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Course Prescription

Advanced studies in methods and techniques for developing complex software systems including topics in software engineering environments, advanced software design, tool construction and software architectures. The core taught skills are extended by individual projects in which independent research is undertaken to address challenging software system problems.

Course Overview

The motivation for SOFTENG 701 is to make you a better object-oriented programmer, by teaching you some advanced Software Engineering development topics. These topics are considered advanced because a certain degree of experience in software development is needed to fully appreciate their value; being aware of these topics will prove invaluable in the development of complex applications. The course covers two themes to address this goal, as outlined below.
Theme 1: Good Design
It is an article of faith among many software developers that "Design Matters" - that the choice of design of the software can make a difference to various aspects of a software system. This belief is indicated by slogans such as "Gotos considered harmful", "Favor object composition over class inheritance", and "Design Patterns Rule!" (to paraphrase many things said about Design Patterns). The problem is, mostly these slogans aren’t followed: everyone uses gotos all the time, many use inheritance when they could use composition, and very little code that’s written follows a design pattern. So what’s going on? The problem with slogans is that they are necessarily simple and the truth is almost always very complex so the slogans are not enough to really help us do "Good Design". The primary goal of this part of the course is to go beyond the slogans to investigate what good design might mean, and improve our understanding of what it should mean. More specifically, we will:

  • Learn a little bit of history of thinking on good design - where did some design ideas come from and are they still valid
  • Learn some new ideas about how to do good design - what other cool ways are there to do designs
  • Learn a little bit on how to evaluate how good a design is - we have a design, but how do we know it is any good
  • See a few bad designs - how to recognise known bad designs.
Coursework for this theme will consist of some or all of the following: writing code, reading lots of code, reading research papers and writing reports on all of the above.
Theme 2: Developing Software with Educational TheoryIt is an important skill in a Software Engineer’s toolkit to be able to develop artifacts that are well supported by educational theory to ensure their users can learn effectively. Users are constantly learning; how do they navigate a website, how do they perform a task in an app, how can they teach others to use the software. These are all aspects that can be enhanced by applying a good understanding of educational theory. This is particularly important for education-based applications, however, much of this theory is applicable across a broad range of projects. You will also learn about the importance of incorporating Sustainability and Ethics principles into your design. In this section, your learning will be applied in a group project to design and develop your own software artifact.  In particular we will:
  • Learn about different educational theories and why they are important in a Software Engineering context.
  • Learn how to analyse existing software.
  • Work in medium to large groups to develop a tool using the educational theory you have studied.
  • Learn and apply effective ways to discuss and present your outputs.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For each week in this course, you can expect 3 hours of lectures and 7 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Course Prerequisites, Corequisites and Restrictions

Prerequisite

Advice on Course Limits

This is a limited entry course: there is a limit on the number of enrolments due to staff or space capacity. In cases where the courses is taught under two separate codes (e.g. concurrently taught courses, general education courses) the course limit specified is the total across both versions of the course. For more information, please see the Programme and Course Limitations section of the University Academic and General Statutes and Regulations.

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience

Lectures will be available as recordings. 
The course may include live online events including group discussions.
Attendance on campus is required for the test and project discussions.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Additional Information on Learning Resources

Readings for the course will be made available on Canvas.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Health and Safety

Students must ensure they are familiar with their Health and Safety responsibilities, as described in the university's Health and Safety policy. In this course, as elsewhere on campus, students must comply with all University health and safety protocols. There are no labs associated with this course, so there are no special health and safety requirements.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type12345678

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

The course is improved each year based on student feedback. In response to feedback from last year, the processes for marking will be changed to reduce the time taken to get marks back to students.

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Additional Information on Inclusive Learning

Diversity: We embrace diversity of age, background, beliefs, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, and other visible and non-visible categories. The teaching team and the University of Auckland have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination. If you experience or know of discrimination, you have many options for support and/or reporting; see https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/about-the-university/equity-at-the-university/about-equity/zero-tolerance-for-discrimination.html. You are also welcome to contact the teaching team with concerns.
Names/Pronouns: You deserve to be addressed in the manner you prefer. To help the teaching team address you properly, you are welcome to tell us your pronoun(s) and/or preferred name at any time, either in person or via email.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.