In order to pass the unit

Note that each student is expected to complete satisfactorily all three components of the assessment.  This is a highly integrated unit and attempts to merely accumulate marks in a component without utilising material from the others would be destined to fail.

This unit, like the workplace you will soon be in, requires active involvement and, like the workplace, you will be being judged throughout the semester.

There will be regular feedback during the semester, so students should have an idea of how they are progressing (and if you don't have a clear idea, be sure to ask!).

But it's really important to realise that this unit, the culminating unit in software engineering linking your degree to the workplace, is not like many (probably any) of the units you have studied before. You need to attend all classes and be actively involved. You need to work between classes and prepare for the following week's classes. You need to plan and manage carefully your own individual tasks. And you need to take all this seriously and complete it in a business like and conscientious manner.

It goes without saying, but we'll say it anyway, that there are no recorded lectures or web-based PowerPoint presentations for you to use if you miss things. The unit has lectures, but the unit is about you and your participation is essential for success.

Late Submissions and Special Consideration

As with all software engineering, timely submission is essential.  Late submissions will not be accepted.  If you are seriously affected by unavoidable and unforeseeable circumstances, you should email the unit convenor as early as possible, and certainly before the due date of piece of work.  In any case, be sure to submit by the due date whatever work you have available for submission.  If, after application for for Special Consideration as a result of unavoidable disruption to studies, the university deems you to be eligible to complete further work on the assessment item, you may be given an opportunity to add to your submission or you may be given a substitute task.

Written submissions

Software engineering frequently requires written reports, and such reports need to be, as far as possible, of professional quality.  Students need to strive to present work which is written clearly, with good grammar, correct word usage, correct punctuation and correct spelling.  Wherever required, all written work must be properly referenced and conform to standard stylistic conventions.

Week 1: When do we meet?

With classes starting in week 1, and the first workshop on Friday 10am, this unit emphasises a dynamic combination of lecture, practical and laboratory work, group and individual assigned task work, and a high degree of self-learning.  The overall goal is to be a "finishing school" for software engineers, and the unit includes highly technical work as well as deep reflection on the nature of the discipline and its state in Australia and internationally.

Research and Resources

Research "in the library" (outside of scheduled sessions) as to the state of the art in software engineering will be required as the student develops their own understanding in identified areas as part of the assigned task work.

There are no set texts, but a wide range of sources will need to be consulted and reading lists developed.

This unit is different each year because the content is tailored to the individual experiences of each of the students that arise from their particular choices of electives in the software engineering program and any work experience, and it is also tailored to the students' medium term career goals.  The exact nature of the change from year to year depends of course upon the exact nature of the individual experiences and the goals of the enrolled students in each year.

Methods of Communication

Communication with students will be done in person during the weekly meetings. This may include action items, feedback, queries on progress, and any other topics that arise as part fo the weekly discussions. 

We will - where necessary - communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Lecture

Delivery of material not previously seen by the students or material which will be presented in a differenct context with regard to graduate capabilities. There may be some review material, but this is minimal.

Laboratory

Develop skills based competencies in experimentation with overlap/application to theory and simulation.

Projects

Students plan and execute a combination of group and individual work to execute a project of substance, possibly with real world application. This activity leads to assessments that may be of both a group and individual nature as well as formal reports and a presentation

Class debates

This activity is used widely in this unit to engage students and encourage deep learning. At this advanced level, as well as technical material there is a need for students to develop their own internalised understanding of matters such as ethics, the nature of the profession, their approach to professional development, and their career goals. There aren't simple answers, and there is a strong need for detailed student engagement with the issues.

COVID Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated priarilly via iLearn, but may include direct email communication through you student email.

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au. More details are in the "General Assessment Information" for specific assessments.

The class runs on Friday each teaching week of session 1 (except for public holidays). Below is a tentative schedule for the unit, but a more definite scheudle will be discussed with students based on their self-evaluation against accreditation criteria.

** Please note that this is the initial plan for arranging unit content, but it is subject to change.  Our goal is to best serve student learning and depending on the distribution of Joint Board competencies already attained by the incoming students material may be rearranged and relative timings reallocated (in consultation with the enrolled students).

Individual projects will cover many areas including CASE tools, process methodologies, testability and formal verification as well as project specific technical material.  The precise combination will vary based on the nature of each individual project.

As noted above, COMP4060 is different every year because it is tailored to the varied experiences of the enrolled students and because assessment weightings are negotiated with students during the unit.

As part of this process of a tailored experience for each student, we include a student reflection on their experiences in the unit which includes feedback and suggestions for future offerings. While there are no macro-changes to the units for this offering based on feedback from the previous cohorts, there was a strong preference on keeping more of the discussion in a face to face mode rather than using online forums to suppliment the discussions. There was also an overwhelmingly positive response to the tailored nature of the unit with the breakout discussion sessions which will remain for this offering as well.

As we've said, COMP4060 is a very different unit from the other kinds of units you will have studied in your software engineering (SE) program.  So, we want to be explicit about the unit's goals.  They are:

1. To fill the gaps in ICT knowledge that can arise from a curriculum for SE including a limited number of required specialist IT units.  Each student has different gaps, as they depend on the students' choices of electives and on their goals for future employment in software engineering (there are many different kinds of software engineers).
2. To provide a culminating experience in which students reflect upon their entire degree and contextualise it with respect to other software engineering degrees, SE curricula, and their own understanding of SE, as well as developing their own near-graduation perspective on SE as a field, on professionalism and on professional practice.

These are the goals that lie behind the learning outcomes.