UoPeople Online Syllabus Repository (OSR)

MSIT 5250: Foundations of Software Engineering

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: 

No prerequisites required

Course Description: Foundation of Software Engineering course is designed to prepare graduates for careers that involve the development, design, testing, maintenance, and documentation of various software products. This gives in-depth coverage of the areas of software engineering that are essential for becoming proficient in the field. Software engineering career-track jobs include- software architect, software engineer, quality assurance or QA engineer, CRM project manager, security engineer, front-end engineer, back-end engineer, full-stack engineer, and mobile developer. Graduates will be polishing their software skills, as well as update the business impact of the solutions to software engineering problems. By the end of the course, you will be able to apply fundamental software engineering concepts to real-world scenarios through projects and assignments.

Required Textbook and Materials: UoPeople courses use open educational resources (OER) and other materials specifically donated to the University with free permissions for educational use. Therefore, students are not required to purchase any textbooks or sign up for any websites that have a cost associated with them. There may be additionally required/recommended readings, supplemental materials, or other resources and websites necessary for lessons; these will be provided for you in the course's General Information and Forums area, and throughout the term via the weekly course Unit areas and the Learning Guides.

• This course does not contain a main textbook; resources to all required reading will be provided in the course Learning Guide for each week.

Software Requirements/Installation: GitLab

Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of best practices used to develop and manage complex software development projects.
2. Justify the best SDLC approach for his/her team or project.
3. Design real-world project.
4. Procure working knowledge of GitLab, backend, frontend, and full stack development.

Course Schedule and Topics: This course will cover the following topics in eight learning sessions, with one Unit per week.

Week 1: Unit 1 – Software Development Life Cycle: Getting Started

Week 2: Unit 2 – Software Development Life Cycle: In Practice

Week 3: Unit 3 – The Secure Software Development Life Cycle

Week 4: Unit 4 – Software Testing and Quality Assurance

Week 5: Unit 5 – Frontend Engineering

Week 6: Unit 6 – Backend Engineering

Week 7: Unit 7 – Full-Stack Final Project Part I

Week 8: Unit 8 – Full-Stack Final Project Part II

Learning Guide: The following is an outline of how this course will be conducted, with suggested best practices for students.

Unit 1: Software Development Life Cycle: Getting Started

• Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Complete and submit the Case Study/ Written Assignment
• Complete and submit the reflective portfolio activity

Unit 2: Software Development Life Cycle: In Practice

• Peer-assess unit 1 case study assignment
• Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Complete and submit the Case Study Assignment
• Complete and submit the reflective portfolio activity

Unit 3: The Secure Software Development Life Cycle

• Peer-assess unit 2 case study assignment
• Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Complete and submit the Case Study Assignment
• Complete and submit a reflective portfolio activity

Unit 4: Software Testing and Quality Assurance

• Peer-assess Unit 3 case study assignment
• Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Complete and submit the Hands-On Assignment
• Complete and submit reflective portfolio activity

Unit 5: Frontend Engineering

• Peer-assess Unit 4 Hands-On assignment
• Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Complete and submit the Hands-On Assignment
• Complete and submit the reflective portfolio activity

Unit 6: Backend Engineering

• Peer-assess Unit 5 hands-on assignment
• Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Complete and submit the Hands-On Assignment
• Complete and submit reflective portfolio activity

Unit 7: Full-Stack Final Project Part I

• Peer-assess Unit 6 hands-on assignment
• Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Complete and submit the Hands-On Assignment
• Complete and submit reflective portfolio activity

Unit 8: Full-Stack Final Project Part II

• Peer-assess Unit 7 hands-on assignment
• Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
• Complete and submit Self-evaluation and Peer-evaluation.
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Complete and submit the Hands-On Assignment
• Complete and submit reflective portfolio activity

Course Requirements: 

Discussion Assignments & Response Posts/Ratings
Some units in this course require that you complete a Discussion Assignment. You are required to develop and post a substantive response to the Discussion Assignment in the Discussion Forum. A substantive response is one that fully answers the question that has been posed by the instructor. In addition, you must extend the discussion by responding to at least three (3) of your peers’ postings in the Discussion Forum and by rating their posts. Instructions for proper posting and rating are provided inside the Discussion Forum for each week. Discussion Forums are only active for each current and relevant learning week, so it is not possible to contribute to the forum once the learning week has come to an end. Failure to participate in the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum and responding to peers as required may result in failure of the course.

Projects or Written Assignments & Assessment Forms
Most units in this course require that you complete a Written Assignment, which may come in many forms (case study, research paper, etc.). You are required to submit your assignments by the indicated deadlines and, in addition, to peer assess three (3) of your classmates’ assignments according to the instructions found in the Assessment Form, which is provided to you during the following week. During this peer assessment period, you are expected to provide details in the feedback section of the Assessment Form, indicating why you awarded the grade that you did to your peer. Please note that each assignment grade is comprised of a combination of your submission (90%) and your peer assessments (10%). Failure to submit Written Assignments and/or Assessment Forms may result in failure of the course.

Portfolio Activities

Portfolio Activities are tools for self-reflection and evaluation within the context of the course. These activities are designed as a means to document and reflect upon your learning process and critical thinking skills. Ideally, you will draw from your experiences inside and outside of the classroom, as well as what you’ve learned in other courses, to showcase your overall growth and examine ways in which you can continue to develop and sharpen your professional goals.

Course Forum
The Course Forum is the place to raise issues and questions relating to the course. It is regularly monitored by the instructors and is a good place to meet fellow students taking the same course. While it is not required to participate in the Course Forum, it is highly recommended.

Course Policies:

Grading Components and Weights

Each graded component of the course will contribute some percentage to the final grading scale, as indicated here:

Grade Appeal
If you believe that the final grade you received for a course is erroneous, unjust, or unfair, please contact your course instructor. This must be done within seven days of the posted final grade. For more information on this topic, please review the Grade Appeal Procedure in the University Catalog.

Participation
Non-participation is characterized by lack of any assignment submissions, inadequate contributions to the Discussion Forums, and/or lack of peer feedback to Discussion/Written Assignments. Also, please note the following important points about course participation:

• Assignments must be submitted on or before the specified deadline. A course timeline is provided in the course schedule, and the instructor will specify deadlines for each assignment.
• Any student showing non-participation for two weeks (consecutive or non-consecutive) is likely to automatically fail the course.
• Occasionally there may be a legitimate reason for submitting an assignment late. Most of the time, late assignments will not be accepted and there will be no make-up assignments.
• All students are obligated to inform their instructor in advance of any known absences which may result in their non-participation.

Academic Honesty and Integrity
When you submit any work that requires research and writing, it is essential to cite and reference all source material. Failure to properly acknowledge your sources is known as “plagiarism” – which is effectively passing off an individual’s words or ideas as your own. University of the People adheres to a strict policy of academic honesty and integrity. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in sanctions by the University, including dismissal from the University or course failure. For more information on this topic, please review the Academic Integrity Policy in the University Catalog.

Code of Conduct
University of the People expects that students conduct themselves in a respectful, collaborative, and honest manner at all times. Harassment, threatening behavior, or deliberate embarrassment of others will not be permitted. Any conduct that interferes with the quality of the educational experience is not allowed and may result in disciplinary action, such as course failure, probation, suspension, or dismissal. For more information on this topic, please review the Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog.