Engineering, Computer Science, and Engineering Technology
College of Technology
Berrien Springs, Michigan 49104

(2 credits)
Spring 2002

[Introduction] [Course Description] [Textbooks] [Grading] [Objectives] [Communicating]
[The Project] [Progress Reports] [Submission Format] [Time Log] [Responsibilities] [Evaluations] [Project Presentation]

Introduction:

Class:

There will be combined class meetings on Tuesday nights at 6:30PM, as needed.

DO NOT MAKE PLANS FOR LEAVING AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER BEFORE CONSULTING WITH THE TEACHER ABOUT THE FINAL PRESENTATIONS. YOUR GRADE DEPENDS HEAVILY ON ATTENDING THE FINAL PRESENTATIONS.

This Syllabus Provides a General Plan for the Course;
Deviations May Be Necessary.

Course Description and Prerequisites:

The implementation of a group project and the study of topics related to the group project including CASE tools, 4GL’s, graphical user interfaces.  Emphasizes written documentation and oral presentations associated with group project rather than lecture.  For CPTR561, the project begun in this course generally carries over into CPTR562.

Prerequisites: CPTR 460.

– 2001-2002 Andrews University Bulletin

Comparatively less time is spent in class lecture, allowing this time to be devoted to the group project. Class meeting times are devoted to project coordination, group presentations, and the discussion of selected topics.

Textbooks and Other Reading:

None are specifically required for this course.  However, the following books can be used as a resource for guidelines on methodologies and documentation:

Pressman, Roger S.  Software Engineering A Practitioner's Approach.  5^th ed.  McGraw Hill, 2001.

Valacich, Joseph S.; George, Joey F.; Hoffer, Jeffrey A.  Essentials of Systems Analysis & Design (ISBN 0-13-018373-3

Whitten, J. L., L. D. Bentley, V. M Barlow.  Systems Analysis, Design Methods.  Chicago, IL:  Irwin, 1994.

Grading Policies:

Criteria

• Timeliness of submitting required deliverables (progress reports, evaluations, etc.)
• Quality of submissions (following instructions, quality of comments, spelling, grammar, use of generally-accepted software engineering practices, professional "look", etc.)
• Individual evaluations (Likert average and % allocated)
• Teacher evaluations
• Design and documentation
• Amount of project accomplished during term
• Project presentation and "client" evaluations

Distribution

Grades

Objectives:

The general objective of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to work in a group software development setting, working on real-life projects, and to learn and practice good interpersonal, software development, and project management skills.

Specifically, the successful student will be able to:

1. List, describe, and discuss various aspects of group software development team dynamics, and effectively participate in group software development efforts.
2. Name, describe, and create, the various deliverables which are required throughout a group software development project.
3. List, describe, and take part in the various project management activities which facilitate the smooth-running of a group software development project.

Teacher-Student Communications (Internet Email and the WWW):

The best way to contact me is via Internet email. Send email to the address listed on the first page of this syllabus and I will probably respond within 24 hours of receiving your note. (Most likely within just a few minutes or hours – I check mail many times a day almost every day of the week.) I assume that you have an Andrews email account and will be using it regularly throughout this class. (If you do not have an account, apply for one right away!) I will expect to be able to send email to each of you and to get prompt replies.

If there is an emergency which necessitates your speaking with me more quickly than what sending email might allow, call one of the phone numbers listed on the first page of the syllabus.

I will use email and the WWW to post notices, schedule changes, etc.  Handouts, course objectives, and assignments are distributed in electronic form (non-paper) through email and Web pages which I continually update throughout the semester. You will want to visit them frequently.

Participation:

Class participation is expected. Your grade in this course is directly related to your participation as well as how well the group does as a whole.

Tests:

There will be no tests.

The Project:

This course is centered on conducting a group software engineering project. Details will be provided on the first day of class.

Below, a number of procedures and expected deliverables for the project are described. Note that some of these deliverables are required regularly throughout the semester, while others are only due once at the end of the term.

You will be expected to provide formal progress reports via the web (http://dheise.andrews.edu/courses/grades/login.asp), due to me by 11:59 pm Sundays (as specified in the schedule) throughout the semester, and are encouraged to interact informally on a daily basis between these times. Late submissions will impact your grade for the course. Further details are provided below. Clarifications may be provided and/or obtained in class, via email, and through the WWW.

