International Journal of Advances in Electronics and Computer Science, ISSN (p): 2394-2835 Volume-11, Issue-8, Aug.

-2024
http://iraj.in
ESTABLISHING SOFTWARE ENGINEERING DESIGN
COMPETENCE WITH SOFT SKILLS
LUIZ FERNANDO CAPRETZ

WESTERN UNIVERSITY, LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA

Email: [email protected]

Abstract - For a long time, it has been recognized that the software industry has a demand for students who are well
grounded in design competencies and who are ready to contribute to a project with little additional training. In response to
the industry needs, an engineering design course has been developed for senior level students enrolled in the software
engineering program in Canada. The goals of the course are to provide a realistic design experience, introduce students to
industry culture, improve their time management skills, challenge them technically and intellectually, improve their
communication skills, raise student level of professionalism, hone their soft skills, and raise awareness of human factors in
software engineering. This work discusses the details of how this design course has been developed and delivered, and the
learning outcomes that has been obtained.

Keywords - Human factors in software engineering, Human aspects of software development, Software design
Collaborative and social computing, software capstone project.

I. INTRODUCTION
Table 1 shows the five stages of a software life cycle
There is more to producing software than just writing model and proposes an approach to conceptualize the
programs [1]. It is now widely recognized that the points at which a particular dimension of personality
engineering of software systems has a pivotal role to trait may have some impact. A particular personality
play in the production of quality software systems dimension influences each of the five phases to some
that are produced on time, to budget, and to correct extent [2], [3]. The theory behind each of the
level of reliability. That puts software designers in the personality variables suggests that it is likely to
driver’s seat of the high-tech revolution. Software is impact some phases more than others. The
the secret elixir that transforms boring pieces off personality dimension that appears most relevant to
computer hardware into interactive tools capable of each phase is shown on the diagram and the rationale
real magic. for each is described beneath. In other words, this
diagram has been developed by overlapping some
The capstone course emphasizes the idea of what aspects of the MBTI theory and the tasks defining
makes a good design as a key aspect within software each stages of a software life cycle model, and shows
engineering taking into consideration the most the potential impact of MBTI dimensions on the
relevant soft skills that influence software software life cycle:
development.
 Extroversion
Software design is the study of the modern methods,  Introversion
technologies, languages, principles and practices that  Sensing
make it possible to conceive, create, validate and  Intuitive
evolve complex software systems. The course  Sensing
emphasizes teamwork, and hones creative and  Feeling
entrepreneurial skills while putting the methods and  Judging
techniques learned in past courses into real practice.
 Perceiving
The project involves forming two or four-person
software teams to analyze, design, build, test, and
evaluate a software system to meet the requirements
of a real independent user. Another objective of this
course is the development of a new generation of
innovators and entrepreneurs.

II. RESEARCH QUESTION

Firstly, we address one fundamental question:

Table 1
What happens during software development? Impact of Personality Typess on Software Live Cycle [4]

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International Journal of Advances in Electronics and Computer Science, ISSN (p): 2394-2835 Volume-11, Issue-8, Aug.-2024
http://iraj.in
III. METHODOLOGY 1. Group meetings: Members of each group hold
regular meetings to discuss issues related to their
The culminating design experience in software problem, to brainstorm and to delegate tasks. The
engineering is the capstone course, which that spans members record group activities and outcomes,
an entire academic year. In this course students use ideas, concepts, data, and other information.
their acquired academic knowledge into practice and
work on a project that deals with a realistic software 2. Walkthrough: Members communicate geometric
engineering design. Students work in teams of four to relationship using drawings, sketches, system
tackle a comprehensive software design project, architecture, and technology employed. They
building on the overall undergraduate course develop and practice good and effective attitudes
materials previously offered through the software towards giving and receiving constructive
engineering program. Each team is supervised by a criticism and suggestions.
faculty advisor with whom they meet on a regular
basis. An Agile software process (SCRUM) is 3. Progress reviews: The project leader supervises
followed to develop the software project. the progress in the different phases of the design
problem. A check list of pending and completed
Throughout the course, students are expected to milestones is created and updated during progress
achieve milestones related to the design process, review presentations.
including: problem definition and project proposal;
generation and evaluation of concepts; engineering 4. Electronic communication: Electronic mails,
analysis and walkthrough, software prototype design, learning management system, collaborative tools,
implementation and testing, software demos and and webpages are used.
presentation, and preparation of design
documentation and project retrospective. 5. Software demonstration: There is no engineering
of software without software, therefore the student
Deliverables during the year are a written project must give a demo of their software, i.e., launch it
proposal, a project walkthrough, two sprints and and run while showing the main software
design reviews, demos of releases one and two, an functionalities.
oral design presentation, and a project retrospective.
The developed software systems and prototypes are 6. Group presentations: At the end of the semester,
judged by different stakeholders. Assessment of each group will make an oral presentation using
various course components are carried out the course computer assisted presentation packages.
coordinator with help from teaching assistants, the
evaluation of the final demo is performed by the IV. CONCLUSION
project advisor.
An environment has been created in which the
Once alternative solutions to the design problem have students are participants in the entire design process,
been conceived, those solutions need to be analyzed with the opportunity to experiment on the side, in
and then a decision must be taken on which solution which failure is considered part of the design process
is best suited for implementation. The students follow as well as part of the learning process. The most
a systematic methodology in order to evaluate important aspects of the student experience in this
alternative design and assist in making a decision. design course is the recognition of the importance of
The types of analysis include: functional analysis, team efforts and group dynamics, the practice of
soft skills, human factors (anthropometrics, cooperation and appreciation of different talents, the
ergonomics, etc.), product safety and liability, exposure to the complete cycle of design from
economic and market analysis, and legal factors concept to final production in the form of prototype,
(patents, standards and codes, contracts and and the integration of economic, legal, and human
agreements). The work is based on theory and general factors into the design decisions. The final
data collected in these work [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]. presentations are watched and ranked by other teams
in a contest for the best five projects. As the final
During the design process, students interact with one presentations including final demos are pre-recorded
another and with the instructor to define the problem, videos publically posted on YouTube; students
specify the constraints and refine a solution and to usually include their presentation URL in their
communicate to others how to realize the solution. CV/resumes.
The communication patterns vary among groups
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