Software Development
MODULE CODE
CREDIT VALUE
Module Aims
Aim 1
To develop communication skills required for effective software development.
Aim 2
To explore approaches to identifying software requirements and developing software.
Aim 3
To emphasise the importance of HCI in the software development process.
Aim 4
To develop a systematic approach to software quality.5. To enable the students to compare software development approaches.
Module Content
Quality
Quality criteria, e.g. meeting user needs, delivery on time, robustness, maintainability
Safety Critical Systems: hazards, risks and fault tree analysis
Process and product quality
Standards & methodologies
Testing: testing strategy, test case design, test harnesses, mocking/stubbing
Usability evaluation
Reviews, inspections
Software requirements
Agile and traditional approaches to identifying and recording requirements
User interface design
User needs analysis
Colour, Font, Navigation, Affordance of controls
User error recovery
Software design and development techniques and tools
Agile and traditional techniques for software development (e.g. TDD, CRC cards, modelling using UML – to include use-cases, class, activity and sequence diagrams)
Object-Oriented analysis and design
Software tools to support software development (e.g. diagramming, TDD, mocking/stubbing, test coverage, static analysis, bug-tracking, documentation generation, configuration management and change control)
Software Reuse
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to:
Teaching Methods
A combination of lectures with tutorial / practical sessions.
The Lectures will cover the theoretical underpinning, while tutorials will include role-playing, group discussions, critical evaluation of prototypes and design exercises.
The requirements elicitation stage may be acted out through role-play of a customer and development team. Students develop a set of interface screens based on the customer requirements and underpinned by published HCI research. Students will then present the screens to the customer in another role-playing exercise and feedback from the customer will be used to improve the interface. Through further role-play, the screens will be evaluated by “experts” and by “users” using published usability testing methods.
Practical sessions will enable the students to develop designs and implement prototypes and receive formative feedback from both the tutor and through role-play exercises from the “user”.
Practical work will allow students to explore tools to support software development techniques
Assessment Methods
This module is assessed through a coursework and an examination.
View The Other Course’s Modules
Compulsory
Optional
