Introducing Problem-Based Learning in a Joint Masters Degree: Offshoring Information Technologies

International audienceA young offshore software industry has grown up in Morocco. The University of Brest has set up a network of major software companies and Moroccan universities, providing two mobility schemes towards France. Both schemes include a final internship on the French side of global companies, with pre-employment on the Moroccan side - a successful internship being the key that opens the door to recruitment. Student heterogeneity, and student reluctance to move towards a professional attitude are important barriers to employability. Hence, we redesigned a significant proportion of our technical courses to use a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. The PBL approach is illustrated through drawing parallels with the production of a TV series. Three aspects of the approach are presented: (i) set-up of the studio in which sessions are run, i.e. a real software project, its work products and its software development environment; (ii) pre-production tasks including the screenwriting of problem-based learning scenarios and the procurement of input artefacts; and (iii) acting, i.e. students' interpretation of characters (roles) and teacher direction

A project-based immersion system

International audienceWe present features of an education system entirely based on a 7-months project, performed by a 6-students team within a virtual company and tutored by an experimented software engineer. We describe some aspects of a past project: functions of the system, technology, deliverables, and assessment. Students' outcomes are drafted in term of roles

ISO-Standardized Requirements Activities for Very Small Entities

International audienceThe use of Software Engineering standards may promote recognized and valuable engineering practices for Very Small Entities (VSEs) but these standards do not fit the needs of VSEs. The ISO/IEC Working Group 24 (WG24) is developing the ISO/IEC 29110 standard Lifecycle profiles for Very Small Entities; this standard is due for approval in June 2010. A pilot project about ISO 29110 use has been established between our Software Engineering group and a 14-person company building and selling counting systems about the frequentation levels of public and private sites. The pilot project aims to help VSEs deliver the Software Requirements Specification, Test Cases and Test Procedures for a new web-based system intended to manage fleets of counting systems. As the project goes along, it appears that the 29110 set of documents was not up to the task of sustaining this VSE in its engineering activities. We supported the VSE in two ways: (i) a Training Session based on the 29110 Requirements Analysis activity, and (ii) Self-Training Packages - a set of resources intended to develop experience and skills in Requirements Identification and SW Requirement Specification (SRS). Our inspiration stems from the 15504-5 standard with a desire to provide software engineers with an exemplar set of base practices providing a definition of the tasks and activities needed to fulfil the process (e.g. requirements) outcomes. Task definition is collected on a task card. The results of this pilot study provide the VSE with a roadmap through the Requirements activity, which is compatible with the ISO/IEC 29110 standard

Equipping Software Engineering Apprentices with a Repertoire of Practices

International audienceArgyris and Schön distinguish espoused theories - those which people speak about - from theory-in-use - those which can be inferred from action. In small software teams, developing reflective thinking about action is a vital necessity in coping with change. We address these issues in a Masters of Software Engineering, performed with an alternation between university and industry. University periods are dedicated to a long-term project performed in a reflective practicum. It aims to develop a repertoire of practices which helps young engineers deal with the 'messiness' of situations. Such a practicum provides students, working in groups, with the possibility of reflecting on action. We propose using the Course-of-Action framework to record observable aspects of the actor's activity into semantic wikis. Two hypotheses are discussed (1) self-analysis and self-assessment help to reveal theories-in-use; (2) the Course-of-Action observatory helps maintain awareness of the repertoire. A case study of a 6-apprentice team illustrates the observatory use and the reconstruction of apprentices' activity. Primary conclusions are that self-observation and self-analysis of a software engineer's activity help raise awareness of the initial structure of the repertoire. We are however unable to conclude that it helps reveal their theory-in-use (w

A few elements in software development engineering education

International audienceBrest University offers the software engineering by immersion paradigm as an alternative to other education systems. The idea is that students follow through a project from A to Z, relying on an ISO9001 quality management system alongside methods and tools associated with present n-tier architecture - but under apprenticeship conditions. Software engineering activities are structured around three main processes: Development Engineering, Project Management, and Development Support. Focussing on Development Engineering, we report on certain challenges and difficulties, illustrated on a real-scale project

Cultural immersion aimed at improving professional integration in the Moroccan offshore industry

International audienceA young offshore software industry has grown up in Morocco. A network of 9 universities has set up two schemes promoting mobility towards France, strongly governed by the principle of driving skills gained back to Moroccan economic development. Academic objectives are related to software development and offshoring. A proportion of its success results from extra-academic factors: student selection, student support, internship supervision dedicated to a pre-employment in Moroccan companies. In all of these aspects, the University of Brest is acting as a hub between the various stakeholders, and its role could be compared to a placement agency, perhaps beyond the scope of its usual missions

Installer un suivi personnel de compétences dans une formation en ingénierie du logiciel

International audienceLes diplômes sont assortis de suppléments incluant les compétences visées par la formation et les capacités et savoir-faire acquis. Ces objectifs de compétences se structurent dans un modèle de compétence qui peut être établi comme objectif de formation. Le dispositif d'apprentissage de l'ingénierie du logiciel par immersion s'organise autour d'une année passée dans une entreprise virtuelle, sans cours traditionnels, lors de laquelle les étudiant(e)s travaillent en équipe et dans les règles de l'art pour concevoir et réaliser un système d'information sous le tutorat d'un professionnel expérimenté. Le modèle de compétences de la formation (3 domaines, 14 activités, 48 capacités et 11 compétences transversales) sert de référence pour le positionnement régulier par chaque élève d'un niveau de maturité dans chaque capacité ou compétence transversale. L'outillage de ce suivi par le logiciel eComp@s offre de nouvelles perspectives de supervision et de pilotage des apprentissages tant pour le tuteur que pour l'élève qui se voit doté-e d'un instrument favorisant la pratique réflexive

Bootstrapping an empty repertoire of experience: the design case

International audiencePerforming good design is a difficult task. To take up this challenge, practitioners rely on their repertoire of experience. Students, however, do not have any such repertoire. We propose an approach aimed at bootstrapping the repertoire. The approach is generally accomplished in two steps: tailoring the activity - acquiring a minimal structure through a deductive approach, then initializing the repertoire through an inductive approach; and performing the activity - to begin filling the repertoire whilst drawing up the design of a real-scale project

Process Assessment Issues of the ISO/IEC 29110 emerging standard

International audienceThe emerging ISO/IEC 29110 standard "Software Engineering - Lifecycle Profiles for Very Small Entities (VSE)" is an ISO initiative to provide Very Small Entities (VSE) with a suitable set of profiles for Process Assessment and Process Improvement. The approach is conforming to ISO 15504 2-D model of process capability: a process dimension based on a Process Reference Model (PRM), and a capability dimension with a set of process attributes grouped into capability levels. The ISO/IEC 29110 standard is developing 4 profiles for VSEs developing generic software: Entry, Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. This paper establishes a reduced set of Base Practices profiled from ISO 15504-5 "An exemplar Process Assessment Model (PAM)". It applies recommendations of ISO/IEC 29110 DTR 29110-3 about assessment and questions the use of a separated capability dimension and its usability for a VSE

Ingénierie du logiciel par immersion: allers-retours entre apprendre et faire

International audienc