Spring 2020 — 4.0 Units
2020-01-13 through 2020-05-09
Monday Afternoons, 16:20 - 18:50
Lab Mgr.: Masao Kitimura
Doolan 104, 310.338.8100
Dept. Admin.: Gina Konrad
Doolan 101, 310.338.7351
CMSI 401
(Software Engineering Laboratory)
and/or:
consent of instructor
and department chair
robert.johnson@lmu.edu
Office Hours:
Tue & Thur, 10:00 - 12:30
Tue & Thur, 14:30 - 17:30
Wed, 14:30 - 17:30
Office Location: Doolan 220
[Dedicated to the memory of Professor Phil Dorin, teacher, mentor and friend.]
Course Description
From the online version of the LMU Bulletin:
Analysis, design, implementation, and presentation of a large-scale, individual project, demonstrating mastery of the computer science curriculum
What this really means is, students will individually propose,
architect, design, build, and present a software project that is original, non-trivial, and
which makes full use of all topics encountered during their academic computer science career
at LMU. This list includes, but is not limited to:
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Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
In this course, the student will propose, design, construct, and present an entirely original non-trivial software project that demonstrates mastery of the various topics learned during the previous semester in CMSI 401. The idea of this course is to show you can successfully conceive of, design, implement, document, and present a medium-size software application; a further goal is to expose you to the concepts of the software engineering discipline, by class lecture and by actually doing.
Computer games are frequently presented, but they are by no means the only project ideas. Further, for
the last couple of years, this individual
senior project class has been expanded to allow students
to continue their group project development if desired, and beginning this year [2019] the class also
introduces an aspect of combining multi-disciplines, with several CS project teams working with Electrical
and Mechanical Engineering majors to produce their resulting applications. Finally, for the last several
years, the course has also been involved with the Entrepreneurship program at LMU, to produce viable
products that can be taken to the market place; this expansion has even spawned several start-up companies.
Another goal of this course is to expose the students to two different software development methodologies, the Agile Method and the Capability Maturity Model, Integration®. Since both of these disciplines are currently used in industry, it is important for the student to have the experience of both philosophies. Either method (or perhaps one of several other methodologies) will be used for project development in this class.
A further goal of this laboratory course is to learn more about software project management. This topic includes being able to estimate such things as the amount of time a project will require for the various phases of its development, and the related cost associated with this time requirement.
You should produce a project which:
- challenges you for [at least] an entire semester
- is interesting to other people [especially classmates, who must attend multiple presentations]
- can be successfully implemented within a single semester
This course is open to Seniors in Computer Science who are preparing to graduate from LMU and have completed the CMSI 401 Software Engineering Laboratory course. The scale of the semester project, and the individual nature of its development, require all students to put forth significant effort. The overall learning outcome is five-fold:
- To create a significant, original and working project within a single semester
- To learn and to use the software engineering disciplines in a successful manner
- To present a working project to faculty, industry members, and family
- To apply and integrate most or all of the major computer science concepts from the curriculum
- To have some fun!
What You'll Need for Success . . .
All students must:
- have a mastery of some high-level (preferably object-oriented) programming language such as C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Objective-C, Swift, or the like
- be familiar with the software life cycle phases
- select and follow one of the software development models/methodologies
- be prepared for each class including reading, homework, status reports, and presentations
- be willing to actively participate in class discussions
Part of the class is for each student to make several oral presentations of a professional nature, including a slide show which is to be constructed with some sort of presentation software [such as Open Office Impress, Google Docs, Prezi, or even gasp Powerpoint].
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It is highly recommended that you have a good grasp of the fundamentals, concepts, and implementing technologies required/applied for your project, in order to have the greatest chance of completing the design successfully. In other words, don't attempt to do a project using React or Swift if you don't know anything about React or Swift. This is a question of proper project "scope". I will work with you to try to insure you don't over-reach [or under-reach] yourself by attempting a project which is too much [or too little] to complete in one semester. |
When You Finish This Course [Course Goals]. . .
