Forum for Academic Software Engineering Volume 5, Number 10, Fri Apr 7 12:52:01 CDT 1995 Topics: Teaching Innovations at the University of Sheffield European Software Process Improvement Training Initiative in Austria Workshop on Predictably Dependable Computing Systems Additions to STARS ASSET Reuse Library Web Page: South Africa Women in Science and Engineering ETHICOMP95 Proceedings Workshop: Personal Software Process A------------------------------------------------------- From: Mike Holcombe Subject: Teaching Innovations at the University of Sheffield My personal web pages contain a number of articles describing some innovative teaching activities that we are carrying out in the Department of Computer science, University of Sheffield, UK. * Teaching critical analysis skills through seminars in software engineering. * Innovative group projects including the "Crossover" project. * Assessing understanding using comprehension questions. The details may be found at WWW URL http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk:80/~wmlh/ or at top level http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk and then into the Personnel pages of Professor Mike Holcombe. Other sections are under development. More details: ) 1. Teaching theory of computer science. Teaching theoretical material to undergraduates can be a challenge and the way the material is presented and motivated are crucial if the class is to obtain the maximum benefit and interest from the exercise. We have introduced a number of innovations in this area including extensive project oriented material and the development of "comprehension" exercises and examination questions. ) 2. Teaching software engineering. Teaching software engineering to advanced students in a way that encourages critical evaluation as well as developing technical knowledge and skills is an urgent requirement today. Some experiences in setting up a seminar based advanced course are described in "A seminar-based course that attempts to provide a more "academic" approach to software engineering." (The full paper may be consulted) ) 3. Project work and industrial interaction. Several project types are examined, the use of "live" industrial clients in the context of a software hut exercise and the Crossover project introducing first year students to team working in the context of a software life cycle model. (The full paper may be consulted) Another project involved students undertaking real consultancy work in small local companies. Abstract. We describe a project involving students carrying out a real consultancy exercises with local companies, in which the students played the role of IT consultants and assessed a company's business, the scope for applying information technology in the company and developed a properly researched and costed proposal for the implementation of an IT strategy for the company. We look at how this was organised, how the students performed, what the companies thought and the benefits for the students' educational experience. (A paper may be consulted.) ) 4. Assessment. Comprehension exercises - a new type of examination question. Abstract. For many subjects in the arts area, particularly languages, comprehension exercises are a fundamental aspect of the teaching of the subject. So that students will be given a passage of prose or a poem which they have probably not seen before and then asked a number of questions about it to test their understanding of it, to ask them to critically analyse the passage and perhaps to develop some of the ideas and themes further. Since much of Computer Science is also language based, particularly in the realms of formal methods and the theory of computation, the issue of comprehension, criticism and development are also vital issues. We have been introducing comprehension exercises into some of our examinations in order to develop and assess these skills explicitly. In fact we have been doing this since 1988 and the conclusions from this, together with some examples of examination papers, are given. (A paper may be consulted) Mike Holcombe, Professor of Computer Science, University of Sheffield. A------------------------------------------------------- From: MB@sea.uni-linz.ac.at (Manfred Beneder) Subject: European Software Process Improvement Training Initiative in Austria ESPITI (European Software Process Improvement Training Initiative) is a programme of the European Union for improving the awareness of software processes. For Austria the ASQI (Austrian Software Quality Initiative) has established a WWW server. This server contains information about the events planned by the "Regional Organisation" and other groups. The URL of the home page is M. Beneder G. Preuner A------------------------------------------------------- From: Barry Hodgson Subject: Workshop on Predictably Dependable Computing Systems PDCS - FINAL OPEN WORKSHOP LAAS-CNRS TOULOUSE, FRANCE 7-9 June, 1995 P D C S Predictably Dependable Computing Systems ESPRIT Basic Research Action 3092 ESPRIT Basic Research Project 6362 The Final Predictably Dependable Computing Systems Open Workshop will be held on 7-9 June 1995, in Toulouse, starting at 1.30 p.m. (with registration and lunch from 12.00 p.m.) on Wednesday June 7, and ending at 3.40 p.m. on Friday June 9. The Final Open Workshop brings the PDCS2 project to an end. It will comprise technical presentations based on the achievements of both projects in the following areas: + Overview + Fault Prevention + Fault Tolerance + Fault Removal + Fault Forecasting "Validation of the MARS Architecture by means of Three Physical The invited speaker is: - David Parnas (McMaster University, Ontario, Canada) "Mathematical Documentation: A Practical Way to Improve the Quality of Critical Computer Systems" Technical presentations will be complemented by demonstrations of prototype software and systems developed by the projects. Further information about the PDCS projects (including project reports) and Workshop details can be found at: # server in the UK # server in Portugal # server in the Netherlands or contact: Mr. Barry Hodgson Department of Computing Science University of Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU UK tel: +44 (191) 222 7948 fax: +44 (191) 222 8232 e-mail: j.b.hodgson@newcastle.ac.uk Dept. of Computing Science, Claremont Tower, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = j.b.hodgson@newcastle.