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This is a graduate course. We expect every student to contribute to the
discussion that interprets the course material and how it applies to software
system development -- both through assigned presentations and through
participation in class discussions. A grade of B is a wholly satisfactory grade;
it indicates that you satisfactorily completed your assignments and attended
class. A grade of A indicates that you consistently understood how the course
material applies to software system development, reflected on your present and
past experience, and made constructive contributions to class discussion.
Feedback on assignments will indicate whether your response was satisfactory
in responding to the direct question (a check), fell short (a minus), or went
beyond the assigned reading to show how you can apply the course material to
actual software projects (a plus). Failure to submit an assignment will earn no
grade, a zero. For the most part, we will use the Studio
projects as the setting for these assignments. For group reports (project and EVRs) a single grade will be assigned to the group, but if a student does not participate at all that student will not receive credit. If the preponderance of your
feedback is checks and you occasionally speak up in class, you will earn a B. To
earn an A, you should earn plusses on the preponderance of your assignments and
make regular and substantive contributions to class discussion.
Homework assignments
30% of grade, individual work
Most classes will have reading assignments, accompanied by a set of questions to
help you focus on the important points in the reading. Read the material and turn in answers to the questions via Blackboard
before class on the day those particular readings are assigned.. The answers will be graded based on the following criteria:
- How deep an understanding they reflect of the reading material
- How appropriately the most relevant material has been extracted and
applied to real problems of software development methods
- Clarity and economy of expression
In some cases, the assignment will ask for answers that use your class
project. We understand that you will be working with your project group on that
material. However, you must answer the homework assignments yourself, showing
your own understanding of both the project and the class material.
Project Assignments and External Viewpoints Reports
50% of grade, group work
In each unit of the course, the project group will apply ideas of the unit to
the MSE Studio projects and report the result to the class. In addition, a
number of books will be assigned to project groups to read and report on the
major ideas from the book that are related to this course. In each case,
reporting to the class will include making an 8-minute presentation of the main
points, leading class discussion, and providing a 2-3 page summary of the major
ideas.
The MSE program places
a strong emphasis on communication skills. In designing the Methods course
to include significant numbers of student presentations in class, we are
both relying on the communication skills you have already developed and
providing more opportunities to exercise and further develop your skills.
Each student presentation uses almost 1% of the class time in the course,
and we are depending on each student to contribute comparable value through his or her presentations.
Since the purpose of each presentation is to explain to the class what the
main idea of the topic is and how that idea should affect software design,
we expect clear presentations that make the connection between the
background material and the class projects.
Oral presentations
20% of grade, individual work
Each student will make two class presentations. Some of these
presentations will report on applying class material to some aspect of the group project (e.g., problem frames, use cases).
Other presentations will and summarizing and presenting the relevant parts of one of the assigned books.
The presentations will be graded based on the following criteria:
Each presentation will have seven minutes; in addition, the presenter will
answer questions about the material. We strongly encourage presenters to take
advantage of the available resources for improving presentation quality.
- Content -- the coherence, accuracy, and insight shown with respect to the
assignment
- Relevance of the presentation to the topic of the course
- Clarity and economy of expression
Class participation
plus or minus 10% of grade
Students must come to class prepared and to participate in class
discussions. The quality, rather than the quantity, of participation will
be weighted most heavily. Merely attending class without engaging constructively
in discussion does not count as participation.
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