Los 330 créditos y la Ingeniería del Software

La ingeniería del software está recibiendo una atención especial dentro de los grupos relacionados con la enseñanza y los diseños de curricula informáticos. En este trabajo vamos a exponer algunas ideas relacionadas con el diseño general de un curriculum orientado hacia la ingeniería del software. Las cuestiones se pueden abordar desde el punto de vista particular de la educación en nuestro país y, también, desde el punto de vista más general de la enseñanza de la informática a nivel mundial

Software Engineering Education Needs More Engineering

To what extent is “software engineering” really “engineering” as this term is commonly understood? A hallmark of the products of the traditional engineering disciplines is trustworthiness based on dependability. But in his keynote presentation at ICSE 2006 Barry Boehm pointed out that individuals’, systems’, and peoples’ dependency on software is becoming increasingly critical, yet that dependability is generally not the top priority for software intensive system producers. Continuing in an uncharacteristic pessimistic vein, Professor Boehm said that this situation will likely continue until a major software-induced system catastrophe similar in impact to the 9/11 World Trade Center catastrophe stimulates action toward establishing accountability for software dependability. He predicts that it is highly likely that such a software-induced catastrophe will occur between now and 2025. It is widely understood that software, i.e., computer programs, are intrinsically different from traditionally engineered products, but in one aspect they are identical: the extent to which the well-being of individuals, organizations, and society in general increasingly depend on software. As wardens of the future through our mentoring of the next generation of software developers, we believe that it is our responsibility to at least address Professor Boehm’s predicted catastrophe. Traditional engineering has, and continually addresses its social responsibility through the evolution of the education, practice, and professional certification/licensing of professional engineers. To be included in the fraternity of professional engineers, software engineering must do the same. To get a rough idea of where software engineering currently stands on some of these issues we conducted two surveys. Our main survey was sent to software engineering academics in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Among other items it sought detail information on their software engineering programs. Our auxiliary survey was sent to U.S. engineering institutions to get some idea about how software engineering programs compared with those in established engineering disciplines of Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering. Summaries of our findings can be found in the last two sections of our paper

DESARROLLO DE SOFTWARE, HACIA UNA PROFESIÓN

RESUMEN Este trabajo de investigación describe un modelo de componentes para una profesión de ingeniería de software. El modelo se organiza en cuatro tipos de elementos: conocimiento documentado, educación, profesión y actividades, para cada componente se presenta una serie de aspectos que influyen en la consolidación de una profesión. El artículo se enfoca en la presentación de los componentes, entre los cuales se cuentan: el cuerpo de conocimientos, los estándares, las publicaciones, los aspectos curriculares, los programas educativos, aspectos relacionados con certificación y licenciamiento, y el código de ética de los ingenieros de software, con el fin de establecer un fundamento conceptual de múltiples referentes que permita visualizar como el desarrollo de software se ha venido consolidando como profesión. Como soporte se mencionan importantes organizaciones que han protagonizado el desarrollo de los componentes y se dan referencias sobre su contribución. Se pretende con este artículo ofrecer información suficiente para que los lectores posean elementos de juicio sobre cómo se constituye una profesión y puedan dar cuenta de cómo la actividad de desarrollo de software se consolida como una profesión de ingeniería de software.  PALABRAS CLAVESDesarrollo de SoftwareModelo de profesiónIngeniería de Software   ABSTRACT In this research, it is described a model of components of a profession of software engineering. The description of the model is organized in four kinds of elements: documented knowledge, education, profession and activities. For every kind of element a group of components that makes influence in the consolidation of a profession is presented. The paper aims the presentation of the components for the software engineering profession. Some of them are: body of knowledge, standards, publications, aspects of the curricula, education programs, some issues related with certification and licensing, and the code of ethic of software engineers. The main goal of the paper is to establish a conceptual foundation from different sources to bring a view of how the activity of software development has been concreting as a profession. As a support, important organizations that have worked in the development of components are mentioned, and some references of its contribution are given. The paper aims to offer sufficient information to the reader, in order to know how a profession is built up, and to provide the certainty that software development is transforming itself in a real profession of software engineering.  KEYWORDSSoftware DevelopmentModel of professionSoftware Engineerin

