Forum for Advancing Software engineering Education (FASE) Volume 8 Number 08 (103rd Issue) - August 15, 1998 838 subscribers Note: If you have problems with the format of this document, try ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Table of Contents Letter from the Academic Editor This Month's Topic: Object Technology Education and Training Next Month's Topic: Graduate SE Program Survey Results & Evaluation Upcoming Topics News Items ABET EAC Approves Software Engineering Program Criteria Licensing - Update Calls for Participation CSEE&T 99 Workshops - Call for Position Statements OOPSLA '98 workshop: What Makes Course Materials Reusable? ICSE 2000 - Publicity Committee Volunteer for North America Conference Announcements Camden Technology Conference '98 International Conference on Practical Software Quality Techniques (PSQT'98) IEEE Real-Time Systems Symposium (RTSS '98) Workshop on Industrial-strength Formal Techniques (WIFT'98) Position Openings Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Towson University - Director of Center for Software Engineering Contact and General Information about FASE ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ By: Don Bagert Letter From the Academic Editor With this issue, it has been precisely one year since FASE restarted publication. The major change that was made, outside of the monthly publication frequency, was the inclusion of a monthly topic, starting with the second new issue in September 1997. To mark one year's worth of topics, here is a list of what has been presented to date: September 1997: Undergraduate Software Engineering October: Industry/University Collaborations November: Graduate School Opportunities December: Industry Training January 1998: SEE&T Predictions for 1998 February: The Personal Software Process(SM) in E&T March: Software Education April: Software-Related Law May: 100th Issue - FASE: Past and Future June: Software Metrics July: Licensing of Professional Engineers in SE This Month: Object Technology Education and Training Our thanks once again to the wonderful work done by the various guest editors, including Susan Burk Tom Hilburn, Pete Knoke, and Susan Mengel, also to my co-editor, Kathy Beckman. The goal of the FASE Editorial Board has always been, and continues to be, providing a quality product for our subscribers, and for an on-going improvement in the services that we provide for you. To that end, we would like to encourage you to continue giving us feedback, whether positive or negative, regarding FASE. Please give us whatever information that you think is helpful, but here are some questions for which I am interested in hearing your answers: Are the monthly topics helpful? How could they be improved? What topics would you like to see? What features would you like to see added or discontinued? Is the current text-based format sufficient? If not, what should be changed? Anyway, whatever feedback you can supply will be appreciated. Take care! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: Susan Burk This Month's Topic: Object Technology Education and Training OOPSLA Midyear Workshop on Training and Education: Findings and Futures The OOPSLA 19998 Midyear Workshop on Training and Education was held from July 19 to July 21 in Denver, Colorado. Participants from academia and industry worked together using a delivery workshop format to identify challenges of teaching Object Oriented (OO) techniques, methodologies, and languages. Additionally, we documented concrete ideas to meet the challenges. The meetings were extremely productive and heightened the awareness of the value of ongoing collaboration between industry and academia. Additionally, it gave us a chance to capitalize on the benefits obtained when people have the opportunity to work together as a team. We were able to share ideas and learn from each others' experience. By interacting with each other, we were able to bring out some new ideas that went beyond what any of us might have contributed individually. The original position papers submitted by the participants can be found at http://www.amsinc.com/TrainingServices/oopmid.htm. The final workshop paper, which contains the results of our team effort when we were together in Denver, will be published in the "OOPSLA Educators Symposium Proceedings Notes" (not in the regular OOPSLA Proceedings) for OOPSLA '98. Additionally, the results of the workshop will be found in a template form on a searchable web site http://valen.stetson.edu/OOPSLA/MidYear98 ###################################################################### ***************************************************** Findings: ***************************************************** Our discussions ranged through many challenges critical for OO Education and Training. During our initial session, we identified more than 20 such challenges. However, our primary focus was on seven of the challenges we identified. In this section of this article, the challenges are briefly summarized, and an excerpt from the final workshop paper is included from four of them: 1. Thinking Object Oriented: Ways to enable individuals to make the famous OO "paradigm shift" >From the final workshop paper: "One of the most pressing concerns for the OO trainers and educators was in getting students, both professional programmers and college students, to "think" Object Oriented. ... It is not expected that every student will reach this level of abstract thinking; however, there is a need for every OO practitioner to have the ability to think along these lines when designing software. The main theme of the solutions centered around the notation that the students needed a great deal of repetition and examples." Specific ways of providing repetition, using analogies, CRC cards, key OO-concept phrases, and case studies were noted. "Each of these concepts/practices/understandings needs to be repeated over a long period of time, much longer than the typical five (5) day corporate course...It was also debated whether students should be introduced to OO thinking before learning an Object Oriented language. Those in favor of this approach pointed out that a domain expert could easily apply the Object Oriented design principles to his/her domain. For some professionals, this approach can be successful, but the majority of the workshop participants believed a domain expert needed to have a familiarity with an OO language before learning to think OO. All participants agreed that a good structural analyst could become a good OO analyst through retraining." Solutions proposed by the participants included immersion training, extended academic courses (over a full academic year), just-in-time training, and the use of metacognitive psychology. 