An intensive software engineering learning experience

Abstract

We describe how we presented a year-long Software Engineering (SE) module. The first part of the module entailed a process we call rocking the boat. Our objective was to create an opportunity for our students to experience a complete software engineering project (from specification to delivery) within six weeks. During the second part students worked in self-selected teams on an industry-based SE project. Again they were required to undergo the complete SE lifecycle. We firstly describe the design of our module. We then describe how we gathered and analysed information on how the students behaved in their teams as well as about what they experienced while participating in the module. Finally, we discuss our observations. We conclude with remarks about the potential success and possible improvement of our teaching strategies and future research directions.