At the successful completion of this course, students will:
- Understand the different software development life cycle models
- Be able to apply engineering discipline to requirements analysis
- Apply engineering discipline to software system design, testing, and maintenance tasks
- Know the difference between good and bad software architecture
- Be able to engineer all aspects of a software project
- Understand the philosophy behind CMMI, PSP, and several other
heavyweight
development methodologies - Understand the philosophy behind Agile, Extreme Programming, Test Driven Development, and similar
lightweight
development methodologies - Know how to verify and validate a software system
- Obtain experience in software project management and estimation
- Know how to work hard while having fun with software development
- Many smaller things that are too numerous to list
Textbooks and Resources
There are three textbooks for this course. The first is required, and the others are recommended. Prices shown are as of when I last went and looked them up:
- Beginning Software Engineering
Rod Stephens
ISBN-13: 978-1118969144
Library call no.: QA76.758
Available free on LMU's Electronic Library (Ebrary) - UML Distilled Third Edition
Martin Fowler
ISBN-13: 978-0321193681
Paperback from Amazon for $13.00 (other sellers as low as five bucks)
Kindle edition from Amazon from $24.99 - Head First Software Development
Dam Pilone and Russ Miles
ISBN-13: 978-0596527358
Paperback from Amazon for $15.38 (other sellers as low as $11.00)
Kindle edition from Amazon from $8.06
The Stephens book provides details that are useful for an object-oriented approach to software project development. It is structured in two parts; the first section describes the basic tasks you need to deliver software which is useful, fully functional, and provides user value. It covers the details of requirements, design, architecture, integration, testing, verification/validation, and close-out. Note, however, that although there is a focus on object oriented development, there is NOT a bias toward any particular software life cycle or development methodology. The second part of the book presents details and differences between several of the most widely-used software development life cycle models. Since we have focused on a lot of the first part during last semester's class, we will spend SOME time on section one, including required readings and homework assignments, with some classroom discussions of the material in these chapters, and possibly a quick quiz or two. It will be useful to you (and to your class participation grade) for you to do the reading. Further, all of the homework assignments made during the semester are selected problems from this book which apply to the software engineering discipline and which reinforce the concepts presented during class.
The UML book, although it is not required, is very useful for understanding and presenting design issues which are covered as part of your project. All student presentations will include detailed design diagrams which are expected to be in UML format. You will know how to design in UML when this course is over! Ve vill beat it into you! …and you vill enjoy it!
Finally, the Head First book, also not required, is a very down-to-earth explanation of all things Agile, including topics such as planning poker, sprints/iterations, burn-down graphs, and velocity. It also makes a very good desk reference for your careers later. And yes, this is the same book you used in CMSI 401 last semester.
Also Recommended . . .
There is a FREAKIN' HUGE number of books, papers, dissertations, monographs, and other types of publications covering issues related to the topics of software development and project management. Some are a bit dated by 2015 standards, but are still here because many of the concepts they present are still relevant. Here are several that are considered beneficial in no particular order:
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A number of good web sites provide helpful information on the topics which are presented in the course. These are listed below (and are links when viewing this information on-line). Also, check out the Bibliography Page of this web for more information.
- Extreme Programming web site. A good source
of information for using
pair programming
effectively. Also has good information about writing module tests from software specifications/requirements. Says to write the tests first, then write the code. - Carnegie-Mellon Software Engineering Institute. This
organization is the great grandaddy of all things related to
discipline
stuff. Over time this has become equated withCMMI
, a five-level system of software development processes. Most large corporations are now required to be atCMMI level 3
certification (or above) to even be considered for any software contracts. Government stuff frequently must be at level 5! Also note that CMMI does not necessarily mean that you can't do Agile development or TDD. They are not mutually exclusive… - This link will take you to the home page for the Agile Manifesto, which will lead you to more information about the Agile Development process. Agile is SO HOT right now!!!
- Another link to Carnegie-Mellon, to something called the "Personal Software Process" or PSP. This is a process which provides you with a way to track and improve your personal way of developing software. It can be very helpful to know how long it takes you, in lines of code per hour, to develop code in any of a number of languages.
- Here is some more information about Agile from the Agile Alliance. This is a very complete resource for finding out more about the Agile Development Process, of which there are several flavors. You should definitely check this one out!
Course Grading
Your final grade for the course will be weighted as shown in the following table. Note that the total project grade, which is itself a sum of parts, constitutes 80% of the total grade points available.
| Evaluation Item | Weight |
|---|---|
| Total Project Evaluation | 80% |
| Project Poster Evaluation | 5% |
| Homework and other assignments | 10% |
| Class Participation | 5% |
Your final rating for the project itself will be weighted by deliverable sections as follows, to make up the 80% project contribution listed above:
| Deliverable Section | Weight |
|---|---|
| Project Proposal Document/Presentation | 5% |
| Requirements Specification Document | 20% [2 parts] |
| Software/Database Design Description OR Software Development Plan Document | 20% [2 parts] |
| Oral and Written Status Reports | 10% [5% ea.] |
| Design Review Presentation [dry run] | 15% |
| Git Repo 'README' document/description | 5% |
| Final Product Delivery and Presentation/Poster | 25% |
Final letter ratings will be assigned based on the following scale:
| Percent | Letter | Rating and Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| 91 - 100% | A- / A | Professional work, outstanding effort; hairy-chested, steely-eyed, killer software engineer |
| 81 - 90% | B- / B / B+ | Above-average work; shows extra effort and interest |
| 71 - 80% | C- / C / C+ | Satisfactory entry-level work; this is expected with reasonable effort |
| 61 - 70% | D | Substandard work; minimal effort shown |
| 60 or less | F | Thank you for playing; see you next semester |
Class participation points will be assigned based on the following [somewhat subjective] scale:
| Class Participation Criteria | Value |
|---|---|
| Absent without prior notification/agreement of professor | 0% |
| Present, demonstrates at least minimal preparation. Knows basic reading facts, but may not show evidence of trying to interpret or analyze them; demonstrates little/sporadic class involvement. Also includes absent with prior notification/agreement of professor. Basically, you're in the chair, the points are there | 3% |
| Demonstrates excellent preparation to readings and other material. Offers analysis, synthesis, and evaluation; puts together pieces of the discussion to develop new approaches that take the class further. | 5% |
Poster evaluations are done on three levels. If you turn one in as required, you will get the 5%; if you don't, you'll get 0%. The exception is if you turn in a poster that has spelling or grammar errors, and you fail to make any of the specified corrections before it is presented. Points will be deducted, since these are intended to be displayed on the hallowed walls of Doolan and are intended to mimic what you will do when you are out in the job world and present posters at conferences. Thus, evaluations will be assigned based on the following criteria:
| Poster Criterion | Value Assigned |
|---|---|
| No poster submitted | 0% |
| Poster submitted, but contains spelling/grammar errors | 3% |
| Poster submitted, and everything looks good | 5% |
Note that for Spring 2020 the poster is not optional, since the final presentations will be done as a poster session. You will need to have a poster to display and talk to during the presentations, so that you'll have a visual to stand next to.
Incompletes and Other Evaluation Topics
An incomplete will be granted only when the student requesting the incomplete has completed at least 80% of the coursework, and has at least a B average in the course work completed. This is LMU policy, not mine!
Expected Work For This Course
- First and foremost, a working software project by semester's end; note, however, that simply having a working project doesn't automatically provide you the full 80% for the project grade. It must include the proper software engineering artifacts and discipline! This requirement will repeatedly be made clear to you during the semester.
- NEW FOR SPRING, 2020: There are several projects that are NOT going
to be
indivitual
projects. Some of you are continuing with your group 401 projects from the Fall, and some of you are working on collaborative projects with other departments. To facilitate these situations, there will be some flexibility in the documentation requirements. I will try, wherever possible, to balance an appropriate amount of documentation to meet the needs of thewriting flag
component for the course WITHOUT having you do needless duplicitous work for which there is no added value. The requirements presented here are based on the more traditional approach to having and documenting anindividual
project. - Complete Development Documentation for your project:
- A preliminary proposal write-up
- A project proposal presentation
- A requirements document
- EITHER a Software Development Plan (SDP) OR
a Software/Database Design Description (SDD/DDD) - Written status reports (beginning at week six of the semester); these will be included in your development documentation
- Informal oral project status reports on these dates:
- Week 5 to report on documentation, requirements, and analysis
- Week 8 to report on post-PDR (post spring break) development
- Week 11 to report on post-CDR development
- Week 13 to report on post-ALPHA development
- Week 15 to report on post-BETA development
- A poster, suitable for submission to an academic or professional poster session
- Participation in all class discussions and design reviews
- Written review and critique of other projects
- Presentations which will be made during the course of the semester:
- Project Proposal – during class week 2
- Critical Design Review – during class week 10
- ALPHA Presentation with Demonstration – during class week 12
- Final Product Presentation with Demonstration – finals week
Software Development Documentation . . .
When you get out into the work world, you will (often) find yourself producing documentation. Such is life – however, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has a standardized set of documents which you'll use parts of to make a 'notebook' of design documents. [Update note: The SEI has moved the CMMI products, services, and descriptions to a a new website. There are also lots of CMMI-related links and training materials on the original site.]
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In the past, the documentation was kept in an actual physical
notebook, called, by turns, the However
you decide to keep your information, it is collected periodically during the semester to
check project progress (this is part of the |
You are expected to use some sort of word processing software or on-line tool to create your project
documentation. Any tool you like, or with which you are familiar, is fine. The use of LaTeX is often
recommended if you are producing hard-copy documents, since it is an industry and academic standard;
however, you are free to use whatever application you like for this purpose, including GitHub markdown
language.
Note: You must follow the numbered outline
format
for all documents, wherever it is possible to do so. This format will be explained in class.
You will need to keep your project in a configuration managed repository. Usually here at LMU, that means using Github. Make sure that your git is accessible to the instructor so that it can be graded. Also, don't wait until the last week or two of class to check in your code; doing so will cause a lower grade, since the code is expected to be visible all during the semester to observe the development of your project. Finally, make your project public if at all possible, and add your professor to it as contributor, so that it is visible to the world to represent LMU. Also, DON'T FORGET the importance of a tood README.md file!
Examinations and Assignments . . .
There is no mid-term exam and no final exam for this course; instead, the final project presentation serves the purpose of a final exam, and the deliverables replace tests during the semester. The final presentation is done (as I'm sure you all know) in front of as many faculty, alumni, and selected invitees from industry as can attend, as well as family and friends of the students. Grades for the course are assigned according to the weighting factors shown in the tables above. Additionally, other professors will be invited to all of the presentations, not just the final presentation, and will be welcome to provide questions and comments about your project designs and make suggestions to enhance your presentations.
There will be several written assignments from the text and other sources. Normally, textbook assignments are handed in (or made available) at the start of class on the due date. Deviation from this process requires prior consent of the instructor. "I left my homework at home" is no longer a valid reason for late work. You're grown-ups now, and can be responsible for remembering what you need to remember. Every effort is made to ensure assignments, required deliverables, and due dates are prominently posted on these pages; it is your responsibility to make sure you know what is due and when it is due.
You may turn assignments in late, but they will be reduced in grade by one letter for each
day they are late. Day
means day
, not workday
or
class day
; an A+
homework due on Thursday which is not turned in
until the following Tuesday will get a failing grade, unless prior arrangements are made.
