I wish to put the following items on the agenda. One item in particular (COMP2111) will require more supporting documentation. I can't do that at the moment or in the coming week; I will make sure it is done before the meeting.
It was intended to do a full scale revision of the SE program, but such a review can lumber on for months. I am proposing to initiate revisions of parts of the program that are known to require revision.
The following revisions are proposed:
Reason for change
COMP2110 is concerned with formal development of software systems using the B Method, but being a 3uoc course it primarily covers specification and only briefly looks at refinement and implementation. The material from COMP2110 is used in SENG2010 for specification and later in SENG2020 where implementation is introduced in an adhoc and unsatisfactory manner. In SENG2020 we also briefly discuss the modelling of UML classes in B, thus enabling the embedding of formal implementations in an informal OO development. The B Toolkit has been extended to facilitate such embedding in Java and C++.
COMP2111 would extend COMP2110 by covering refinement, implementation, more on proof and also discuss the modelling of UML including class diagrams and sequence diagrams.
The integration of formal and informal is regarded as important. Further out we may deal with things like refactoring; perhaps even explore where extreme programming fits in a formal/informal development.
Reason: other than teaching logic programming, which is desirable, this course has never fulfilled its intended role in the SE program.
Reason: project management should be in the core of the SE program, and S1 stage 2 is a very appropriate place to introduce it. It would fit well with the concurrent SENG2010 workshop.
Lack of project management was also identified by during the IEAust accreditation process.
Note: the 3 changes above result in no change to the required 24uoc in S1. The standard stage 2 S1 program would now be:
COMP2111 6uoc
SENG2010 3uoc
COMP3710 3uoc
INFS2603 6uoc
Gen Ed or COMP2711 6uoc
This doesn't involve any curriculum change. SENG1010 originally ran in S1, but for a number of years it has been run in S2 with SENG1020. Peter Ho has requested that the two courses be merged into a single course for better management.
The SE core currently has INFS2607, Business Data Networks, in S2 stage 3. Many SE students do COMP3331 in S1 and request an exemption from INFS2607. This is allowed informally at the moment by substituting a INFS3/4 course. This needs to be addressed more formally. Perhaps this change can be done now, but it would require agreement with SISTM.
Ken Robinson
UNSW's CRICOS Provider No. is 00098G
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