ITEC322 - Information Technology Project Part B (Software Engineering)

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

ITEC312 Information Technology Project Part A (Project Management)

Incompatible

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

This is the second of two units (Parts A and B) extending across two semesters. Both units provide practical experience in designing, developing and evaluating a particular information technology project or in thoroughly investigating a particular area of information technology. The project is generally software-based, although sometimes it may involve investigation of an information system for a particular industry. It covers the whole system development lifecycle from requirements analysis through design to implementation and testing. The two units provide project management, communication and technical skills to prepare students for transition from study to professional practice in industry. Both units require students to integrate and consolidate knowledge, attitudes and capabilities acquired in other units of study. The project work will involve project management, documentation, presentation, and possibly coding.

While Part A provides students with fundamental project management, communication and technical skills in the context of a particular information technology project, Part B is focused on the implementation and testing of the project according to the project management and lifecycle plans developed in Part A from a software engineering perspective. Students will work on their project proposals and employ their knowledge of software development process to develop and test the system. A number of unique test cases have to be designed to evaluate the functional and non-functional requirements of the system. The project final report has also to be submitted including project successes, difficulties faced in different project phases, performance analysis, recommendations to signal improvement in project delivery for the future, and its impact on the dignity of each individual and human diversity. The primary aim of this unit is to empower learners with core knowledge of project management and system development in order to become an informed and responsible IT professional, acting for the common good while being immediately successful when joining an organisation.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Design and implement IT systems using an appropriate software development framework and tools and technologies to ensure compliance with relevant standards (GA4, GA5)

LO2 - Apply appropriate test techniques to design a number of unique test cases to evaluate the functionalities and correctness of the developed system. (GA5, GA8)

LO3 - Prepare a comprehensive final project report summarising the project outcomes by demonstrating written communication skills and responsibilities of respecting the dignity of each individual and human diversity (GA1, GA5)

LO4 - Prepare presentations to communicate the progress and outcomes of the project with audience using effective oral communication skills (GA5, GA9)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

Content

Topics will include:

• Principles of software engineering
• Overview of software processes
• Software requirement engineering
• Software architectural design
• System design and modeling
• Software design and implementation
• Software testing
• User interface evaluation
• Software reuse and evolution
• Distributed software engineering
• Service-oriented software engineering 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit is offered in different modes. These are: “Attendance” mode, “Blended” mode and “Online” mode. This unit is offered in three modes to cater for the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants and maximise effective participation for isolated and/or marginalised groups.

Attendance Mode

In a weekly attendance mode, students will require face-to-face attendance in specific physical location/s. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops, most students report that they spend an average of one hour preparing before the workshop and one or more hours after the workshop practicing and revising what was covered. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for you to prepare and revise.

Blended Mode

In a blended mode, students will require face-to-face attendance in blocks of time determined by the School. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for you to prepare and revise.

Online Mode

This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of the essential knowledge associated with working with technology. Students can explore the essential knowledge underpinning technological advances and develop knowledge in a series of online interactive lessons and modules. Students are given the opportunity to attend facilitated synchronous online seminar classes with other students and participate in the construction and synthesis of knowledge, while developing their knowledge of working with technology. Students are required to participate in a series of online interactive workshops which include activities, knowledge checks, discussion and interactive sessions. This approach allows flexibility for students and facilitates learning and participation for students with a preference for virtual learning.

Students should anticipate undertaking 150 hours of study for this unit, including class attendance, readings, online forum participation and assessment preparation.

Students should anticipate undertaking 150 hours of study for this unit, including class attendance, readings, online forum participation and assessment preparation.

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. The first assessment item is the project proposal presentation. This assessment allows students to apply their knowledge and technical skills as well as their project management and communication skills at higher levels. It also helps students monitor and review their progress of their project. The second assessment item is the final project presentation. This task requires students to demonstrate the final version of their project, reflect on their project journey, and evaluate their acquired skills throughout this project against the SFIA framework. The final assessment is the final project report, which includes the details of development environment, tools, procedures, test cases, test results, and reflection on the ethical considerations of the project, including reconciliation of business success and working for the common good and effective written communication skills. The purpose of this assessment is to test students’ ability to apply their knowledge and skills in order to develop and deliver an IT project, including demonstration of critical and reflective thinking skills, ability to use diverse range of authentic resources, and demonstration of high-level written communication and teamwork skills. All the assessment items require group work as collaborative work is common in the information technology industry and the capstone project aims to provide authentic learning experience so that students are prepared to transit into a professional workplace. Peer assessment of group work will be adopted so that students will be marked based on their individual contributions to the group project. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Summerville, I. 2015, Software Engineering, 10th edn, Pearson

Schwalbe, K 2018, Information technology project management, 9th edn, Cengage Learning, USA

Graham, D 2019, Foundations of Software Testing, 4th edn, Cengage Learning, USA