Importance and Contribution of Software Engineering to the Education of Informatics Professionals

Transcription

1 Imprtance and Cntributin f Sftware Engineering t the Educatin f Infrmatics Prfessinals Dr. Tick, József Budapest Plytechnic, Hungary, [email protected] Abstract: As a result f the Blgna prcess a new frm f higher educatin will be intrduced in the Eurpean Unin. Under this tw-tier degree structure, bachelr and master degrees can be gained after finishing each cycle. Hungary will als jin the Blgna prcess and the new frm f higher educatin will als be intrduced in the years t cme. In rder t gain experience, a pilt prject will be launched in certain clleges and universities at certain faculties and majrs in The Budapest Plytechnic will launch the first Technical Infrmatics BSc curse with 330 students in September In the light f the already defined cmpetencies and the shrt- and lng- term market needs the pilting prject encurages higher educatin prfessinals t refrmulate thse units f knwledge and skills and their rati, which make up the prfessinal knwledge f a graduate in infrmatics. In this paper I will summarise the crner pints f the sftware engineering curse as a cntributin t the general knwledge f prfessinals in infrmatics. Keywrds:Sftware Engineering, Educatin 1 Intrductin The new tw tier degree structure that was accepted in Blgna by the Eurpean Unin is made up frm new types f bachelr and master curses. A significant step in the intrductin f this new higher educatin system is the intrductin f the bachelr curse (first degree curse) in the frame f a pilt prject, n the basis f the criteria laid dwn by the Hungarian authrities, in certain clleges and universities at certain faculties and majrs in the autumn f The Jhn vn Neumann Faculty f Infrmatics at the Budapest Plytechnic will participate in the pilt prject and will launch the technical infrmatics BSc curse this September.

2 A high level training f infrmatics has already been ging n at the Budapest Plytechnic and at its ancestr institutin fr several years. The curriculum and thus the prfessinal learning material taught have cntinuusly been revised and upgraded. The intrductin f the new higher educatin system has given a handle t rethink the fields and rati f the prfessinal learning material t be taught in the light f the cmpetencies. This paper highlights the sftware engineering aspects f this revisin. The paper referred in [1] examined the necessary knwledge t be taught and skills t be trained frm the aspect f sftware engineering specialisatin. This paper, hwever, examines sftware engineering as part f the general infrmaticsengineering learning material taking it as an element f the basic prfessinal culture. The questin is then, hw cmpetent the graduates - finishing their bachelr curse in the framewrk f the pilt prject first in must be at sftware engineering, what kind f knwledge and skills they must have, regardless f their specializatin such as hardware design, infrmatics netwrk, mbile infrmatics r rbtic techniques. In rder t answer this questin we must take ff frm the basic cmpetencies set up in the curse requirements [2] fr BSc infrmatics engineers: Prgramming in bject riented and visual prgramming envirnment The knwledge and implementatin f sftware develpment methdlgies, the usage f develping tls The installatin, cnfiguratin, tuning, errr lcatin, errr shting, peratin and upgrade f mdern, general purpse perating systems Develpment, creatin, mdificatin f data bases in mdern data base system In the relevant field f the training specializatin the knwledge f basic practical methds and slutins, and the basic skills necessary fr engineering activities cnsidering design, develpment, implementatin and peratin f systems. Taking sftware engineering int accunt, primarily the secnd and als the first and the third f these requirements are t define the bjectives and gals. Frm these requirements the basic cmpetencies referring t sftware engineering can be deducted.

