Software Engineering 2014 Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Software Engineering a volume of the Computing Curricula Series

Expected Student Outcomes

As a basic step toward providing curriculum guidance, the following set of outcomes for an undergraduate curriculum has been identified. This is intended as a generic list that could be adapted to various software engineering program implementations. Although emphasis is placed on knowledge and skills related to software engineering, an undergraduate curriculum should of course enable a student to analyze and synthesize these elements as appropriate.

[Professional Knowledge] Show mastery of software engineering knowledge and skills and of the professional standards necessary to begin practice as a software engineer.

Students, through regular reinforcement and practice, need to gain confidence in their abilities as they progress through a software engineering program of study. In most instances, students acquire knowledge and skills through a staged approach in which they achieve different levels as each academic term progresses. In addition, graduates must have an understanding and appreciation of professional issues and standards related to ethics and professional conduct, economics, and societal needs.

[Technical Knowledge] Demonstrate an understanding of and apply appropriate theories, models, and techniques that provide a basis for problem identification and analysis, software design, development, implementation, verification, and documentation.

Software engineering employs concepts that are unique to the nature of software and its development and also draws others from a range of reference disciplines. Students should both be aware of these concepts and of their limitations, whether inherent or arising from their adaptation to software engineering. Students should be able to evaluate and reflect on the processes that they follow as well as upon the solutions that they produce.

[Teamwork] Work both individually and as part of a team to develop and deliver quality software artifacts.

Students need to perform tasks that involve working as an individual, but also experience many other tasks that entail working with a group. For group work, students should be informed about the nature of groups and of group activities and roles as explicitly as possible. This must include an emphasis on the importance of such matters as a disciplined approach, adhering to deadlines, communication, and individual and team performance evaluations.

[End-User Awareness] Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the importance of negotiation, effective work habits, leadership, and good communication with stakeholders in a typical software development environment.

A program of study should include at least one major activity that involves producing a solution for a client. Software engineers must take the view that they have to produce software that is of genuine utility. Where possible, a program should incorporate a period of industrial experience as well as invited lectures from practicing software engineers and involvement in activities such as external software competitions. All this provides a richer experience and helps to create an environment that supports the development of high-quality software engineering graduates.

[Design Solutions in Context] Design appropriate solutions in one or more application domains using software engineering approaches that integrate ethical, social, legal, and economic concerns.

Throughout their study, students should be exposed to a variety of appropriate approaches to engineering design in the general sense and to examples of their use in developing software for different application domains. They must be able to understand the strengths and limitations of the available options and the implications of selecting specific approaches for a given situation. Their proposed design solutions must be developed within the context of ethical, social, legal, security, and economic concerns.

[Perform Trade-Offs] Reconcile conflicting project objectives, finding acceptable compromises within the limitations of cost, time, knowledge, existing systems, and organizations.

Students should engage in exercises that expose them to conflicting and changing requirements. There should be a strong real-world element present in such cases to ensure that the experience is realistic. Curriculum units should address these issues, with the aim of ensuring high-quality functional and nonfunctional requirements and a feasible software design.

[Continuing Professional Development] Learn new models, techniques, and technologies as they emerge and appreciate the necessity of such continuing professional development.

By the end of their program of study, students should show evidence of being self-motivated lifelong learners. Throughout a program of study, students should be encouraged to seek new knowledge and to appraise it for usefulness and relevance.

SE 2014 Principles

The following list of principles embraces both general computing principles as well as those that reflect the special nature of software engineering and that differentiate it from other computing disciplines.

SE 2014 concentrates on the knowledge and pedagogy associated with a software engineering curriculum. Where appropriate, it will share or overlap with material contained in other computing curriculum reports and will offer guidance on its incorporation into other disciplines.

[Reference Disciplines] Software Engineering draws its foundations from a variety of disciplines.

Undergraduate study of software engineering relies on many areas in computer science for its theoretical and conceptual foundations, but it also requires students to use concepts from other fields, such as mathematics, engineering, and project management. All software engineering students must learn to integrate theory and practice, recognize the importance of abstraction and modeling, appreciate the value of good design, and be able to acquire special domain knowledge beyond the computing discipline for the purposes of supporting software development in specific application domains.

[Curriculum Evolution] The continuing evolution of software engineering knowledge, technology, applications, pedagogy, and practices together with the professional nature of software engineering require an ongoing review of the corresponding curriculum and an emphasis upon the importance of lifelong learning for graduates.

To address the continuously evolving nature of software engineering, educational institutions must adopt explicit strategies for responding to change. This should include an ongoing review process that allows individual components of the curriculum recommendations to be updated on a recurring basis. Institutions, for example, must recognize the importance of remaining abreast of well-established progress in both technology and pedagogy, subject to the constraints of available resources. Software engineering education, moreover, must seek to prepare students for lifelong learning that will enable them to move beyond today’s technology to meet the challenges of the future.

[Curriculum Organization] SE 2014 must go beyond knowledge elements to offer significant guidance in terms of individual curriculum components.

The SE 2014 curriculum models should assemble the knowledge elements into reasonable, easily implemented learning units. Articulating a set of well-defined curriculum models will make it easier for institutions to share pedagogical strategies and tools. It will also provide a framework for publishers who provide textbooks and other materials.

[Software Engineering Core] SE 2014 must support the identification of the fundamental skills and knowledge that all software engineering graduates must possess.

Where appropriate, SE 2014 must help define the common themes of the software engineering discipline and ensure that all undergraduate program recommendations include this material.

[Incorporation of Software Engineering Knowledge] Guidance on software engineering curricula must be based on an appropriate definition of software engineering knowledge.

The description of this knowledge should be concise and appropriate for undergraduate education and should use the work of previous studies on the software engineering body of knowledge. From this description, a core set of required topics must be specified for all undergraduate software engineering degrees. The core should have broad acceptance by the software engineering education community. Coverage of the core will start with the introductory courses, extend throughout the curriculum, and be supplemented by additional courses that may vary by institution, degree program, or individual student.