thirteen reading quizzes due Monday night. The amount of material will vary wildly from week to week.
Teach-One-Another 20% Every week, there will be a Teach-One-Another activity. Mostly this will take the form of a class debate, research, team presentations, and participation in creation of the SRS and SDD.
Ponder & Prove 10% There will be an assignment at the end of each week.
SRS & SDD 60% 20% of the overall grade is the SRS and 40% of the overall grade is the SDD document. Since these constitute the majority of your grade, the majority of your effort should be spent on them.
Letter Grade Percentage Range Description
A 100-90% Demonstrated mastery of the class
B 89.9-80% All of the key concepts and skills have been learned
C 79.9-70% Acceptable, but might not be ready to graduate
D 69.9-60% Developing, the class has yet to be mastered
F 59.9-50% 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.

Most of the learning activities have a time estimate associated with them. These signify how long it takes the average student to complete the activity for the average grade. Some students will complete the assignment significantly faster or slower than the average, and getting an "above average" grade may take much more time and effort. Please use the estimates as guidelines; they are not guarantees.

Communication

There will be three main ways to communicate with the instructor in CS 364: BYU-Idaho e-mail, Announcements, and through the Project Manager (PM):

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.

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:

Discrimination

BYU-Idaho prohibits sex discrimination against any participant in its education programs or activities. Prohibited sex discrimination includes incidents of sexual harassment (including sexual violence), dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking (collectively “sexual misconduct”).

As an instructor, one of my responsibilities is to help create a safe learning environment for my students and for the campus as a whole. University policy requires that I report all incidents of sexual misconduct that come to my attention. If you encounter sexual misconduct, please contact the Title IX Coordinator at titleix@byui.edu or 208-496-9209. Additional information about sexual misconduct and available resources can be found at www.byui.edu/titleix