3 2 Key-cmpetencies f sftware engineering educatin On defining basic cmpetencies, nt nly the abve mentined requirements must be cnsidered but als the fact that implementatin will be realised in a separate subject, which must make up a unit itself. Thus, the cmpetencies t be defined are as fllws: The knwledge f a necessary theretical backgrund f the science f sftware engineering, Skills t be able t slve cmplex, large, sftware-intensive prjects Skill level knwledge f sftware prject management The knwledge and skill level usage f mdelling based sftware develpment methdlgies Practice in using Cmputer Aided Sftware Engineering (CASE) tls Practice in team wrk Beynd these basic cmpetencies sme further aspects are t be raised t make the unit cmplete: The training must have an adequate thery/practice rati due t the specialities f sftware engineering The learning material must be relatively lng lasting and taking life lng learning int cnsideratin it has t prvide a stable base The learning material must be up t date, valid and immediately usable The usage f such a CASE tl is needed in case f a prject wrk that is widespread, while practice in its handling partly raises the value f a student in the labur frce market and partly gives a gd base t learn the usage f further ther tls. Taking the abve int cnsideratin the subject framewrks, the curriculum and the methdlgical elements can be set up. 3 Elabratin f subjects supprting the realisatin f the cmpetencies relevant t sftware engineering Beynd the abve defined cmpetencies, bth the envirnment and the framewrk, - which the subjects that teach sftware engineering learning material,

4 train skills and sharpen students faculties must fit in, - have t be cnsidered in rder t define the learning material, the framewrk subjects as well as the cntent and the methdlgical elements f the relevant subjects. The accepted curriculum f the technical infrmatics BSc curse cncerning the general prfessinal learning material is divided as fllws: Basic cre: Prfessinal cre: Basic knwledge f Mathematics and Natural Sciences Ecnmic and human learning Prgramming mdule System technique mdule Infrmatin systems mdule The sftware engineering subject is placed in the prgramming mdule thus it has t adjust mst t this narrwer envirnment. The cntent f this mdule weighted with the ttal number f lessns fllws belw: Intrductin t infrmatin technlgy 30 lessn lab Prgramming paradigms and techniques 45 lessn lecture Imperative prgramming 45 lessn lab Object riented prgramming 30 lessn lab Basics f WEB prgramming 30 lessn lab Visual (event driven) prgramming 45 lessn lab Declarative prgramming 30 lessn lab Sftware develpment and engineering 45 lessn lecture Sftware engineering practice 30 lessn lab Advanced algrithms 30 lessn lab The number f lessns well indicates the subject s weight as well as its rle within the mdule. Sftware engineering is taught in tw subjects (sftware develpment and sftware engineering practice) meaning that it plays a significant rle with its ttal f 75 lessns in the mdule.

5 4 Cntributin f sftware engineering t the building up f an infrmatics apprach The significance f sftware engineering in the prgramming mdule, furthermre in the whle bachelr curse is larger than the rati f the number f lessns wuld indicate. That is because this is the subject, in which, apart frm thery, practical and managerial learning material can be taught, thus creating a certain apprach and attitude f the students. Beynd the strictly taken sftware making and sftware develping tricks, sftware engineering cntributes t the general knwledge and skills f graduates in infrmatics by develping a certain apprach. 4.1 Develpment f a prduct based apprach referring t develpment and prductin It is true nt nly in case f sftware prductin that a significant percentage f the graduates in infrmatics deal with develpment, prduct elabratin and prductin. This activity cannt be fr its wn sake, it must meet real market demands. Apart frm the prfessinal slutins, three factrs must be cnsidered, which the students must be prepared fr: Sftware as a prduct. The develped sftware prduct must be marketable and shuld meet the requirements f the market and the prfessin (infrmatics and the infrmatin dmain). It must stand its grund cmpared t a cmpetitive prduct. It means that at the phase f design prfessinal aspects cannt be exclusive and the market situatin must als be taken int accunt. The pssible mdels f develpment prcess. Students must knw the steps f the develpment prcess, their sequence and the benefits and drawbacks f the pssible paradigms. Students must have practice in the dcumentatin f the prcess and in supprting CASE tls, they must knw abut the pprtunities f standardisatin, reuse and quality assurance. Students must get t knw the set experience gained thrugh the applicatin f mdels. Cnsideratin f the characteristics f the develpment prcess. Students must be prepared fr the fact that develpment is such a prcess that cntains several such elements that are nt strictly cnnected t the prfessinal side f sftware develpment, althugh, they are quite imprtant parts f the develpment. Frm prfessinal pint f view the mst utstanding part f sftware develpment is design, hwever, ther fields are als significant in case f develpment:

