This is an archived syllabus from 2013-2014

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COMP33711 Agile Software Engineering Development

Level 3
Credits: 10
Enrolled students: 79

Course leader: Suzanne Embury

Additional staff: view all staff

Requisites

• Pre-Requisite (Compulsory): COMP20341

Assessment methods

• 80% Written exam
• 20% Coursework

Timetable

Semester	Event	Location	Day	Time	Group
Sem 1	Workshop	IT407	Mon	10:00 - 10:00	-
Sem 1 w7-12	Workshop	3rdLab	Mon	10:00 - 10:00	-

Themes to which this unit belongs

• Agile Methods

Overview

In 2001, a group of influential and experienced software developers met in the mountains of Utah to discuss was going wrong in software development and how things could be done differently. Together, they produced the Agile Manifesto, a concise summary of the key values they agreed should underpin successful software development. In essence, these values state that: we should value the people involved and their interactions more than the processes and tools used; we should focus on the delivery of working code over the production of comprehensive documentation; we should strive for effective collaboration with the customer rather than wrangling over contract details; and we should aim to respond sensibly to change rather than sticking rigidly to our original plan, which may no longer be appropriate.

Much conventional software engineering is based around a key idea from manufacturing: namely, the notion that the quality of a product depends on the quality of the process that creates it. According to this way of thinking, if we aren't developing good software products then we need to have a better process with which to develop them. Unfortunately, as the proponents of agile methods point out, rather than better processes, we often ended up only with bigger processes, requiring an ever increasing set of deliverables to be produced: feasibility studies, statements of project scope, project plans, requirements specifications, risk assessment plans, interview reports, contracts, architecture designs, detailed designs, test strategy documents, test plans, change requests, etc., etc. But in the end, say the agile proponents, the only deliverable that matters is the delivered code. Why are we diverting so much effort and energy to these other deliverables, at the expense of the one that really matters?

The Agile Manifesto, and the work on lightweight software development approaches that preceded it, led to the design of several new software development methods, all coming under the title of "agile methodologies". These approaches seek to focus the efforts of the project team on the activities that lead directly to the delivery of genuinely useful software for the customer. They give a key role to the customer in achieving this value, and suggest radical ways in which customers and developers should interact. They reduce (or abolish) the role of middle managers, and put decision making power back in the hands of the development team, to reduce delays in information flow and to increase the quality of communication between the customer and developers. They use cheap and cheerful approaches to heavyweight tasks such as requirements gathering, emphasising the need to be flexible, and to embrace change as an inevitable necessity rather than something to be feared and resisted.

Initially heavily criticised, many agile practices are now becoming the accepted way of working in the software industry. The number of organisations claiming to be wholly or partly agile is fast increasing, and an awareness of agile approaches (their limitations as well as their strengths) is invaluable for anyone contemplating a career as a software engineer.

Aims

The aim of this course unit is to introduce you to the basic values and principles behind agile software engineering, and to give you an understanding of how the key agile practices work together to deliver real value to customers in a predictable and controllable way. We'll look at some of the problems with the conventional "plan-based" approach to software development, and examine how agile methods attempt to do better.

Rather than being lectured at, you'll take part in industry-standard coaching games, plus team-based exercises, group discussions and hands-on demonstrations that let you experience the agile approach at work and make up your own mind about the strengths and limitations of the ideas being presented.

Syllabus

• Week 1: The Agile Lego Game - an Introduction to Agile Software Engineering
• Week 2: The Trouble with Big Up-Front Requirements Gathering
• Week 3: How Do We Know What to Build?
• Week 4: What Can We Promise to Deliver (and When)?
• Week 5: How Do We Know What to Build Next?
• Week 7: How Do We Know When We're Done?
• Week 8: How Do We Build the Right Product?
• Week 9: How Do We Know When We're (Done) Done? (sic)
• Week 10: How Do We Build The Product Right?
• Week 11: Software Design Without A Crystal Ball?
• Week 12: Agile in a Nutshell

For a detailed description of each weeks' activities please see COMP33711's weekly lesson plan.

Teaching methods

Lectures

One two-hour session per week

Feedback methods

Study hours

• Assessment written exam (2 hours)
• Lectures (22 hours)
• Practical classes & workshops (22 hours)

Employability skills

• Group/team working
• Project management
• Oral communication
• Problem solving
• Written communication

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, a student will be able to:

Learning outcomes are detailed on the COMP33711 course unit syllabus page on the School of Computer Science's website for current students.

Reading list

No reading list found for COMP33711.

Additional notes

Course unit materials

Links to course unit teaching materials can be found on the School of Computer Science website for current students.