2. Industry and Academia Cooperation: Ways to leverage each others' strengths to improve our learning environments. >From the final workshop paper: " Both sides have strengths and weaknesses that could be leveraged in a partnership to benefit both parties. In discussing this topic, the group first identified the "wants" of both parties." The wants" of industry included: * Interns/co-ops * Graduates who can make an immediate contribution * Graduates with knowledge of their tools and methodologies * Help from academia for course development and delivery * Research results (technological and educational) * Faculty members who can foster a delivery-oriented in their students The 'wants' of academia are two fold: 1) educating and placing students and 2) keeping faculty members current within the Object Oriented community. The 'wants' for academia that were identified reflect these two different desires." The 'wants' of academia included: * Allies in the technical departments * Free software and related training materials * Job opportunities for graduating students * Meaningful internships/co-ops for current students * Good student projects with industrial representative acting as the customer * Research funding (theoretical and educational) * External lecturers possibly through teleconferencing * Scholarships and equipment * Endowed chairs in software engineering * Industry employees to teach adjunct courses * Technical (as opposed to industrial) advisory board. * Faculty consulting opportunities to provide faculty with hands-on corporate project experience to bring back to the classroom More follow-on work - beyond the workshop - needs to be done in each of these areas to implement ways of supporting these "wants" 3. Integrating Object Technologies throughout the Software Engineering Curriculum: Ways to recognize that good Software Engineering principles are critical to the success of OO and that a good foundation in Software Engineering should include an OO perspective. >From the final workshop paper: "For many graduating seniors in computer science, learning that companies have a process by which software is developed is a new experience. Denise Denton, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Washington, indicated at CISE'97 that the average graduate in computer science requires 2.5 years to become productive in an industry setting. This can be partially due to the lack of training in a formal development process. This is not only a problem for college students; structural programmers need to fully understand the entire life cycle of the Object Oriented paradigm, which is different than the one they are using. The question is then, how to fully integrate both the Object Oriented paradigm and the full life cycle." The suggested solutions included: * Teach methodologies/processes along with Object Oriented techniques and concepts. * Use Immersion programs to give participants simulated full life-cycle experience * Require full life-cycle on all student projects in academia 4. Encouraging Teamwork and Team Building: Ways to foster teamwork within the learning environment, since a team-based approach is the primary workstyle used in complex software development projects. >From the final workshop paper: "With today's systems becoming ever more complex, teamwork is essential for a project to be successful. Building a cohesive team is not always straightforward. Putting together a number of individuals and expecting them to function as a single group can take some time. In the academic setting, team building can be a two-edged sword. If the students choose the pairings, the good students typically join together. If the faculty member assigns the group members, some teams will never get over the personality conflicts that exist. In industry, group members have more than a grade as incentive to gel as a team. Many times, these incentives do not always produce functional teams." Some of the suggested solutions to help form well functioning teams include: * "Flight simulator" projects in corporate training rather than training exercises in which a production-ready deliverable is supposed to be the outcome * Off-site, team building exercises and/or training * Team meetings in a social setting * Use of team-based performance evaluation/grading * Arrange furniture in pods * Select team members from a number of organizations * Run a workshop with the intent to produce a deliverable (Our final paper noted:"As our midyear workshop showed, ten (10) individuals with unique perspectives can come together as a team to produce something in a short amount of time") The other three challenges which were discussed in depth were: 5. Implementation Consistency: Ways to promote the use of a consistent software development process which can provide a framework for ongoing development despite changes in participants over the course of a development effort. 