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 222 7948 FAX = +44 191 222 8232 A------------------------------------------------------- From: info@source.asset.com Subject: Additions to STARS ASSET Reuse Library The STARS ASSET Reuse Library has recently added the following new assets or new versions of existing assets. You need to have an account with ASSET (currently abailable at no cost) in order to access these new documents and software. More information about ASSET, acquiring an account, and a hyper-text catalog of our holdings can be found at the URL "http://source.asset.com/". Information can also be obtained by sending e-mail to "info@source.asset.com", FAXing to (304) 594-3951, or calling (304)-594-3954. Asset ID Title ASSET_A_878 Object Oriented Designer (OOD) ASSET_A_872 Organization Domain Modeling (ODM) Guidebook ASSET_A_869 Process Presentation using the WWW and the HTML Process Presentation Tool Set ASSET_A_808 Using Ada in a Senior Level Compiler Course A------------------------------------------------------- From: storm!jenni@uunet.uu.net (jenni courtney) Subject: Web page: South Africa Women in Science and Engineering The Association of South African Women in Science and Engineering (SA WISE) would like to announce its new World Wide Web site: The Association of South African Women in Science and Engineering is a newly formed, dynamic association for all those (both men and women) who support the idea of strengthening the role of women in science and engineering in South Africa. A------------------------------------------------------- From: Simon Rogerson Subject: ETHICOMP95 Proceedings An International Conference on the Ethical Issues of Using Information Technology: The two-volumed conference proceedings distributed to delegates comprises 3 keynote addresses, 25 papers, 6 workshops, 9 doctoral essays, and conference bibliography. If you wish to obtain a copy contact: Simon Rogerson, Director Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility School of Computing Sciences De Montfort University The Gateway Leicester LE1 9BH UK Tel +44 116 257 7475 Fax +44 116 254 1891 E-mail srog@dmu.ac.uk A------------------------------------------------------- From: bharathc@db.erau.edu (Celeste Bharath) Subject: Workshop: Personal Software Process Faculty Workshop: PERSONAL SOFTWARE PROCESS August 8-12, 1995 SPONSORS Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Addison-Wesley Publishers Software Engineering Institute LOCATION Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach, Florida INSTRUCTORS Watts Humphrey Soheil Khajenoori PERSONAL SOFTWARE PROCESS The Personal Software Process (PSP) is a process-based method that software engineers can use to apply software engineering principles to their work. The data on the PSP introduction at several universities and corporations show that engineers significantly improve the quality of their work, learn how to plan their projects, and improve their productivity. PSP covers 11 of the 18 key process areas (KPAs) of the SEI Capability Maturity Model (CMM), which is an organizational-level software process model. PSP training helps students to learn these concepts related to large-scale systems: baselining, planning, estimating, measuring, tracking, and inspecting. It brings home to students the need for a disciplined approach to software creation. Students who have completed a PSP course have shown improvements in their productivity on the order of two- to three-fold. More astonishing, quality gains measured as defects per KLOC are improved up to ten-fold. WHY PSP IS IMPORTANT FOR ACADEMIC EDUCATION A persistent problem facing academic software engineering education is teaching programming in the large under the constraint of the academic calendar. Student assignments are often viewed as "toy" problems by industry standards, and simulating realistic situations has proved to be difficult. PSP provides a framework to bring large-scale practices into the classroom and teach them in a practical context. COURSE TOPICS * The Personal Process Strategy * The Baseline Personal Process * Planning I - The Planning Process * Planning II - Measuring Software Size * Planning III - Estimating Software Size * Planning IV - Resource and Schedule Planning * Measurements in the Personal Software Process * Design and Code Review * Software Quality Management * Scaling Up the Personal Software Process * Design Verification * Defining the Software Process * Using the Personal Software Process TEXTBOOK "A Discipline for Software Engineering" by Watts Humphrey, published by Addison- Wesley. Instructor materials and a supporting diskette will also be provided to participants at no additional charge. SELECTION CRITERIA This workshop is limited to 25 faculty, and it is expected that the number of applicants will exceed the capacity. Faculty who demonstrate the greatest potential for adopting PSP as part of a curriculum will be selected to attend. INTENDED AUDIENCE University computing or software engineering faculty FEE $250 HOW TO APPLY Send a letter describing software engineering offerings at your department, courses you have taught, and how you propose to incorporate the materials into your curriculum. A supporting letter from a department chair or dean will enhance an application. Electronic mail or FAX communication is encouraged. Send your application letter to: Iraj Hirmanpour, Chair Voice: 904/226-6690 Computer Science Department FAX: 904/226-6678 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Internet: iraj@db.erau.edu Daytona Beach, FL 32114 WATTS HUMPHREY Watts Humphrey joined the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie Mellon University after his retirement from IBM in 1986. While at the SEI he established the Software Process Program, led the initial development of the Capability Maturity Model for software, and introduced the concepts of software process assessment and software capability evaluation. Prior to joining the SEI, he spent 27 years with IBM in various technical executive positions including the management of all IBM commercial software development. This included the first 19 releases of OS/360. Most recently, he was the IBM director of programming quality and process. Humphrey holds graduate degrees in physics from the Illinois Institute of Technology and in business administration from University of Chicago. He is an SEI fellow, a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), an IEEE fellow, and a past member of the board of examiners for the Malcolm Baldridge Nation Quality Award. His publications include "Managing the Software Process" (English and Japanese) and "Managing for Innovation, Leading Technical People" (English and Spanish). He holds five U.S. patents. SOHEIL KHAJENOORI Soheil Khajenoori is the director of the Master of Software Engineering (MSE) program and an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has been teaching the PSP course as part of the MSE program for the past three semesters. Dr. Khajenoori is currently collaborating with the SEI and Watts Humphrey on implementation of the PSP paradigm. He focuses his research and teaching on software process improvement, software metrics, and software development methodologies. HOUSING Nearby Hotels and university housing. For more information, contact -- Computer Science Department Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Voice 904/226-6690 FAX 904/226-6678 Internet mcafeel@cts.db.erau.edu E------------------------------------------------------------------- FASE Volume 5 Number 10 Send newsletter articles to fase-submit@d.umn.edu or fase@d.umn.edu Send requests to add, delete, or modify a subscription to fase-request@d.umn.edu Send problem reports, returned mail, or other correspondence about this newsletter to fase-owner@d.umn.edu or kpierce@d.umn.edu You can retrieve back issues by anonymous FTP from from ricis.cl.uh.edu. 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