6 Cmmunicatin with the custmer, effective infrmatin cllectin, rganisatin, and cntrl f the necessary infrmatin are all essential t a successful prject. Invitatin f the experts f the infrmatin dmain; nwadays a successful prject cannt be carried ut withut wrking and cperating with them. The impact f prject management n develpment cnsiders nt specifically prfessinal aspects. That is why it is crucial t be able t make cmprmises and deal with trade-ffs in case f prfessinal tasks. Cnsideratin f market and ecnmic aspects partly in the curse f analysis and partly in the curse f design. 4.2 Skill level training f team wrk In rder t give a better chance fr a better jb fr thse graduates wh will nt cntinue their studies n the master curse and will wrk after gaining their BSc degree, the expectatins f the market and the emplyers are especially imprtant. In the list f these expectatins practice in team wrk is regularly takes the first place. That is why fundamental requirements fr students are t cnsider the team wrk feature f sftware develpment, t practise team wrk and t train such a type f wrk up t a skill level. This field includes several unique aspects: Learning f team rganisatin pssibilities Learning f tasks and rles as a team member The features f teamwrk 4.3 The effective usage f bject based mdelling in the curse f analysis and design Sftware engineering dicusses the develpment methds f medium and large size sftware-intensive systems. The analysis and design f such systems can be realised nly if it happens at a higher abstractin level and the system is mdelled. Mdelling, hwever, is a general methd, which can be used nt nly in the field f sftware develpment but in ther fields as well. Tgether with bject riented apprach, mdelling can be especially effective in the slutin f a general prblem. Sftware engineering is especially significant because this subject gives a chance t learn and practise this methd and t gain experience in it. UML, which is taught in the subject, is excellent frm such a pint f view that it is widespread, can be used in several fields and that the system s mdells can be defined frm several different viewpints. These viewpints are as fllws:

7 Architecture mdell Behaviur mdell User mdell (usecase) Implementatin mdell Several diagramms defined in the framewrk f the abve mdells give a gd hand t supprt the entire scale f the develpment (frm analysis t testing) nt nly in sftware engineering but in several fields f infrmatics. The large number f labs gives an pprtunity t turn the theretical prfessinal and managerial knwledge f students in the students prfessinal practice int skill level practice. The fllwing features are highlighted in the curse f labs: Cmplex prblem t be slved as a prject in team wrk The dcumentatin f the whle prject frm starting thrugh phases t the final reprt must be well elabrated Prject management t be based n a certain rganisatin methd Rles and respnsibilities in the team must be well defined Use f bject-riented mdelling methd is bligatry in the curse f develpment Use f mdern CASE tl is bligatry Evaluatin f interim and final reprts is based n individual perfrmance and respnsibilty Students must present the prject n cmpletin The practical and technical knwledge, and experience gained in the prject carried ut accrding t the criteria set abve can be well applied nt nly in the fields f sftware engineering but in ther fields f infrmatics as well. Cnclusins Sftware engineering educatin plays a significant rle in the infrmatics BSc curse since this subject can teach and train such basic skills t graduates finishing their studies at the bachelr level, which are, by all means, necessary in sftware develpment and prductin, can be used well in the entire infrmatics prfessin and thus raise the chance f getting a better jb after graduatin. References

8 [1] Tick, J.: Hw t achieve gd skills in Sftware Engineering a practical way t train sftware develpers. SAMI 2003, Herlany, Slvakia, February, 2003 [2] Selényi, E., Sima, D.: A Műszaki Infrmatika Szak BSc Szintű Képesítési követelményei. [3] Sima, D., BMF-NIK kllektívája: A Műszaki Infrmatika Szak BSc Szintű Tanterve.