6. Retention of Knowledge after the class ends (otherwise known as "Dah, what do I do with this stuff now?") 7. Favorite Techniques: An opportunity to share things which had been of benefit to each of us in our classrooms. ***************************************************** Futures: ***************************************************** Our final paper noted that "Besides the final workshop paper and the web site noted above, the group concluded that a repository of case studies needs to be created. There were some suggestions that a workshop be created to help promote this undertaking. Other workshop(s) need to be organized to address the challenges raised, but not discussed, in this year's midyear workshop. As component based computing and agents become more prevalent, educators will need to discuss how to best provide education to support these technologies." All of the participants recognized that there still much more which we can accomplish together. In particular, the area of industry and academic cooperation will benefit from ongoing effort. Some ideas, such as developing an online "speaker's bureau" to enable corporations to learn from university professors and university students to learn from industry practitioners, will take more work to clarify and to implement. Certainly, the delivery workshop format is a valuable tool to help professionals deliver something of substance in a short time frame. For example, periodic delivery-oriented sessions are one of the primary vehicles through which the OMG is able to make ongoing progress, without cutting into the participants day to day activities. Would any of the readers of this newsletter be interested in being part of such a group? At a time when funds for travel are shrinking in both the academic and industrial world, organizing meetings might be difficult. But, while nothing beats the spontaneity of a real-time meeting, is there a way that such a group can meet "online" or by "teleconference" or some combination thereof? Readers who are interested should send a letter to Don Bagert, the co-editor of FASE, indicating the topics of interest to them. If enough replies are received, perhaps we can enter into a new and exciting realm of continued collaboration! ***************************************************** Workshop Contributors: ***************************************************** The workshop attendees, all of whom submitted brief position papers prior to attending, included: Don Bagert, Texas Tech University Susan Burk, American Management Systems Rich Burns, Sprint Corporation Ruth Dameron, University of Colorado at Boulder Phillipe Le Mouel, Roguewave Software Victoria Livschitz, Sun Microsystems Mary Lynn Manns, University of North Carolina at Asheville Pete McBreen, McBreen Consulting John Pantone, Objectech Corporation Wayne J. Staats, Stetson University Mary Lynn Manns, Don Bagert, and Susan Burk co-organized the workshop, along with Chang-Hyun Jo, Kyonggi University, who was not able to attend. In addition, Renjeng Su, of the University of Colorado at Boulder contributed to one of the position papers. An additional position paper written for this issue of FASE is below. ###################################################################### From: Don Bagert, Texas Tech University Pleasant Surprises There were two things that I was not expecting that occurred at the OOPSLA Mid-Year Education & Training Workshop. The first was that there more attendees that were at least partially involved in training as opposed to those having at least partial ties to academia, and OT training is more mature than OT education. I have been used to the Educators' Symposium, which is predominately academia, but also involves training issues. This workshop gave me a chance to see all of the excellent things that industry to doing to train people in OT. I think that companies tend to treat OT as a separate field more than academia does, and therefore is able to provide a more comprehensive and consistent education in this area. Academia can learn a lot from what is being done in industry to train OT specialists. The other thing that I was not expected was how much this and all the other Mid-Year workshops were focused on software engineering-related issues. In particular, the overall theme of this year's workshops was application frameworks, but I heard a lot of discussion about SE across the board. I think that some people are still skeptical of the state-of-the-art in software engineering, but I think that it's a far cry from a few years ago, where I heard several audience-pleasing derisive comments about SE at the regular OOPSLA conference. I think that this is good for both areas, especially with software engineering coming into its own in the United States as a separate discipline. I hope that the object technology and software engineering education & training communities start working together more; this is a step in the right direction. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: Pete Knoke via Don Bagert Next Month's Topic: Graduate SE Program Survey Results & Evaluation A web page created for the Graduate Software Engineering Program survey. [See March 1998 FASE for a text version.] The URL is: http://itdc.elmer.uaf.edu/users/knoke/survey_form.cfm If you have not filled out a survey yet, please do so by 31 August. The September issue of FASE will report the results of the survey. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ By: Don Bagert (Academic/Misc Editor) Upcoming topics Oct 1998: SEE&T Outside of the U.S. Guest Editor: Michael Ryan, Dublin City University mryan@compapp.dcu.ie Nov 1998: To be scheduled Dec 1998: Software Engineering Ethics Education and Training Guest Editor: Don Gotterbarn, East Tennesse State gotterba@etsu.edu Jan 1999: Software Security and Survivability Education & Training Guest Editor: Nancy Mead, Software Engineering Institute nrm@sei.cmu.edu All dates are subject to change. For more information about a particular issue's topic, please contact the corresponding guest editor. Please refer to the article format provided at the end of each issue when making submissions. Here are some of the other topics planned for future issues: * Accreditation * CASE Tools * Curriculum Models * Distance Learning * Software Process Improvement Education * Student Team Projects Please send any suggestions for future topics to bagert@ttu.edu. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ News Items ###################################################################### From: Bill Carroll ABET EAC Approves Software Engineering Program Criteria The Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET met on Saturday, July 18, 1998 approved program criteria for software engineering and similarly named programs to be used with Engineering Criteria 2000 in accrediting software engineering programs. The criteria must still be approved by the ABET Board of Directors which is scheduled to meet in October. If the criteria are approved at that meeting, they could be in place for accreditation visits in 1999 although 2000 is, perhaps, more likely. On a related matter, the EAC will be evaluating a software engineering program for accreditation this fall as a nontraditional program under the "Engineering Topics" criteria. ###################################################################### From: Don Bagert (Academic/Misc Editor) Licensing - Update [Editor's Note: This is the latest of a continuing series of articles concerning licensing issues in software engineering, including most issues of FASE since December 1997.] This month, just a few small items concerning licensing: * The Texas Board of Professional Engineers has in its possession at least one Professional Engineer application for the new branch of software engineering. The first applicant(s) will be evaluated and decisions made on their status during the next one to four months. * Follow-up articles on the Texas Board's efforts are expected to be published in the August issues of both ACM Software Engineering Notes and Engineering Times (published by the National Society for Professional Engineers). * SIGSOFT '98/6th International Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering (to be held in Orlando, Florida on November 3-5) is sponsoring a panel entitled "Is Software Engineering Ready to Be a 'Profession'?" This panel will be moderated by ACM Software Engineering Notes editor Will Tracz, and Mary Shaw will be one of the panelists. Licensing will be one of the major topics addressed by the panel. * OOPSLA '98 (to held on October 18-22 in Vancouver, British Columbia) will have a panel entitled "Is the Licensing of Software Engineers Good for the OT Community?" The panel description can be found at http://www.acm.org/sigplan/oopsla/ap/tech/tptupm.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Calls for Participation ###################################################################### From: Tom Hilburn CSEE&T 99 WORKSHOPS - Call for Position Statements 12th Conference on Software Engineering Education & Training March 22-24 1999 New Orleans, LA, USA Sponsored by IEEE Computer Society (Pending) Supported by the Software Engineering Institute In Cooperation with the ACM SIGCSE CSEET99 has scheduled the following half-day workshops: Monday, March 22 Title: Putting the Personal Software Process into Practice Organizer: Robert L. Cannon (cannon@sc.edu) Tuesday, March 23 Title: Establishing a Distance Education Program Organizers: Helen M. Edwards (h.edwards@sunderland.ac.uk) J. Barrie Thompson (barrie.thompson@sunderland.ac.uk) Wednesday, March 24 Title: Software Metrics: Views from Education, Research, and Training Organizer: Susan A. Mengel (mengel@ttu.edu) The workshops are designed to provide a forum for a group of participants to exchange opinions on topics on software engineering research and practice, and related education and training issues. Formal participation in a workshop depends on submission of a position statement; although, those wishing to simply attend a workshop and participate in "open" discussion/question parts of the workshop are welcome. In order to have positions papers published in the Conference Proceedings, the papers must be submitted by September 15, 1998. Instructions for electronic submission are available on the CSEET99 web page http://csalpha.unomaha.edu/cseet99/ The organizers of each workshop can be contacted concerning additional information about his/her workshop. ###################################################################### From: Ed Gehringer OOPSLA '98 Workshop: What Makes Course Materials Reusable? Registration for the OOPSLA workshop on Classroom Reuse Experiences is now open. If you are coming to OOPSLA, I'd like to encourage you to participate in the workshop. For details and to register, see http://www2.ncsu.edu/eos/project/csc/reuse-workshop/1998/ Even if you cannot come to the workshop, you can still register your course in our database and browse the other courses for material you can reuse. The more courses that are registered, the more useful the database will be. Please help us to promote reuse in the curriculum -- better learning exercises with less work! EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Reuse a test, homework, or lab assignment from our last year's workshop database (http://www2.ncsu.edu/eos/project/csc/reuse-workshop/database.html) and report on your experiences. You don't have to reuse it by the time your registration is due on August 17, but you do need to assign it before the workshop takes place on October 18. Take advantage of this opportunity to get an assignment ready for the fall *and* get registered for a workshop, all in one fell swoop. ###################################################################### From: Gene F Hoffnagle via Laurie Werth Carlo Ghezzi is the General Chair for the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) 2000, June 4-10, in Limerick, Ireland. He has asked me, as TCSE Chair, to help find a key volunteer from TCSE in North America to be on the Publicity Committee, handling in particular North America, IEEE, and ACM. This is a good opportunity for an experienced hand or a newcomer to get involved with a major conference in an important role. If you're interested, please contact Carlo directly in Italy at ghezzi@elet.polimi.it. Gene Gene F. Hoffnagle Director, IBM Technical Journals Editor, IBM Systems Journal Editor, IBM Journal of Research and Development IBM 82-207A, P.O. Box 218, Route 134 Yorktown Heights, New York 10598-0218 USA +1-914-945-3831, t/l 862-3831 hoffnagl@us.ibm.com or ibmusm11(hoffnagl) http://www.almaden.ibm.com/journal/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Conference Announcements ###################################################################### From: Tom DeMarco CAMDEN TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE '98 TO GATHER INDUSTRY LEADERS TO DISCUSS TECHNOLOGY'S IMPACT ON LEARNING WHAT: A Gathering of Educators, Policy-Makers and Technology Giants for the Second Annual Camden Technology Conference. The event will feature a faculty of leading thinkers from business, technology, government and academia who will play a major role in shaping the learning methods and technologies of the coming century. WHO: The conference will be hosted by: * Bob Metcalfe - VP of Technology, IDG; Inventor of Ethernet; Founder of 3Com * John Sculley - Partner, Sculley Brothers LLC; Co-Founder, Sirius