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Course Syllabus

Course: SE 4400

Division: Natural Science and Math
Department: Computer Science & Engineering
Title: Software Engineering Practicum I

Semester Approved: Summer 2023
Five-Year Review Semester: Spring 2028
End Semester: Spring 2029

Catalog Description: This course is the first in a two-course sequence. The senior year practicum courses (SE4400 and SE4450) provide career preparation and guide students through a culminating major engineering design experience (capstone project). This capstone project allows students to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work while they solve a complex engineering problem utilizing appropriate engineering standards and multiple constraints.

Semesters Offered: Fall
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 4; Lecture: 4; Lab: 0
Repeatable: Yes.


Prerequisites: SE 3830, SE 3630, and SE 3140

Corequisites: SE 4230 and SE 4270


Justification: This course is a required component of the ABET accreditation standards. This course is designed to meet the requirements the BSSE program and provides a culminating major engineering design experience that 1) incorporates appropriate engineering standards and multiple constraints, and 2) is based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work. This course is required for the BSSE degree.


Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will be better prepared to enter the job market by: increasing interviewing skills, job seeking skills, career awareness and career planning. Students will be assessed through classroom participation and/or homework.

Students will demonstrate an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics. (ABET-SLO1) Students will be assessed using one (or more) of the following methods: journal/reflection, homework, culminating design experience.

Students will demonstrate an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. (ABET-SLO2) Students will be assessed using one (or more) of the following methods: journal/reflection, homework, culminating design experience.

Students will demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences. (ABET-SLO3) Students will be assessed using one (or more) of the following methods: classroom participation, team effectiveness, journal/reflection, homework, culminating design experience.

Students will demonstrate an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts. (ABET-SLO4) Students will be assessed using one (or more) of the following methods: classroom participation, journal/reflection, homework, culminating design experience.

Students will demonstrate an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives. (ABET-SLO5) Students will be assessed using one (or more) of the following methods: classroom participation, journal/reflection, team effectiveness.

Students will demonstrate an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions. (ABET-SLO6) Students will be assessed using one (or more) of the following methods: classroom participation, journal/reflection, homework, culminating design experience.

Students will demonstrate an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies. (ABET-SLO7) Students will be assessed using one (or more) of the following methods: classroom participation, journal/reflection, homework, culminating design experience.


Content:
This course will consist of a practical software engineering capstone experience. Content covered through the experience will be dependent upon the project assigned to each student. It is expected that each experience will be unique as provided for by a professional sponsor or assigned by the instructor. However, key principles taught throughout the Software Engineering curriculum will be applied to each setting, such as: software design and construction, requirements analysis, security, verification, and validation; software engineering processes and tools appropriate for the development of complex software systems. The project will be large in scope, with no obvious solution, and will have many component parts and sub-problems. While producing a solution, students will apply an engineering design process in an iterative and creative decision-making process that meets desired needs and specifications within constraints. This process involves identifying opportunities, developing requirements, performing analysis and synthesis, generating multiple solutions, evaluating solutions against requirements, considering risks, and making trade-offs, for the purpose of obtaining a high-quality solution under the given circumstances. (ABET-Criterion 5)Diversity is encouraged and welcomed. Students will have to consider more than their own opinions as they address problems not encompassed by current standards and codes and which involve diverse groups of stakeholders. Student designs will reflect their observation from different stakeholders' needs and students will actively seek this feedback.

Key Performance Indicators:
Classroom Participation 5 to 20%

Journal/Reflection 5 to 47%

Team effectiveness 10 to 33%

Culminating Design Experience 33 to 75%

Homework/Assignments 5 to 20%


Representative Text and/or Supplies:
Pluralsight, online training resources.


Pedagogy Statement:
Classroom instruction will model skills and techniques, which students will then apply in homework assignments. Individual and team assignments will be used. Team assignments will have an element of team-member peer review to assist in measuring team effectiveness. A repository of work holding the culminating project will be continuously maintained and evaluated. One-on-one mentoring and team feedback sessions will be utilized for private and team level feedback, brainstorming, and problem-solving sessions.


Inclusivity is promoted by fostering a culture of regularly seeking student contributions during course lectures. Each student is expected to contribute, but the instructor should strive to limit the speaking of those who might otherwise monopolize the conversation and instead actively seek out the comments from all other classmates. The instructor will be sensitive to personal student feelings during this act of inclusivity so that it does not unduly put a student on the spot by utilizing techniques such as allowing an unprepared student to pass the question on to a different classmate.

Instructional Mediums:
Lecture

Internship

Maximum Class Size: 24
Optimum Class Size: 16