DESARROLLO DE SOFTWARE, HACIA UNA PROFESIÓN

RESUMEN Este trabajo de investigación describe un modelo de componentes para una profesión de ingeniería de software. El modelo se organiza en cuatro tipos de elementos: conocimiento documentado, educación, profesión y actividades, para cada componente se presenta una serie de aspectos que influyen en la consolidación de una profesión. El artículo se enfoca en la presentación de los componentes, entre los cuales se cuentan: el cuerpo de conocimientos, los estándares, las publicaciones, los aspectos curriculares, los programas educativos, aspectos relacionados con certificación y licenciamiento, y el código de ética de los ingenieros de software, con el fin de establecer un fundamento conceptual de múltiples referentes que permita visualizar como el desarrollo de software se ha venido consolidando como profesión. Como soporte se mencionan importantes organizaciones que han protagonizado el desarrollo de los componentes y se dan referencias sobre su contribución. Se pretende con este artículo ofrecer información suficiente para que los lectores posean elementos de juicio sobre cómo se constituye una profesión y puedan dar cuenta de cómo la actividad de desarrollo de software se consolida como una profesión de ingeniería de software.  PALABRAS CLAVESDesarrollo de SoftwareModelo de profesiónIngeniería de Software   ABSTRACT In this research, it is described a model of components of a profession of software engineering. The description of the model is organized in four kinds of elements: documented knowledge, education, profession and activities. For every kind of element a group of components that makes influence in the consolidation of a profession is presented. The paper aims the presentation of the components for the software engineering profession. Some of them are: body of knowledge, standards, publications, aspects of the curricula, education programs, some issues related with certification and licensing, and the code of ethic of software engineers. The main goal of the paper is to establish a conceptual foundation from different sources to bring a view of how the activity of software development has been concreting as a profession. As a support, important organizations that have worked in the development of components are mentioned, and some references of its contribution are given. The paper aims to offer sufficient information to the reader, in order to know how a profession is built up, and to provide the certainty that software development is transforming itself in a real profession of software engineering.  KEYWORDSSoftware DevelopmentModel of professionSoftware Engineerin

Investigating the Impact of Entry Qualifications on Student Performance in Computing Programmes at Undergraduate Level

Context: This thesis investigates the impact of prior A-level study on students taking degree programmes within the Computing discipline. The focus of this work investigates opportunities to providing more-personalised learning which is based on students’ existing knowledge, for example, by providing additional learning support to those students who had studied a particular topic at A-level. Although other studies have been carried out in this area, these studies have typically focused on outcomes across multiple programmes. Due to the variation of content taught, the researchers carrying out these prior studies have been unable to draw conclusions at the level of specific assignments. Aim: The aim of this work is to investigate the impact of A-level subject selection on the performance of those studying Computing programmes at Durham University. Method: This thesis is a detailed study, tracking Durham students, from entry until the completion of year two, over a particular three year period. This three year period of study was selected as, during these three years, Durham’s entry qualifications and course content remained largely unchanged. Hence, the unintended impact of entry qualification and content change were not factors that needed to be taken into consideration. A statistical analysis framework has been developed to investigate the impact which choosing specific A-levels has on student performance. Particularly, this work considers the impact on student performance, in course work (to the level of specific assignments) and examinations, of Maths, Computing, ICT, and Physics A-levels. The research compares the outcomes for students who have these qualifications against those who have not. Specific combinations of these A-levels are also considered. Results: The results highlight some benefits in year one for students studying specific qualifications: largely Maths. However, the most significant result of this work is that, at the end of year two, any differences are insignificant. Therefore, while students with specific A-levels may gain benefits initially, at the point these student enter the final year of their programme, these differences no longer impact of their ability to study. The curriculum within Durham, therefore, already appears to address the needs of students, specifically by covering knowledge, or promoting individual study, of all topics necessary for successful progression. This research has, thereby, revalidated and added to the current body of knowledge in this research area. While this work has identified students without specific A-levels are not adversely affected, what it points to is that some students with A-levels, for instance, in Computing, perceive their early University education to repeat much of their A-level work. So, although this study was not able to recommend personalisation of learning in support of those who have not studied specific A-levels, this work does highlight that, perhaps, personalised learning for those who have taken specific A-level may be necessary. Conclusions: The outcomes of this research have clear and important consequences for Higher Education Admission Policies for the Computing discipline. As an outcome, it would seem that the requirements placed by many institutions on entrants to have specific A-level is unnecessarily restrictive and may be preventing many students entering a discipline in which they would, otherwise, have been successful

Informatics in the Future: Proceedings of the 11th European Computer Science Summit (ECSS 2015), Vienna, October 2015

Big data; Computing ethics; Women in computing; Research ethic