Thinking; Former CEO of Apple and PepsiCo * Elliot Soloway - Professor of Computer Science, University of Michigan; developer of radically different programs in technology-assisted "discovery learning" for the schools SPEAKERS: The event will gather a unique faculty of experts from business, technology, government and academia to discuss topics surrounding technology and learning. In addition to the hosts, the following people will speak: --> Alan Kay - Disney Fellow; inventor of the mini-computer; designer of a far-reaching learning environment at the L.A. Open School --> Seymour Papert - MIT Media Labs guru and inventor of LOGO, the world's first computer language for kids --> Roger Schank - CEO, Knowledge University --> Brenda Laurel - founder and VP of design, Purple Moon; author and social critic specializing in computers and culture --> Gerry Lesser - Children's Network Television --> David Liddle - president and CEO, Interval Research; computer pioneer at Xerox PARC; founder of Metaphor; and specialist on economics of learning technology --> Leon Navickas - president and CEO, Centra --> Antonia Stone - head of Community Technology Centers Network; winner of Newsweek's "Cyber Person of the Year" --> Marc Tucker - president, National Center on Education and the Economy --> Angus S. King, Jr. - Governor of Maine WHERE: Camden Opera House, Main Street, Camden, Maine Camden is a small town on the Maine seacoast, north of Portland, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful coastal towns in America. Camden has all the charm of the quintessential New England village - bounded by mountains to the west and the waters of the Atlantic to the east. WHEN: Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25, 1998 REGISTRATION: $995, $795 before September 1, $495 for a limited number of qualified educators. Interested parties can register online at www.camcon.org or via the toll-free number (877) 223-9752. For more information on the conference, visit www.camcon.org or call (207) 230-2425. PRESS CONTACTS: Caryn Converse or Keith Watson Anthony Citrano FitzGerald Communications Inc. Digital Endeavors, Inc. (617) 494-9500 (207) 772-8377 ==Tom DeMarco, The Atlantic Systems Guild: tdemarco@atlsysguild.com== Camden Technology Conference 98: "The Transformation of Learning" Join us for three days of Vision-Forming Moments Camden, Maine, October 23-25 http://www.camcon.org/ ###################################################################### International Conference on Practical Software Quality Techniques (PSQT'98) Radisson Hotel, St. Paul, Minnesota, October 5-8, 1998. Co-sponsored by: The Twin Cities Quality Assurance Association The Twin Cities Software Process Improvement Network The Minnesota Office of Technology For more details visit www.softdim.com or call (612)552-0716. PSQT'98 offers the following exciting opportunities: Six different one-day tutorials on Monday, October 5. Five different one-day tutorials on Thursday, October 8. two-day conference on Tuesday and Wednesday featuring: Watts Humphrey Boris Beizer Tom McCabe Richard Binder 30 concurrent track presentations by software quality practitioners Birds-of-A-Feather Sessions The 1998 Software Quality Summit Detailed program and Registration information Follows. Tutorials Series A: Monday, October 5, 1998, 8:30 - 4:30 (Register for only one tutorial) A1: Basics of Software Testing , Dr. Boris Beizer: A2: Controlling Software Quality Through Metrics and Models, Dr. Stephen Kan A3: A Guide to Software Measurement Startup, Carol Dekkers: A4: Implementing the Best of Total Quality in the IT World, Dr. Rebecca Staton-Reinstein: A5: Last-Minute Preparation for the Certified Quality Assurance Exam: Q & A and Frequently Asked Questions, Steve Devinney: A6: The Issues, Risks and Benefits of Year 2000 Testing, Randy Rice ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tutorials Series B: Thursday, October 8, 1998, 8:30 - 4:30 (Register for only one tutorial) B1: Exploring Software Requirements, Dr. Madgy Hanna B2: Planning and Controlling Software Projects, Dr. David Jones B3: Test Design and Implementation for Object-Oriented Systems, Robert Binder B4: Effective Software Estimation Using Function Points, Scott Goldfarb B5: Automating Software Testing, Patricia Stevermer & Dr. Russ Shermer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Conference Day 1, Tuesday October 6, 1998 7:45-8:30 Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:30-8:45 Opening Remarks: Conference Chair, Dr. Magdy Hanna 8:45-10:00 Keynote Speaker: Watts S. Humphrey, Disciplined Software Teams 10:00-10:30 Break 10:30-11:45 Thomas J. McCabe: The Benefits of the Year 2000 Crisis 11:45-1:15 Lunch and Vendor/Service Providers Presentations (See separate schedule included in the conference proceedings) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1:15-2:30 Six concurrent track presentations Register for two-day conference and attend any of the tracks 1. Measure Twice, Code Once -- Setting Up Software Measurements, Carol A. Dekkers 2. Moving Towards Java Test Automation, Barbara A. Ruf 3. Using Quality to Drive Product Development Processes, Johanna Rothman 4. The Value of an Organizational Requirements Working Group, Dr. Ralph R. Young 5. The Politics of Change, Steve Gitelis & Barbara Beiersdorf 6. CM Automation -- QA by Any Other Name, Robert D. (Bud) Williams ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2:45-4:00 Six concurrent track presentations Register for two-day conference and attend any of the tracks 1. Establishing Successful Measurement and Estimating Programs, Scott Goldfarb 2. A Testing Maturity Model for Software Test Process Assessment and Improvement, Ilene Burnstein 3. Project Management Simulator -- What Can We Learn? Jesse Freese 4. Requirements Engineering Using Conceptual Predesigned Model Glossaries, Heinrich Mayr & Christian Kop 5. So, What Hurts Today? The ""ER"" Approach to Software Process Improvement, Tammy Hoganson 6. Providing a Context for Process Improvement and Assessment, Michael Heffler & Robert Thien ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4:15-5:30 Six concurrent track presentations Register for two-day conference and attend any of the tracks 1. Measuring People -- A Practical Approach, Bill Hufschmidt 