Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Carl Svensson
Appointment by email
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
COMP355 or COMP365 or ISYS355
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
Topics covered in this unit include the software development life cycle and its phases, generic and project-specific aspects of the life cycle, risk, estimation methods, process models and modelling, process maturity, process improvement, metrics, experimentation, reliability, experience packaging, organisational issues, socio-technical aspects of process, software evolution, process-centred development environments and standards.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Prac and Research Tasks | 30% | Friday 8pm: Weeks 3, 5, 9 & 13 |
Group Project: Deliverable 1 | 5% | Friday Week 3 |
Group Project: Deliverable 2 | 10% | Friday Week 6 |
Project Progress Presentation | 5% | Saturday Week 9 (In Class) |
Group Project: Deliverable 3 | 10% | Friday Week 10 |
Group Project: Deliverable 4 | 10% | Week 13 (see description) |
Final Exam | 30% | Exam Period |
Due: Friday 8pm: Weeks 3, 5, 9 & 13
Weighting: 30%
4 x Individual submissions assessing the understanding of topics covered in the course. Each submission has both practical and research tasks associated with the deliverable.
Due: Friday Week 3
Weighting: 5%
One group submission outlining the proposal and project plan.
Due: Friday Week 6
Weighting: 10%
This assignment gets students to develop two documents. The first is the document communicating findings from their requirements analysis; the second is the test specification that details how they would expect the system to be tested and what types of tests it would have to pass in order to be deemed acceptable. The assignment is a group based assignment with individual contributions clearly outlined and graded accordingly.
Due: Saturday Week 9 (In Class)
Weighting: 5%
This is a group interim presentation assessed with individual grades. Students give a presentation outlining the results of their analysis of the problem and intent for the design of the system. It is an opportunity for students to assess other presentations on their content, presentation style and coverage of the problem.
This is intended to be a way for individuals to see the insight of other groups after having completed the majority their own work, and for them to provide some feedback for their next deliverable. It also provides a way to evaluate presentation styles and give students insight into different approaches taken so they can prepare for their final presentation at the end of the semester.
Due: Friday Week 10
Weighting: 10%
This assignment gets students to develop the design of their system that addresses the requirements outlined in the first half of the semester. The document being submitted is a system design document. The assignment is a group based assignment with individual contributions clearly outlined and graded accordingly.
Due: Week 13 (see description)
Weighting: 10%
The components of this deliverable include:
Due: Exam Period
Weighting: 30%
The exam will be a written exam with no multiple choice sections. It will be held in the usual examination period of the semester. Students have 3 hours written time plus 10 minutes reading time to complete the sections of the exam.
Where available, limited numbers of hard-copy versions of textbooks listed below have been placed in the reserve section of the Macquarie University Library.
(The full set of companion slides for this textbook are available from Sommerville's site)
While the unit will be drawing from the prescribed textbook listed above, the resources listed below will also be used to supplement some of the material. The list (of some great resources) below is provided for information purposes in case students would like to refer to them, but it is NOT compulsory for students.
Classes for ITEC800 this semester run for up to four hours on Saturdays (Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13) from 9:00am until 1:00pm. Please refer to the Unit Schedule for details. The breakdown of each scheduled Saturday has a lecture (from 9:00am to 11:00am) and a mixed session (from 11:00am to 1:00pm).
Be prepared to participate in discussions, ask and answer questions, and provide perspectives from your own background and workplaces. Lectures will be informative but also exploratory in nature, and so it is certainly recommended that a high participation and attendance level be maintained throughout the course.
Note: Due to the Easter weekend public holiday, there will be no classes scheduled for ITEC800 in week 6 (Saturday April 4).
Note: Due to the ANZAC DAY Public Holiday, there will be no classes scheduled for ITEC800 in week 7 (Saturday April 25).
Lecture material, assignment specifications and extra readings not listed above will be provided through the iLearn web page for ITEC800.