The text book reading assignments are available here. The text book written exercises are available here.
Also of note…
An incomplete will be granted only when the student requesting the incomplete has completed at least 80% of the coursework, and has at least a B average in the course work completed. This is standard LMU policy.
Leave of Absence/Withdrawal Policy:
Please read the revised policy in the University Bulletin.
All work is evaluated for both technical merit and quality of written and/or oral presentation.
Find yourself a good spelling and grammar checker, or a trusted human editor, if you
are having any difficulty with the rules of standard English language usage. Another excellent resource
is the Academic Resource Center, located
on the south side of Daum Hall. The center takes appointments, and also allows drop-in consultation
sessions, and they have a number of good benefits. Call (310) 338-2847 to schedule an appointment.
(For those that don't know, Daum Hall is the building where the LMU Security and Parking office used to
be. ARC is on the second floor.)
Another thing to remember is, your coding style is an important part of your assignment evaluations. I WILL NOT HESITATE to take points off for code that has hard-coded number
FAIR WARNING!!! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!! FAIR WARNING!!!
In this class, documentation which is not of professional quality is no longer acceptable. Spelling, grammar, and internal document consistency all count and will cost you big-time if not correct! I will not hesitate to knock off a full letter grade on an otherwise perfectly correct assignment if there are egregious and/or numerous spelling/grammar errors. In addition, coding style will play a large part in determining the grade on the code for the homework and project. It is the job of each student to properly structure, comment, and indent, to select the proper names for variables, and to nothard-codevalues. NO MAGIC NUMBERS!
FAIR WARNING!!! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!! FAIR WARNING!!!
Academic Honesty and Integrity
Academic dishonesty will be treated as an extremely serious matter with severe consequences that can
range from receiving no credit for assignments/tests, failing the class, to expulsion. It is never
permissible to turn in any work that has not been authored by the student, such as work that has been
copied from another student or copied from a source (including the Internet) without properly
acknowledging the source. It is your responsibility to make sure that your work meets the standard
set forth in the Academic Honesty Policy
(see http://academics.lmu.edu/honesty.)
Cheating on assignments, plagiarism, falsification of data, and other similar or related violations of LMU standards of honesty and integrity ARE NOT TOLERATED. Any student or students who commit such offences will receive a failing grade for that assignment, possibly a failing grade for the course, and conceivably further disciplinary action. It is acceptable to use code from textbooks, friends, coworkers, or other sources, as long as the source of the code is cited/acknowledged in all reports and source file headers.
This does not mean that collaboration is discouraged; in fact, the "pair programming" paradigm is encouraged. However, this does mean that exact duplicates of reviews and write-ups turned in by more than one student as individual work, or uncited copying from the Internet or any other source, will not be allowed. Such a situation will be dealt with in the manner outlined above. In short, if you are responsible for your own work, do your own work.
Repeat: failure to follow this simple guideline will result in a failing grade on that assignment, likely failing grade in the course, and quite possibly further disciplinary action.
Special Accommodations
Students with special needs who require reasonable modifications, special assistance, or accommodations in this course should promptly direct their request to the Disability Support Services (DSS) Office. Any student who currently has a documented disability (ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Learning, Physical, or Psychiatric) needing academic accommodations should contact the DSS Office (Daum Hall 2nd floor, 310-338-4216) as early in the semester as possible. All discussions will remain confidential. Please visit http://www.lmu.edu/dss for additional information.
Respect For Self And Others
As an LMU Lion, by the Lion's code, you are pledged to join the discourse of the academy with honesty of voice and integrity of scholarship and to show respect for staff, professors, and other students.
The following LMU documents are available to reference:
- LMU's Community Standards, which defines as prohibited conduct (IV.D):
Disruptive Behavior, and/or intentionally or recklessly interfering with normal University life, activities, processes or University-sponsored activities including, but not limited to: studying; teaching; research; classroom instruction; campus or residential life; University administration; judicial proceedings; or fire, police or emergency services.
