Activities and Methodology

The course of Software Engineering has a strong applied component. For this reason, after introducing the fundamental theoretical concepts, the subject is developed according to an ABP (Problem Based Learning) methodology. In this way, the student will acquire the knowledge from a practical case (problem guide) of real dimension. The guide problem will guide the learning process throughout the course, so that the practical work or the seminars will be structured around this case. The student must acquire the analyst / architect profile of the software to make the necessary decisions to conclude in the construction of a proposed design of the proposed system. The teacher will take the role of tutor and, in certain situations, of client, fomenting simulations of developer-client dialogue.

The subject consists of 4 hours per week. There is no distinction between theory hours, problems and laboratory practices. During class hours, theory classes, problems or practices will be alternated according to the planning that will be indicated on the day of the planning of the subject. In general, the explanation of the fundamental theoretical contents will be concentrated during the first sessions of the course (approximately the first 6 weeks). Once the theoretical contents are distributed, all sessions will be devoted to work based on problems, identifying some compulsory attendance sessions where the practice will be carried out on teams of 5 people or they will be made problems at the end of the session.

THEORY

It consists of master classes with multimedia material available at the Virtual Campus of the UAB. The main objective of these classes is tointroduce the basic notions about the processes, methods and tools related to the vision of the software life cycle from an engineering point of view. The principles and paradigms of software engineering, the different activities and the tasks to be carried out in each activity will be exposed. The theory classes must allow the student to take a real vision of rigor, planning and systematic that requires the professional development of the software. It will not be deepened in the subjects since in subjects of later courses these already are developed, but the necessary concepts will be explained so that the student understands the process of development of complete software. The theory sessions will assume that the students follow the materials distributed through the virtual campus, so that they will be oriented to explain the key concepts, and to foment the critical debate on the contents. To make the classes more dynamic, pre-learning materials are usually distributed to the students for self-learning (videos, web links, presentations, etc.) and they are asked to work before class, so that the class is addressed to discuss. knowledge, resolving doubts, focusing on the most essential and working on practical examples.

SEMINARS/PROBLEMS

The seminars are classes with participatory work of the students. According to the objective of the seminars, the group's students will be divided into smaller subgroups. They have a dual function, linking on one side with the masterclasses and on the other with the practical sessions on the problem to be solved in teams. On the one hand, the seminars will complement the technological contents exposed to the master classes, completing their understanding. On the other hand, they will be the framework for discussing, laying the foundations and developing the guide problem. The student will be given the necessary knowledge to carry out the practical work or will be indicated where to obtain them. The seminars essentially promote the capacity for analysis and synthesis, as well as the critical reasoning and decision making of the student in the resolution of the guide problem. Since itis a very practical subject and where the theoretical content is of low complexity, practical work is often reinforced with solving problems or the work of participatory activities. The contents of the seminars will be coordinated with the stages to be resolved in the work of the practice. Since theory sessions, problems and practices will be alternated throughout the course, for a better organization, the students will have at the beginning of the course through the virtual campus of the programming of all the sessions.

FOLLOW UP OF PRACTICAL WORK

There will be no face-to-face sessions of the laboratory. Students will solve the guide problem autonomously in small groups, and the monitoring will be done during class hours during regular hours. The practice bands (6 sessions of 2 hours during the course) will consist of two parts. First, each practice team will present to the rest of the class the progress of its work (the one in charge of presenting will be the person that does of scrum master in that iteration). In the second part of the session, the practice tutor will have an individual interview with each team to follow up and evaluate. A development based on SCRUM is followed, where each increment, called sprint, corresponds to a session. Assistance to the follow-up interviews will be COMPULSORY for all students. The non-presence will adversely affect the evaluation of the practical work, entailing not exceeding the evaluation if the number of non-presences exceeds 15% of the sessions. In case of justified absence, the teaching staff will consider mechanisms of compensation. The size of the practice teams will be determined at the beginning ofthe course. As an indication they will be teams of 5 people. Since attendance to the follow-up sessions is mandatory, and it will be done during the attendance hours, it is important that all the members of a team of internships are enrolled and attend the same group.

PRACTICAL WORK

Students will be given a guiding problem at the beginning of the course. This problem will have two functions. First, use it as an example in theory classes and seminars, solving appropriate parts for the contents of each moment. Secondly, it can be understood as the statement of a practice that is resolved by stages throughout the course. The students will be organized in work teams of 5 people (according to number of students enrolled). The resolution of the work will be carried out autonomously, with the weekly follow-up described above.

ACHIEVEMENT OF COMPETENCES

• T03 - Work as a team. Work will be done in the practical work where students will train teams of 5-6 people, where teamwork is considered one of the competencies to work. Students will have to distribute the roles they would have in a software project, and each week one of them will perform the scrum master. It will be evaluated as one of the indicators of practical work.
• CRI03.03 - Understand the importance of negotiation, effective work habits, leadership and communication skills in all software development environments, at an advanced level: Specific problem-specific sessions will be worked on where technical solutions will be proposed. Catch requirements, in particular gamestorming, and also in practice, where the work groups are organized according to the principles of the SCRUM methodology, and every week (session) will require one of the team members to assume the SCRUM master role (coordinator). It will be evaluated based on the individualized monitoring of the practical work (from the actions that the Scrum master makes of the follow-up meetings).
• CRI08.01 - Design and maintain applications according to criteria of robustness and reliability and CRI08.02 - Design applications knowing how to select the most appropriate software development paradigm: They will work both in face-to-face sessions, in particular of problems, as well as practical work. It will be assessed with the written test (theory exam, first control) and with the qualification of the practical work.
• CRI16.01 - Understand what is the analysis of requirements and why it is important and CRI16.02 - Understand the process of agile software development: The first sessions of the theory and problems course (first four weeks) will be worked out as well as in the first practicesessions (first two sessions). They will be assessed with the written test (theory exam, second control) and with the qualification of the practical work.
• CRI17.02 - Understand the notation and construction of diagrams UML and E03.02 - Design and evaluate person-computer software interfaces that guarantee the accessibility and usability of the systems, services and computer applications: They will work in the central sessions of the course of theory and problems (week 5 to week 10), as well as in practice sessions (sessions 3 to 5). They will be assessed with the written test (theory exam, second control) and with the qualification of the practical work. Optional exercises will be offered to students to be given to have additional scores in the exam corresponding to this part.
• E03.01 - Understand what design is and how to achieve a good design that includes the accessibility, ergonomics, usability and security requirements of computer applications and E03.02 - Design and evaluate person-computer software interfaces that guarantee the design, Accessibility and usability of the systems, services and computer applications: As in the previous competition, the central sessions of the theory and problems course (week 5 to week 10), as well as in the practical sessions (sessions 3 to 5) . They will be assessed with the written test (theory exam, second control) and with the qualification of the practical work.
• E05.01 - Understand what the software is, what are the objectives that are posed when developingsoftware and the problems associated with its development. The final sessions of theory and problems will be worked (weeks 11 and 12), as well as in the practical sessions (session 6). It will be evaluated with the written test (theory exam, second control) and with the qualification of the practical work.
• E09.04 - Know and apply methods of communication and effective negotiation in the accomplishment of the tasks typical of the profession. Basically, it will work in practice sessions where students will have to defend in front of the teacher the decisions taken in their project. The teacher will do the role of client to simulate what would be a real project. It will be evaluated in the qualification of the practical work.

ONLINE LECTURES

Although it is hoped that all teaching can be carried out in person, the class sessions may have to be adapted to online mode through video conferencing platforms. Any changes that affect the format and schedules will be reported through the virtual campus and at the beginning of the course.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.