1. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 1 Using SWEBOK for Education Programs in Industry and Academia Dennis J. Frailey Southern Methodist University and Raytheon Company James Mason Securities Industry Automation Corporation

2. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 2 Copyright Statement © Copyright 2002 by Dennis J. Frailey and James Mason. All rights reserved. Abstracting is permitted with credit to the source. Libraries and individuals are permitted to photocopy for private use. For permission to copy, reprint, or republish write to Dennis J. Frailey or James Mason.

3. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 3 Agenda Why a Model is Needed How SWEBOK was used at SIAC, SMU and NTU Programs that Resulted Outlook Q&A

4. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 4 Industry’s Persistent Challenges Projects of increasing complexity Rapidly changing requirements Pressures for faster time to market Need to re-architecture major systems Integration of new processes and techniques Talent shortage: software engineering skills in particularly short supply

5. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 5 Industrial Companies are Good at Focusing on “right now” issues –Responding to market pressures –Responding to competitive threats –Developing “bottom-line” solutions –Applying technology to immediate problems …Expedience

6. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 6 Undesirable Facts of Life Organizations “go with what has worked in the past” “Out of date” practices become institutionalized Few people know, or can integrate, best practices Everyone is too busy getting product out the door to spend time in education or training or addressing these problems effectively

7. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 7 The CMM Solution to Industrial Needs The SEI CMM has helped many companies as they try to meet these challenges But too often CMM efforts have failed Analysis of failures points to many causes, but a persistent cause is LACK OF ADEQUATE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

8. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 8 Security Industry Automation Corporation Build/Operate NYSE/AMEX trading systems High volume, transaction processing systems that demand the highest levels of reliability. Financial markets depend on these systems SIAC must provide reliability assurances Innovation and cleverness are not sufficient

9. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 9 SIAC Education Program Tuition assistance for college courses and degrees Leadership and management development “Technical” training BUT Process & Engineering “under-appreciated” Few good local software engineering programs Hard to find the time to actually take training

10. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 10 Universities are Good at... Keeping up with the latest developments Organizing knowledge into a structure that facilitates understanding and learning Advancing knowledge Taking the time to solve problems that industry is too busy to address

11. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 11 Persistent Challenges for Universities Maintain comprehensiveness and structural integrity of academic programs in rapidly changing fields Maintaining a connection to real, industrial problems Getting too focused in narrow domains due to opportunistic funding opportunities Shortage of faculty talent: software “engineering” skills in particularly short supply

12. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 12 SMU MS Program in Software Engineering Started in 1993, based on –SEI masters level model curriculum –SEI CMM –Local industry needs -- and pressure for something beyond computer science Comprehensive program with a dozen software engineering courses Most faculty have industrial experience Strong distance education options

13. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 13 Challenges for the SMU Program Keeping up to date with rapid improvements in the field Keeping ties with industrial needs –Adjunct faculty and outreach programs –Distance education –Learn from students Supporting innovative delivery formats (distance education, etc.)

14. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 14 NTU Program National Technological University broadcasts course from about 3 dozen universities over satellite to hundreds of industrial companies Software engineering program started about 1995, based on SEI model curriculum Same challenges as SMU, plus the need to keep up with distance education technologies

15. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 15 How SWEBOK Was Used

16. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 16 Industry needs a model of software engineering to relate knowledge with business needs and career growth options Academia needs a model of software engineering to help avoid gaps in program coverage and help assure structural integrity to academic programs The model must develop, adapt and grow with the field The Need for a Model

17. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 17 A structured framework for development Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (IEEE/ACM Stone-man Version 0.9 February 2001)… WWW.SWEBOK.ORG

18. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 18 Using SWEBOK to Align Needs with the Body of Knowledge Opportunity to plan expeditiously Intuitive acceptance of the structure Individual and organization planning were supported Education and SPI initiatives were in alignment

19. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 19 Course Offerings Executive style on-site classes, supplemented by distance education

20. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 20 “A La Carte” Flexible Participation Levels Certificate Programs Masters Degree in Software Engineering

21. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 21 High Interest at SIAC Management has committed resources 100 employees completed a 2 day overview 25 in the bridging program 60 in certificate programs

22. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 22 Things that were Learned - SIAC Organizations seek to act expeditiously Even very busy organizations will embrace opportunities where they perceive an alignment with their needs, and a timely return on their investment The SWEBOK supported a straightforward characterization of what & where education was needed, allowing: –Expeditious choices to be made –Quicker returns expected

23. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 23 Using SWEBOK to Examine the SMU Software Engineering Program The courses and detailed topics were mapped to the detailed structure of the SWEBOK The structure was pretty natural and the mapping was straightforward

24. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 24 Things that were Learned - SMU “Holes” and overlaps in course coverage –For example, a course on software tools was clearly needed Need to update course content in selected areas A clear way to provide an overall framework from which to describe the program to potential students

25. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 25 Using SWEBOK to Examine the NTU Software Engineering Program The problem here was that courses come from many universities, and there needs to be a model by which to correlate their content and determine equivalencies, overlaps, etc.

26. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 26 Things that were Learned - NTU The SWEBOK categories made an excellent system for categorizing courses –And will be used for course numbering in the future Holes and overlaps in course coverage were considerably more apparent The SWEBOK provides a “neutral” basis for discussion when universities disagree about what should be covered

27. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 27 Things that were Learned about SWEBOK Seems overly dependent on standards –Those outside the standards community do not see it the same way as those inside –Little guidance about relevance or applicability of standards to specific kinds of software (example: IEEE Standard 829 for software test documentation) –Some obscure the actual content (example: top layers of management topic are based on 12207 categories rather than things people recognize as key topics in software management)

28. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 28 Things that were Learned about SWEBOK (continued) Structure reminds people of “waterfall” –Some feel it doesn’t fit newer lifecycle models Unequal size of knowledge areas –Design is clearly much richer than configuration management, for example Lingering concerns due to opposition from several communities –Mostly due to political issues and the relative immaturity of the field

29. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 29 Programs that Resulted

30. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 30 Masters Degree (complete the SMU MS - 10 courses total) SMU Certificate Programs Software Engineering Core (Certificate) (3 courses) Software Requirements Certificate (2 Courses) Software Design Certificate (2 Courses) … (2 Courses) Software Management Certificate (2 Courses) Bridging Curriculum (depends on student)

31. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 31 Bridging Curriculum Fundamentals of Computer Science -- Selected Topics from: –Computer Programming –Computer Organization –Data Structures –Discrete Math or Discrete Structures –Systems Programming –Programming Languages

32. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 32 Core Curriculum Software Requirements and Design Engineering Software Testing and Quality Assurance Software Project Management

33. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 33 New NTU Program Structure Each major course category (one digit in course number) will be associated with one or two KAs from SWEBOK Course content will be mapped to SWEBOK at a more detailed level, to determine equivalencies and overlaps

34. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 34 Outlook

35. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 35 Need for Update and Revision of SWEBOK All of these uses of SWEBOK are predicated on the assumption that it will keep up with the times We also need a clear mechanism for providing feedback to SWEBOK authors

36. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 36 The State of Software Engineering

37. 2/26/2002 Using SWEBOK...Copyright © James Mason and Dennis J. Frailey, 2002 37 Q&A