2. Surviving the Top Ten Challenges of Software Testing, Randall W. Rice 3. An Empirical Approach to Evaluating Architectural Quality, Catherine Blake-Jaktman 4. Managing Requirements: What is the Business Need? Dr. Rebecca Staton-Reinstein 5. Personal Quality Management, Alan Koch 6. Predicting the Success of SPI, Dr. Alistair D.S. Watters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5:45-7:00 Birds-of-A-Feather Sessions (See posted topics and room numbers) Vendor Expo Reception ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Conference Day 2, Wednesday October 7, 1998 8:30-8:45 Opening Remarks: Conference Chair, Dr. Magdy Hanna 8:45-10:00 Keynote Speaker: Boris Beizer: Common-Sense Priorities and Y2K Mythologies 10:00-10:30 Break 10:30-11:45 Robert V. Binder: Testing Object-Oriented Systems: Best Practices 11:45-1:15 Lunch and Vendor/Service Providers Presentations (See separate schedule included in the conference proceedings) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1:15-2:30 Six concurrent track presentations Register for two-day conference and attend any of the tracks 1. Getting the Most Out of Your Software Inspecting Process, Dr. Magdy Hanna 2. Great Software Test Cases, Dianne Runnels 3. They Are Coming to Take You Away. . . Ha Ha! Confessions of an Expert Witness, Steve Devinney 4. Distributed Test Automation: Planning for Success, Jamie Mitchell 5. Experiences of Software Quality Engineering with ISO 9001 Certification and the Pursuit of SEI CMM Level 3, Arthur Hanson 6. Documenting Processes, Russel E. Reed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2:45-4:00 Six concurrent track presentations Register for two-day conference and attend any of the tracks 1. Establishing Successful Measurement & Estimating Programs, Scott Goldfarb 2. A Guide to Automated Data Driven Testing, Russ Shermer 3. The Reconciliation of Software Process Standards and Quality Management Standards, Jim Moore 4. Happy Path Testing and Dumb User Tricks, Karen Bishop-Stone 5. How I Started a Software Quality Program from Scratch in Four Months, Alice Lewis 6. A Tailorable Method for the Six D's of Process Improvement, Dr. Peter Malpass, Rich Turner & Charles Weigl ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4:15-5:30 The Software Quality Summit: Carol Dekkers, Scott Goldfarb, Bill Hufschmidt, Stephen Kan Software Benchmarking: Perfection or Population ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5:30-5:45 Wrap-up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Registration Information: Conference Fees: Paid by 9/4/98 Paid after 9/4/98 One day tutorial $295 $345 Two day tutorials $595 $695 Two-day conference only $495 $545 Two-day conference + one day tutorial $745 $845 Two-day conference + two day tutorials $995 $1,095 Note: Tutorials are offered on Monday & Thursday. Each tutorial is a full day session. When five or more persons from the same company enroll together, a 10% discount is applied. Cancellation Policy: Written cancellations received by the end of business day on September 25 are subject to a $50 cancellation fee. Registrants who fail to cancel in writing by that date are liable for the entire fee and can only be substituted by other individuals for the same registration. Last day for substitution is October 2. Method of Payment: Some form of payment must accompany all registrations. Check payable to Software Dimensions Visa/MC/Discover card A purchase order may be used to preceded a check. These may be mailed or faxed with the registration. ALL REGISTRATION MUST BE PAID BY OCTOBER 2. For any questions, call Software Dimensions at (612)552-0716 or e-mail registration@softdim.com Three ways to register: (1) Mail the Registration Form to: Software Dimensions 8476 Bechtel Ave Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076 (2) Fax the Registration Form to (612) 552-0791 (3) e-mail complete registration information to: registration@softdim.com No telephone registrations are accepted. Registration form: Company Name _________________________________________________________ Contact Person _____________________________ Title ___________________ Address _______________________________________Mail Stop _____________ City__________________________________________State_________Zip ______ Phone _________________________________________Fax __________________ Please include mail stop for each attendee for confirmation purposes. Attendee Names Mail Stop Conference Tutorial # Cost _______________ _______ Y N A - B - _____ _______________ _______ Y N A - B - _____ _______________ _______ Y N A - B - _____ _______________ _______ Y N A - B - _____ _______________ _______ Y N A - B - _____ _______________ _______ Y N A - B - _____ _______________ _______ Y N A - B - _____ Total _____ If five or more people from the same company are registering, multiply total by 0.9 and record amount due _____ Method of Payment: (All registration must be paid by October 2nd.) 1. Check Enclosed for $________________ 2. Purchase Order #___________________ (A copy must be attached to registration) 3. Visa/MasterCard/Discover (circle one) Card #_______________________ Exp. Date_____________ Authorized signature:_____________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Information: Radisson Hotel - St. Paul 11 East Kellogg Boulevard St. Paul, MN 55101 Reservation: (800) 333-3333 Phone: (612) 292-1900 Fax: (612) 224-8999 E-mail: jkoll@radisson.com Web site: www.radisson.com Special Room Rates for the Conference: A block of rooms is reserved for PSQT'98 for a special rate of $105 per night for either single or double room. To guarantee availability and special rate, reservations must be made by September 10, 1998. ###################################################################### From: Angel Alvarez IEEE Real-Time Systems Symposium (RTSS '98) For more information, please check www.cs.umd.edu/~rich/rtss98/ ###################################################################### From: Robert France WIFT'98 ADVANCE PROGRAM ======================== 1998 Workshop on Industrial-Strength Formal Specification Techniques WIFT'98 The Sheraton Inn Boca Raton Florida, USA October 21-23, 1998 Sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society, Technical Committee on Complexity in