All soft copy assignment submissions / marks will be done through the ITEC800 page on iLearn. This will be the official form of assignment submission accepted for this course unless otherwise stated in the specification or through the discussion process of an extension (see below).
Late submission of individual work will incur a 20% penalty for every 24 hour period it is late. So within 24 hours after the submission deadline, the maximum mark that can be obtained is 80% of the full grade for that assessment task; between 24 and 48 hours, the maximum mark that can be obtained is 60% of the full grade; and so on. No extra documentation is required unless the student wishes to have an extension (see below) with no penalty applied.
Late submissions of group based assignments are not permitted unless under exceptional circumstances with documentary evidence provided to the unit convenor, which may include medical certificates as per the Department of Computing policy. One person being sick does not mean the group cannot submit work. Students are urged to have backup plans for group based submissions.
Extensions without a grade penalty may be provided to groups or individuals who contact the unit convenor and can provide documentary evidence of illness or other misadventure. If approved, a new submission timeline and submission method will be discussed on a case by case basis.
Students are strongly advised to contact the unit convenor as early as possible if there are any issues that will not make an on-time submission possible.
The final exam will focus on content covered in the classes throughout the semester. Please see the assessments section for details on the final exam.
The web page and content for this unit can be found at iLearn: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/. Note that the unit content is not publicly available and requires a login to access the content and discussions.
Class Schedule | Topics - (Subject to change) |
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Week 1 Saturday 28th February |
Taking a systems perspective - Introduction and consolidation, identifying the system and environment, socio-technical considerations, ethics and professionalism, initial plan-based and Agile considerations. |
Week 2 Saturday 7th March |
Systems analysis - Problem analysis and requirements engineering. |
Week 3 Saturday 14th March |
System evaluation and testing - System Evaluation I: Validation, verification and testing. |
Week 4 Saturday 21st March |
System evaluation and testing - System Evaluation II: Quality and security. |
Week 5 Saturday 28th March |
System design - System architectures, system partitioning and requirements allocation, traceability, design approaches and documentation considerations. |
Week 6 |
No Class for ITEC800 in this week due to classes falling on the Easter Weekend Public Holiday. |
Teaching Break | Two week mid-semester teaching break |
Week 7 |
No Class for ITEC800 in this week due to classes falling on ANZAC Day. |
Week 8 Saturday 2nd May |
System design - Design considerations for systems: Distributed systems, embedded systems, mission-critical systems, "big data" systems. |
Week 9 Saturday 9th May |
System design - Targeting system design for operational feasibility (including metrics and considerations for usability, maintainability, reliability and supportability). |
Week 10 Saturday 16th May |
System deployment and maintenance - System implementation, integration and operation, reuse opportunities, Component Based Software Engineering, system evolution and decommissioning. |
Week 11 Saturday 23rd May |
Systems management - Change and configuration management, process improvement. |
Week 12 Saturday 30th May |
Systems management - People and teams, project management, risk, estimation, resourcing, organisational issues and Agile. |
Week 13 Saturday 6th June |
Advanced treatment of system life-cycles - System development life-cycles, product life-cycles, process models. Revision |
Exam Period | Final Exam |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues
This graduate capability is supported by:
Individual tasks changed from 6 to 4 and the total weighting of individual tasks has been changed from 20% to 30%.
The final exam has been changed from 40% to 30%.
Formal inclusion of requirement (In the grading and standards section) that students must perform at a functional level or better across ALL 3 assessment groupings (Individual tasks, group project deliverables, final exam) in order to pass the unit.
At the end of the semester, you will receive a grade that reflects your achievement in the unit
In this unit, your final grade depends on your performance in each assessment grouping. For each task, you receive a mark that combines your standard of performance regarding each learning outcome assessed by this task. Then the different component marks are added up to determine your total raw mark for the course out of 100. Your grade then depends on this total mark and your overall standard of performance.
