Course Title: Software Engineering Postgraduate Project

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Software Engineering Postgraduate Project

Credit Points: 48.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

COSC2273

City Campus

Postgraduate

140H Computer Science & Information Technology

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2006,
Sem 2 2006,
Sem 1 2007,
Sem 2 2007,
Sem 1 2008,
Sem 2 2008,
Sem 1 2009,
Sem 2 2009,
Sem 1 2010,
Sem 2 2010,
Sem 1 2011,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 1 2012,
Sem 1 2013,
Sem 2 2013

Course Coordinator: Astrid Bauers

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 2118

Course Coordinator Email: astrid.bauers@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 14.10.05


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

You may not enrol in this course unless it is explicitly listed in your enrolment program summary, and you have confirmed with your program coordinator that it is an appropriate choice for your study plan.

Having completed a relevant undergraduate degree, and bringing your learnings from your post graduate courses at RMIT, you will be applying and combining these as you carry out your project.

It is expected that you will have attained a minimum average of CR in your previous Post Graduate studies.


Course Description

This course is designed to provide you with hands on practical experience developing software in a project environment. Your project team of 4 – 6 students will complete projects from inception to implementation.
As the project teams and projects will be agreed during the first week, it will not be possible to transfer to or from this course after week 1.
The emphasis is on understanding and working within a corporate environment, using formal project and software delivery methodologies and integrating all the skills and knowledge that you have acquired into a solid base from which to progress your professional life.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

You will learn and apply the many aspects of project contribution, management and project delivery in an environment that emulates the corporate world. Standard software development and delivery principles and methodologies will be re-inforced.
[Enabling knowledge and skills] On completion of this course you will have gained an understanding, through applying, the key principles of project management; project methodologies and lifecycles; industry standard project document deliverables; industry standard software development deliverables; best practices processes; and key success factors. You will also gain a greater awareness of how organisations work.
[Critical analysis] You will evaluate the alternative approaches; identify and evaluate the appropriate development and project tools; and identity the key success factors for the project’s completion.
[Problem solving] You will confront the risks and issues associated with project and software delivery.
[Responsibility] You will agree the project deliverables and milestones with your corporate sponsor and assume responsibility for a successful outcome.
[Communication] You will learn and refine your documentation skills to produce agreed documentation and models, and to produce and deliver presentation material to your colleagues and corporate sponsor. You will also regularly formally report to your project manager and sponsor via oral and written reports and registers and charts.
[Teamwork] Your active participation as a team member and your understanding of the team dynamic is critical to your project’s success.
[Leadership] You will learn about leadership capability models and possibly apply these as a project team leader.


  


Overview of Learning Activities

Face to face, where the project manager presents topics for research or application; group discussions, where students discuss and share project issues and experiences; group presentations to colleagues, teaching staff and corporate sponsors; and guest lectures/discussion leaders from industry experts on key topics.
You will be completing your project in a bespoke outsourcing environment. This means that you will ‘come to work’ every day on a full time basis to complete your project in constant, dynamic interaction with your team members and regular interaction with your project manager and project sponsor.


Overview of Learning Resources

There is no single text or reference but you will be sourcing a variety of tools and materials, some of which will be provided for you and some of which you will source yourselves. You will also be sharing your ideas, skills and knowledge with your student team colleagues. You will be in regular contact with your sponsor and other technical relevant resources to collaboratively deal with issues that may arise, and to ensure that the initial project objectives are met.


Overview of Assessment

You will complete a number of project documents that include: a project charter; project definition and project schedule; requirements specification; design and architecture specifications; test plans, cases and reports; project closure report and issues and risk registers.
The final application developed will be accompanied by the appropriate user references or manuals and will be quality assured.
Your contribution as a team member will also be evaluated.

For standard assessment details, including hurdle requirements, relating to Computer Science and IT courses see: http://www.rmit.edu.au/compsci/cgi