Computing. WIFT'98 will bring together software, hardware, and system engineering professionals to report on, analyze, and synthesize experiences related to the industrial applications of formal development techniques. The workshop has four major parts: tutorials, general paper sessions, working group and panel sessions, and tool presentations. The tutorials cover some of the more established formal specification and analysis techniques that are currently used in industrial and government agencies. Papers in the general technical session vary from those that report on experiences, to those that present novel approaches to, or perspectives on, the industrial application of formal techniques. The group and panel sessions provide focused forums for analyzing and synthesizing experiences related to the industrial application of formal development techniques. The tool presentation sessions will provide attendees with an overview of industrial-strength tools and promising prototype tools. Tool demonstrations will be scheduled throughout the workshop. (See http://web.cse.msu.edu/WIFT98 for information on WIFT'98) PRELIMINARY WIFT'98 PROGRAM --------------------------- TUTORIALS Wednesday, October 21 (8am - 5pm) Morning Session (tutorials run in parallel) ------------------------------------------- The Z Notation: K. Periyasamy (University of Manitoba) Verification & Validation: S. Easterbrook (NASA/WVU Software Research Lab) Model Checking: G. Holzmann (Bell Laboratories) Afternoon Session (tutorials run in parallel) --------------------------------------------- Object-Z: K. Periyasamy (University of Manitoba) Security: R. Kemmerer (University of California at Santa Barbara) SCR (Software Cost Reduction): C. Heitmeyer (Naval Research Labs, USA) TECHNICAL PROGRAM Thursday, October 22 (8am - 5pm) =================================== Registration (8am - 9am) Opening Remarks (8:30am - 9am) Keynote Speaker (9am - 10am) ----------------------------- Anthony Hall, Praxis, U.K. Tool Presentation I (10am - 10:30am) Break (10:30am - 11am) General Paper Session 1 (11am - 12:30pm) ------------------------------------------ "Applying SOFL to Specify a Railway Crossing Controller for Industry" Shaoying Liu, Masashi Asuka, Kiyotoshi Komaya, Yasuaki Nakamura "Adding Real-Time Filters to Object-Oriented Specification of Time Critical Systems" K. Periyasamy, V.S. Alagar "Formal Techniques for Automatically Generating Marshalling from High-Level Specifications" Paul Dietz, Thomas Weigert, Frank Weil Lunch (12:30pm - 1:30pm) Panel Session (1:30pm - 2:30pm) --------------------------------------- Integrated Techniques: Can integrating FSTs with informal structured techniques enhance their practicality? Moderator: Jean-Michel Bruel, University of Pau, France. Working Groups Session I (2:30pm - 3:30pm) -------------------------------------- Formal techniques for system evolution: What impact can FSTs have on system maintenance? Moderator: Bob Busser (Motorola) Integrated techniques: The what, why, and how of integrated techniques. Moderators: Betty Cheng, Robert France High Assurance Systems Moderators: Connie Heitmeyer (NRL), Mats Heimdahl Break (3:30pm - 4pm) Working Group Summary Presentations and Discussion (4pm - 5pm) Workshop Banquet (6:30pm) Friday, October 23 (9am - 5:30pm) ================================= Keynote Speaker (9am - 10am) ----------------------------- Steven Miller, Rockwell Collins, USA Tool Presentation II (10am - 10:30am) Break (10:30am - 11am) General Paper Session 2 (11am - 12:30pm) ------------------------------------------ "Implementing Statecharts in Promela/SPIN" Erich Mikk, Yassine Lakhnech, Michael Siegel, Gerard J. Holzmann "Reasoning with the Unified Modeling Language" Andy S. Evans "AutoLink: A Tool for Automatic Test Generation from SDL Specifications" Beat Koch, Jens Grabowski, Dieter Hogrefe, Michael Schmitt Lunch (12:30pm - 1:30pm) Panel Session II (1:30pm - 2:30pm) ---------------------------------- Transferring FM technology to industry Moderator: Lalita Jagadeesan (Bell Laboratories/Lucent Technologies) Working Groups Session I (2:30pm - 3:30pm) -------------------------------------- Industrially relevant FM education: Tailoring FM courses to industrial needs Moderator: Perry Alexander Incorporating FM into industrial processes Moderator: Frank Weil (Motorola) Industrial-strength FM tools: Requirements for industrial-strength FM tools Moderators: Mark Blackburn (SPC) Break (3:30pm - 4pm) Working Group Summary Presentations and Discussion (4pm-5pm) Closing Remarks (5pm - 5:30pm) ====================================================================== Registration and Hotel Information ====================================================================== Technical Meeting Rates (US currency) ------------------------------------- Advance (until October 1, 1998) IEEE Members: $350 Non-members: $475 Full-time student IEEE members: $200 On-site (due after October 1, 1998) IEEE Members: $475 Non-members: $575 Full-time student IEEE members: $350 Tutorial Rates -------------- Advance - Half Day (until October 1, 1998) IEEE Members: $175 Non-members: $225 On-site - Half Day (due after October 1, 1998) IEEE Members: $210 Non-members: $265 Registration Forms will soon be available from the registration chair (robert@cse.fau.edu) and on the WIFT'98 website. WIFT Hotel Information ----------------------- Sheraton Boca Raton Hotel, 2000 NW 19 Street, Boca Raton, FL 33431. $69 plus tax per night, single occupancy and $72 plus tax per night, double occupancy, until October 1, 1998. Call directly to make reservations at the Sheraton Inn, Boca Raton: Tel: +1-561-5252; Fax: +1-561-392-9143; email: ittboca@ix.netcom.com Airports -------- West Palm Beach Airport (approx. 30 miles north of Boca Raton) and Fort Lauderdale Airport (approx. 