[see page 8, section O, item 7 of the Community Standards document] - The Lion's Code [see LMU's Community Standards at the link immediately above.]
- The LMU Student Affairs brochure Disruptive and Threatening Student Behavior (Fall 2010), which
states
Disruptive behavior which is persistent or significantly interferes with classroom activities may be subject to disciplinary action. A student may be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs if their behavior constitutes a violation of the conduct code.
[See Disruptive Behavior Brochure.]
For more information on this or any other conduct issues, please refer to the Student Codes and Policies section in the Community Standards. The Lion's Code, Student Conduct Code, Honor Code and Process, and information on many other policies are available from that link. You can find any and all other related data from the Office of Student Conduct & Community Responsibility web page. Also check the main Student Affairs Department Website.
Expectations for Classroom Behavior
Electronic Devices: Without being totalitarian about it, because I forget sometimes myself, I would prefer that you turn off your cell phone ringer during class. Cell phone ring tones and text message tones can become disruptive. I know from experience!
If you have a laptop, I don't mind if you want to IM with your friends or surf the Internet during class
time. It's up to you, but be aware that I was shopping for new shoes
will not be accepted as a
valid excuse if you are called on and don't know what we're talking about — this could be a
contributing factor for a low class participation grade for that day. In addition, if something funny
happens on your laptop that isn't class related, PLEASE REFRAIN from laughing or disturbing the others
around you; it's distruptive to the class as a whole.
This kind of activity is disrespectful, but it's really up to you to decide for yourself. Just be aware of the possible effects and consequences, and please keep the volume off so that you don't disturb others [or your humble professor].
Emergency Preparedness
To report an emergency or suspicious activity, contact the LMU Department of Public Safety by phone (x222 or 310-338-2893) or at the nearest emergency call box. In the event of an evacuation, follow the evacuation signage throughout the building to the designated safe refuge area where you will receive further instruction from Public Safety or a Building Captain.
For purposes of evacuating the building, our safe area
is the sunken gardens, so if we must
leave the building, please head down that direction. There will be people to guide you.
For more safety information and preparedness tips, visit http://www.lmu.edu/emergency.
Office Hours / Communication / Contact Information
I have office hours during the days when I have classes, Monday through Thursday. The normal hours are listed at the top of this syllabus page. I will make every effort to be available during those hours, and if I cannot for some emergency reason, I'll make sure you all know about it in advance if possible. My office is Doolan 220, on the second floor, and the normal office hours are posted on the small cork bulletin board to the right as you are facing the door. Office hour data is posted there in redundancy to the posted hours on this syllabus page. Brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department.
Every effort will be made to be availble during these posted hours. If something changes, I will notify you in advance, when possible and as soon as possible, via an e-mail blast.
In addition, if you want specific [undivided] attention, you can set up appointments at my You Can Book Me site. Just visit the page and click on any available slot (which isn't greyed out), then enter your information in the window fields. We will both get a confirmation e-mail, which is my notification that you'll be coming in. Easy, huh!?
I am also always available by e-mail at either of the following addresses:
- my LMU mail address (preferred)
- my g-mail address just in case the LMU mail server is down …
I check email at both these addresses at least twice a day, usually three times a day. In
addition I am frequently on line for AIM chat sessions after 9:00 PM; my screen name is
NanoBeej
, or for Google chat sessions at the above address..
YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR LION EMAIL ADDRESS OF RECORD. I will start by sending all
email blasts to everyone's lion.lmu.edu
email addresses. If you specifically provide
me with a preferred alternative email to use I will be happy to oblige. I create a distribution list
to which I send all general communications, so it is important for me to have an email address
which you will check on a regular basis.
Tentative Nature of the Syllabus
If necessary, this syllabus and its contents are subject to revision; students are responsible for keeping up with any changes or modifications, which will be distributed either in class or using the normal (specified) communications channels previously described (usually via e-mail).