The Department of Computing expectations are that students have to perform satisfactorily in the final exam as well as in their internal work/assignments. Therefore, in line with this expectation, in order to pass the unit, students must meet the following criteria:
(This means that you may fail the unit if you do not submit satisfactory submissions for the assignments OR do not perform satisfactorily in the exam.)
Four standards (namely: HD, D, CR, P) summarise the different levels of achievement. Each standard is defined to help students know what kind of performance is expected to achieve a certain level of grade. The standards corresponding to the learning outcomes of this unit are given below:
Learning Outcome #1 | F | P | Cr | D | HD |
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Evaluate software system development processes and the context in larger systems projects. | Unsatisfactory level of demonstrating creativity, project leadership, strong analytical and design skills. Unsatisfactory level of demonstrating ability to assist in solving real-world software | Sometimes demonstrate creativity, project leadership, strong analytical and design skills. Sometimes demonstrate ability to assist in solving real-world software development problems and manage project risk. | Often demonstrate creativity, project leadership, strong analytical and design skills. Demonstrate ability to assist in solving real-world software development problems and manage project risk. | Demonstrate creativity, project leadership, strong analytical and design skills. Demonstrate ability to assist in solving real-world software development problems and manage project risk. | Demonstrate creativity, project leadership, strong analytical and design skills. Demonstrate ability to solve real-world software development problems and manage project risk. |
Learning Outcome #2 | F | P | Cr | D | HD |
Evaluate both requirements and design process activities in developing software systems. | Unsatisfactory level of applying techniques and knowledge to develop requirements and design deliverables software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Sometimes apply techniques and knowledge to develop requirements and design deliverables software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Often apply techniques and knowledge to develop requirements and design deliverables software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Frequently apply techniques and knowledge to develop requirements and design deliverables software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Always apply techniques and knowledge to develop requirements and design deliverables software systems to a very high standard of quality. |
Learning Outcome #3 | F | P | Cr | D | HD |
Analyse operational feasibility considerations such as usability, maintainability, reliability and security in developing software systems. | Unsatisfactory level of applying techniques and knowledge to assess operational feasibility considerations in software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Sometimes apply techniques and knowledge to assess operational feasibility considerations in software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Often apply techniques and knowledge to assess operational feasibility considerations in software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Frequently apply techniques and knowledge to assess operational feasibility considerations in software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Always apply techniques and knowledge to assess operational feasibility considerations in software systems to a very high standard of quality. |
Learning Outcome #4 | F | P | Cr | D | HD |
Evaluate verification, validation and testing procedures in developing quality software systems. | Unsatisfactory level of applying techniques and knowledge to implement and test software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Sometimes apply techniques and knowledge to implement and test software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Often apply techniques and knowledge to implement and test software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Frequently apply techniques and knowledge to implement and test software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Always apply techniques and knowledge to implement and test software systems to a very high standard of quality. |
Learning Outcome #5 | F | P | Cr | D | HD |
Evaluate project management processes and quality processes in developing software systems. | Unsatisfactory level of applying techniques and knowledge to conduct project management processes for software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Sometimes apply techniques and knowledge to conduct project management processes for software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Often apply techniques and knowledge to conduct project management processes for software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Frequently apply techniques and knowledge to conduct project management processes for software systems to a very high standard of quality. | Always apply techniques and knowledge to conduct project management processes for software systems to a very high standard of quality. |
Learning Outcome #6 | F | P | Cr | D | HD |
Understand how to communicate and assess communications for a targeted audience in both written and spoken forms. | Unsatisfactory level of demonstrating an ability to communicate in a structured form. Unsatisfactory level of assessing others in their communication attempts. | Sometimes apply an ability to communicate in a structured form. Sometimes able to assess others in their communication attempts. | Often apply an ability to communicate in a structured form. Often able to assess others in their communication attempts. | Frequently apply an ability to communicate in a structured form. Frequently able to assess others in their communication attempts. | Always apply an ability to communicate in a structured form. Always able to assess others in their communication attempts. |