There are two parts to these progress reports. One part is created and submitted one per group member (the individual progress report), and the other part is created and submitted one per whole group (the group progress report).

Each individual progress report should include:

Via Web	Individual evaluations (see below)
timelog.xls	Current time log.  Right click to download the Excel spreadsheet (you may need to use Internet Explorer to do this successfully).  You must enable macros when prompted to allow the elapsed time script to run.  Keep your log in this file for the duration of the course, do NOT start a new one for each submission.  Submit it via the web when progress reports are due.

Each group progress report should include the following, in addition to any other pertinent material:

status.doc	One-paragraph summary of current status & issues
resp.doc	Current list of primary responsibilities of members (see below)
sched.doc	Current schedule
docs.doc	Current documents (e.g., charter, analysis, design, issues, problems to resolve, future enhancements, design decisions, user manual, system documentation, etc.)
misc.doc	Any additional materials (optional)

One of the various documents you will be required to turn in is a log of the time you spend on this course. Each student will turn in a log, with the time categorized in appropriate areas (e.g. group meetings, class lectures, email, design, interviews with clients, etc.). An Excel spreadsheet has been prepared for this purpose, and is available for download.  The spreadsheet contains a simple script for calculating elapsed time, so you will need to enable macros when prompted as you open the spreadsheet.  I have turned on protection (Under Tools > Protection), and shaded the unprotected cells, to make the spreadsheet easier to use.  Elapsed time will be calculated and displayed when the Start Time is entered.  I have provided a list of typical task categories, so enter the appropriate 2-character Task Code and the Task name will be calculated via a lookup function.  At the same time, the Summary table will be updated in the appropriate task category line.  A error message will appear beside the table if time is entered but not assigned to one of the task categories.

Individual evaluations are entered directly into a web form  (http://dheise.andrews.edu/courses/grades/login.asp).

The individual time log is recorded in an Excel spreadsheet, and is to be uploaded via the web.

All group submissions are to be submitted in a SINGLE ZIP file via the web. There should be no directory structure included in the ZIP file, just straight files as listed in the examples above. Name all files as listed above.

While each project is the responsibility of the whole group, you are to determine the various tasks which will need to be performed and the various deliverables which will be created, and are to assign primary responsibility for these to various group members. This will help clarify what each person should focus their work for the semester on, and will allow for more objective grading of each individual within the group. Make sure to distribute these responsibilities across all members of the group.

For instance, the user manual might be assigned to group member A, while the design document is assigned to member B. Further, maybe the writing of the progress group report is assigned to member C. (Even if one specific member is assigned to write the this report, all members should review and approve it before it is sent to me.) In addition, member A is responsible for the code for the data-entry section of the program, member B is responsible for the code for the calculations section of the program, and member C is responsible for the code for the reports section of the program. This is just one approach that might be followed. Each group is responsible for identifying and assigning primary responsibilities for all tasks and deliverables. You will be required to generate a "responsibility matrix" and to maintain its accuracy throughout the semester and submit the current matrix with each and every progress report as well as with the final reports at the end of the semester.

Because it is difficult, at best, to evaluate individuals within a group project, you will be asked with each progress report to assess how well you believe you and your co-workers are contributing to the overall project, and how well you believe you are all carrying out the primary responsibilities which have been assigned to each of you.

These evaluations will perform several functions. First, they will help me to be more aware of what is taking place within each group by the various group members. By hearing from each of you about how your group and its members are functioning, I will be more informed about how your projects and group interactions are proceeding.

Second, this process will force you as individuals and as groups to raise and address issues which may be of concern for the group about the project or about how the group is achieving the project goals. In any group or organization, it is easy for issues to be "pushed under the rug" because people are afraid of addressing issues that are uncomfortable or not easy to resolve. However, if the issues can be raised and addressed in constructive ways, then everyone benefits. "Hiding things under the rug" benefits no one.

Third, by being forced, in a class group setting, to raise issues, discuss them, and to find constructive solutions which are helpful for your group, you will be practicing good inter-personal group relationship skills which you will hopefully take to your future jobs. Since you will always need to interact with other people and be able to resolve ongoing issues, it is hoped that this process will help you learn positive and beneficial ways to work with others.