30 miles south of Boca Raton) are the closest international airports to Boca Raton. Miami International is approximately 60 miles south of Boca Raton. If you are not renting a car, the most convenient way to get to the workshop site is via train (the Tri-Rail). Free shuttles go between the train station and all three airports. The train makes one stop in Boca Raton. Once in Boca you can call the hotel to pick you up at the station. WIFT'98 Chairs -------------- Organizing Chair: Mike Hinchey (New Jersey Institute of Technology) Program Chair: Betty Cheng (Michigan State University) Tutorial Chairs: Perry Alexander (University of Cincinnati) Panel Chair: Laura Dillon (Michigan State University) Tools Chairs: Bob Busser (Motorola) [Send proposals for FM tool demonstrations to Bob at rbusser@paging.mot.com] Local Arrangements Co-Chairs: Robert France & Maria Petrie (Florida Atlantic University) Registration and Publicity Chair: Robert France PROGRAM COMMITTEE ------------------ Perry Alexander (University of Cincinatti) Dan Craigen (ORA, Canada.) Laura Dillon (Michigan State University) Robert France (Florida Atlantic University) Lalita Jagadeesan (Bell Laboratories/Lucent Technologies) Susan Gerhart (Research Outlet and Integration) Mats Heimdahl (University of Minnesota) Connie Heitmeyer (Naval Research Laboratory) John Kelly (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Shaoying Liu (Hiroshima University, Japan) Mauro Pezze (Politecnico Di Milano, Italy) Neeraj Suri (New Jersey Institute of Technology) Frank Weil (Motorola) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Position Openings ###################################################################### From: Tom Hilburn Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University COMPUTER SCIENCE FACULTY POSITION Applications are invited for a faculty position in the Department of Computer Science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. An appointment is available for either a tenure track or a non-tenure track faculty position beginning in the fall of 1998. The tenure track position is for teaching/research and requires a Ph.D. in Computer Science or a closely related field. The non-tenure track position is primarily a teaching position, requiring as a minimum a Master's degree in a computing or a related degree with computer industry experience. Background and experience in software engineering is desirable. For additional information on the Department of Computer Science see http://www.erau.db.erau.edu. Send resume and contact information on three references to: Embry-Riddle, Spruance Hall, Human Resources, 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Daytona Beach or fax to (904) 226-6137. EOE ###################################################################### From: Doris Lidtke Director of Center for Software Engineering Towson University The Department of Computer and Information Sciences in collaboration with the College of Science and Mathematics and the College of Graduate and Extended Education is accepting applications for a Director of a newly formed Center for Software Engineering. In partnership with the academic and external community, the selected applicant will develop the Center through external funding, plan and offer credit and non-credit curricula, coordinate applied research, build connections, and teach at the graduate level. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in a related field or a Master's degree with an extensive background in software engineering, information technology, or computer science. In addition, the applicants must have leadership experience, an entrepreneurial approach, and excellent interpersonal skills. The Department currently offers a CSAB-accredited Bachelor of Science program in Computer Science, a Bachelor of Science program in Computer Information Systems, a Masters of Science program in Computer Science, and a Masters of Science program in Information Technology Management. The Department has 23 full-time faculty members and approximately 500 undergraduate students and 300 graduate students.=A0=20 Applicants should submit a letter of application, resume, copies of graduate and undergraduate transcripts, and the name, address, phone, and e-mail address of three references to Dr. James P. Clements, Chair, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Towson University, Towson, MD 21252-0001 (e-mail: jclements@towson.edu, FAX: 410-830-3868). Review of applications will begin on August 15 and continue until the position is filled. Towson University, one of the 11 campuses of the University System of Maryland, and the second largest public university in the state of Maryland, is a comprehensive university offering Bachelor's and Master's degree programs. TU has an enrollment of approximately 16,000 students and over 600 faculty.=A0 The TU campus is situated on 320 acres of beautifully landscaped and wooded grounds just north of Baltimore and within 50 miles of Washington, DC.=A0 For additional information, please visit us on the web at Towson University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and has a strong institutional commitment to diversity. Women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Contact and General Information about FASE The Forum for Advancing Software engineering Education (FASE) is published on the 15th of each month by the FASE editorial board. 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Anyone that belongs to the FASE-TALK mailing list can post to it. FASE-TALK is also used by the editors for "breaking stories" i.e. news that we feel that you would want to hear about before the next issue of FASE comes out. (We do this sparingly, though.) As always, there is no cost for subscribing to either FASE or FASE-TALK! Send requests for information problem reports, returned mail, or other correspondence about this newsletter to Back issues (dating from the very first issue) can be found on the web (with each Table of Contents) at or through ftp at . The FASE Staff: Don Bagert -- Academic/Misc Editor, ListMaster, and Archivist Dept. of Computer Science 8th and Boston Texas Tech University Lubbock TX 79409-3104 USA Phone: 806-742-1189 Fax: 806-742-3519 Email: bagert@ttu.edu Kathy Beckman -- Corporate/Government Editor Computer Data Systems One Curie Ct. Rockville MD 20850 USA Phone: 301-921-7027 Fax: 301-921-1004 Email: Kathy.Beckman@cdsi.com Laurie Werth -- Advisory Committee Taylor Hall 2.124 University of Texas at Austin Austin TX 78712 USA Phone: 512-471-9535 Fax: 512-471-8885 Email: lwerth@cs.utexas.edu Nancy Mead -- Advisory Committee Software Engineering Institute 5000 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA Phone: 412-268-5756 Fax: 412-268-5758 Email: nrm@sei.cmu.edu