Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
June 22, 2008
June 22, 2008
June 25, 2008
2153-5965
Software Engineering Constituent Committee
15
13.34.1 - 13.34.15
10.18260/1-2--3747
https://peer.asee.org/3747
445
Dr. Pyster is a Distinguished Research Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, the Stevens Director of the Applied Systems Thinking Institute (ASysT), and a member of the Board of Directors of INCOSE. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President and Director of Systems Engineering and Integration for SAIC, Deputy Chief Information Officer and the Chief Scientist for Software Engineering at the Federal Aviation Administration, Chief Technical Officer at the Software Productivity Consortium, director at Digital Sound Corporation, Manager of Systems Engineering at TRW, and an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Dr. Pyster has a Ph.D. in Computer and Information Sciences from Ohio State University.
Devanandham Henry is a PhD student and Research Assistant at the School of Systems and Enterprises, Stevens Institute of Technology. He has a B.Tech degree (1997) in Aeronautical Engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology – Anna University, Chennai, India and an M.Tech degree (2002) in Aerospace Systems Engineering from the Centre for Aerospace Systems Design and Engineering (CASDE), Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay, India. He was with the Aeronautical Development Agency, Bangalore, India for nine years working on Experimental Aerodynamics, Aircraft Performance, Air Intake and Design Optimization for the Air Force and Naval versions of the Indian Light Combat Aircraft before joining Stevens in the Fall of 2006 for a PhD in Systems Engineering. His professional interests include Enterprise Engineering and Systems Engineering education.
Dr. Richard Turner is a Distinguished Service Professor at Stevens Institute and a Visiting Scientist at the Software Engineering Institute. He was most recently a Fellow with the Systems and Software Consortium in Herndon, VA. As a Research Professor at The George Washington University, he taught graduate courses and directly supported the Department of Defense working with a wide range of research organizations and system developers to transition new software-related technology to defense acquisition programs. Dr. Turner served in the Federal Aviation Administration for nearly a decade, and has worked for several engineering firms addressing the needs of defense, intelligence and civil government agencies. Dr. Turner holds a DSc in Engineering Management from the George Washington University.
Kahina Lasfer is a Phd student in the School of Systems Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. Her research area is based on systems thinking in K-12 education. She graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with a Masters degree in Computer Engineering, and then she worked with Lucent Technologies as a software developer first in embedded systems and then she held a position as a software designer/architect for CDMA2000 project where she participated in numerous projects developing several features to enhance the existing software system. She is now participating in a project to create a model curriculum in software engineering.
Larry Bernstein is the Distinguished Service Professor of Software Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. He wrote “Trustworthy Systems Through Quantitative Software Engineering,” with C.M. Yuhas, Wiley, 2005, ISBN 0-471-69691-9. He had a 35-year executive career at Bell Laboratories managing huge software projects deployed worldwide. Mr. Bernstein is a Fellow of the IEEE and the Association for Computing Machinery for innovative software leadership. He is on the Board of Center for National Software Studies and Director of the NJ Center for Software Engineering and is an active speaker on Trustworthy Software in the IEEE Computer Society DVP program.
Kristen Baldwin is the Acting Director, Systems and Software Engineering in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology (DUSD(A&T)). She is the DoD focal point for all policy, practice, and procedural matters relating to systems and software engineering. Ms. Baldwin was named Deputy Director for Software Engineering and System Assurance in February 2007. Prior to OSD, Ms. Baldwin served as a Science and Technology Advisor in the Army’s Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, and at the Dismounted Battlespace Battle Lab, Fort Benning, GA. Ms. Baldwin began her career at the US Army’s Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal. Ms. Baldwin received a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1990 and a Masters in Systems Management from Florida Tech in 1995.
A Draft Reference Curriculum for a Masters Degree in Software Engineering: A Joint Industry, Academic, and Government Initiative
Abstract
Over 50 universities in the United States and many others globally offer a masters degree in software engineering. However, the most current software engineering reference graduate curriculum was developed by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon over 15 years ago. Given how differently today’s software is used and developed, a fresh look at graduate programs is needed. A broad coalition of professionals from academia, industry, and government is creating a new reference curriculum. This paper presents the current draft of that curriculum.
The curriculum team conducted an initial study of existing SwE graduate programs that showed broad diversity in goals, content and requirements for admission and graduation. The reference curriculum is strongly influenced by SE2004 and the SWEBOK, but also considers industry desires concerning the skills and competencies they expect to see in a graduate. It is designed to provide a graduate-level core curriculum based on a common body of knowledge and to be flexible enough for individual academic organizations to create the program that best responds to their goals, individual strengths and target student population.
Introduction
Worldwide, software delivers most of the value in new products. Software is the underlying technology that advances the capabilities of many of contemporary life’s tools and toys. Medical devices, automobiles, aircraft, environmental and power generation systems, mobile phones, and entertainment components are all dependent on software-driven functionality. Much of the complexity of those products and systems resides in and is addressed by software. Because of this complexity and the inherent difficulties of software development, most of the "surprises" that occur in system integration and after product shipment and system deployment can be traced back to incorrect software implementation.
The ability of any large company or government agency to manage its projects and organization depends heavily on sophisticated software systems that support its business and technical processes, ranging from logistics systems to manufacturing systems to customer relationship management systems. Yet, reports from the U.S. Government Accountability Office1, the Standish Group2, and others have painted the same story for years – that creating and evolving large-scale software on schedule, on budget, with expected functionality, is uncommon.
Software engineering (SwE) is the acknowledged discipline by which large-scale, trustworthy, and complex software is developed. Many universities teach software engineering at the undergraduate level. More than 30 colleges and universities helped create the reference curriculum for undergraduate SwE education that the ACM and IEEE published in 20043. Many universities offer a masters degree in SwE. Yet, it was back in 1991 when the Software
Pyster, A., & Henry, D., & Turner, R., & Lasfer, K., & Bernstein, L., & Baldwin, K. (2008, June), A Draft Reference Curriculum For A Masters Degree In Software Engineering: A Joint Industry, Academic And Government Initiative Paper presented at 2008 Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--3747
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