Thus, as a way to help facilitate good interactions within your individual groups, as a way to help you learn how to better interact and solve group and interpersonal issues, and as a way to aid my evaluation of each individual on this group project you will be asked to periodically assess your own and your co-workers’ contributions to the project. You will do this with each progress report, and you will do it one last time for the final group report.

A web form has been created for recording your Individual Group Member Evaluations.  You can get to it by clicking Record Progress Report on the course home page.  You will be prompted for your Andrews username and password.  Note that there is a scoring section and a comments section on each of two questions relating to how well you feel each individual is contributing to the overall group project, and how well he/she is carrying out his/her "primary responsibilities".

In the scoring section, you assign a number from 1 to 7 for each team member, including yourself, for each of the two questions.  Then, you explain why you gave the rating you assigned for the first question and then describe what you would like to see different. Then you do the same for the second question.  In other words, you first rate the person, then identify any problems, and finally suggest solutions. By suggesting solutions, you are attempting to turn a potentially problematic situation into a constructive opportunity. It is also appropriate to identify good points – not just problems – on the evaluation form.

You should fill out the form for each member of your group (including yourself) every time a progress report is due. (The web application fills in your group name and the names of all the team members.) This is not to be simply a "telling on others" activity, where you each tell me what you like or don’t like about all the others. It is to be a process by which you bring up issues (if there are ones that need to be addressed) and you think about solutions to them. Hopefully you will be able to talk about these issues individually between yourselves and as a group and work to resolve them. (Obviously, you must be sensitive about how you raise and address these issues, since this process can easily become destructive to the group if not handled carefully.)

I will look very closely at these evaluations, and, as I see fit, I will encourage each group to address issues which I see as themes in one or more persons’ evaluations.

You will be required to present the results of your project at the end of the semester. This presentation will involve two parts: one (managerial, less technical) part for the client, and one (more technical) part for the class and the instructor. These presentations will be expected to be professional in nature and to use a variety of media and mechanisms. Examples of such mechanisms might include using Microsoft PowerPoint for the presentation, handouts of the presentation slides, demonstration of the software, live video, data flow diagrams, object diagrams, etc. Evaluation of these presentations, along with the documents generated throughout the term, will be the primary means used for assigning grades for the course. Required documents will be discussed during the semester, but it is also assumed that you will draw on knowledge from CPTR 460 in this regard as well.

All work turned in for a grade should be done to the same level of quality as would be expected in a professional/work environment. This means that all submissions should be neatly typed, use proper grammar and punctuation, have correct spelling, follow standard writing style guidelines, give credit when material is quoted, used, and/or referenced, etc. (See more detailed explanations below under Individual Work and Professional Standards of Scholarship.)

Individual Work:

Given that most of the work for this course will be performed and submitted as a group, this should not be a significant issue. However, for work requested individually, you should turn in only work that you yourself have done. If you draw on previous work done by others, be sure to give appropriate credit when this is the case.

Professional Standards of Scholarship:

Professional standards of scholarship require that any time an individual relies on another’s work, proper credit must be given. This means that any time one directly uses textual material that it must be placed within quotes and referenced properly; other non-textual material must be shown with proper credit given citing the original source of the work. When material is not used in exact form (paraphrased, major ideas relied on or referred to, etc.) it should still be given credit as well, although it is not put within quotes. Always give credit to ideas or materials that are not yours. If in doubt, give credit.

Violations of these standards are highly disapproved of, and appropriate academic action will be taken depending on the situation. Be professional, give credit where it is due, turn in work that is your own, and you will be fine.

IF YOU ARE UNCERTAIN ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES, PLEASE TALK WITH ME. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU LEARN AND TO HELP YOU WHEN YOU ARE UNCERTAIN ABOUT WHAT TO DO. DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS!

Besides expecting professional standards of scholarship, generally accepted U.S. standards for written work will applied to documents turned in for this course. This means that grammar, punctuation, spelling, and citation of references should follow standard guidelines. APA (American Psychological Association) or another common standard is acceptable for work submitted for this course. Be consistent; be neat; be professional.

You are receiving a degree from an American university, which you and the University want to be well-respected. Thus you will be held to relevant American academic standards.

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