This course assumes that students are familiar with the development lifecycle for software or information systems and have had previous exposure to the construction of software or information systems.
Students are expected to have completed compulsory courses of MATH7861, MMDS7961, INFS7900, and CSSE7030 as this course relies on the application of many concepts discussed in earlier courses. At the first semester of this course, students are expected to have enroled INFS7903 (Relational Database Systems) and CSSE7023 (Advanced Software Engineering).
Software project management is vital for the development of large software systems so that they meet their requirements, are built on time and are within budget. Students are required to build a large software system. This course also deals with the problems and issues that arise in managing large software projects and presents solutions, methodologies and tools to help deal with and overcome these problems.
The course is held over two (2) semesters.
Students will initially develop selected components of a larger project individually (phase 1). Students are then placed in groups. A group will consist of 4 to 7 students. The groups will then develop the remaining components of the project. The lecturer may alter groups at different times.
Students in the same group are expected to make an equal contribution to the project. Groups will be allocated by the lecturer based on several factors including individual performance in phase 1, interests, skills and GPA. Group allocations will be finalised in week 6. Any cancellation of an enrolment should be indicated to the Course Coordinator by email to: csse7024@itee.uq.edu.au.
An alternative to this course is to do a PIPS (Professional IT Placement Semester), a work-based learning program which enables final-year IT students at the UQ to spend six months in industry while still gaining full academic credit. For further information, please refer to website: http://study.itee.uq.edu.au/work_experience.htm .
The best way to contact me is via email. You are welcome to drop by my office as well, and if I have time I will see you right away or otherwise I will set up a suitable time to meet.
All students are expected to attend lectures and tutorials, unless indicated otherwise by the 'Learning Activities' or the Course Coordinator. Attendance at lectures used for demonstrations or presentations is a requirement for all students for the entire session assigned.
Students do not need to attend the scheduled practical / lab sessions. However, students should use the lab tutor’s time wisely and plan the work over the whole duration.
The lectures, tutorials and practicals have been specifically designed to help you understand the course material and complete your project. Failure to attend a session may result in you or your group being disadvantaged. It is up to you to find out what happened at any session that you miss.
| GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE | LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
| A. IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE FIELD OF STUDY | |
| A2. A broad understanding of the field of study, including how other disciplines relate to the field of study. | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 |
| A3. A comprehensive and in-depth knowledge in the field of study. | 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 13 |
| A5. An international perspective on the field of study. | 6, 8, 10, 12, 13 |
| A7. An appreciation of the link between theory and practice. | 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12 |
| B. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION | |
| B1. The ability to collect, analyse and organise information and ideas and to convey those ideas clearly and fluently, in both written and spoken forms. | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 |
| B2. The ability to interact effectively with others in order to work towards a common outcome. | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 |
| B3. The ability to select and use the appropriate level, style and means of communication. | 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 |
| B4. The ability to engage effectively and appropriately with information and communication technologies. | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12 |
| B5. The ability to practise as part of an interdisciplinary team. | 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12 |
| C. INDEPENDENCE AND CREATIVITY | |
| C2. The ability to work and learn independently and effectively. | 3, 4, 5, 12 |
| C3. The ability to generate ideas and adapt innovatively to changing environments. | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 |
| C5. The ability to formulate and investigate problems, create solutions, innovate and improve current practices. | 3, 4, 5 |
| C6. The abilities and skills that provide a foundation for future leadership roles. | 4, 10, 11 |
| D. CRITICAL JUDGEMENT | |
| D2. The ability to apply critical reasoning to issues through independent thought and informed judgement. | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 |
| D4. The ability to process material and to critically analyse and integrate information from a wide range of sources. | 2, 4, 8, 9, 11 |
| D5. The ability to evaluate opinions, make decisions and to reflect critically on the justifications for decisions using an evidence-based approach. | 3, 4, 8, 11 |
| E. ETHICAL AND SOCIAL UNDERSTANDING | |
| E1. An understanding of social and civic responsibility. | 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| E3. An appreciation of the philosophical and social contexts of a discipline. | 2, 4, 8, 13 |
| E4. A knowledge and respect of ethics and ethical standards in relation to a major area of study. | 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| E5. A knowledge of other cultures and times and an appreciation of cultural diversity. | 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| E7. The ability to work effectively and sensitively across all areas of society. | 1, 2, 4, 7 |
| E8. An understanding of and respect for the roles and expertise of associated disciplines. | 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 13 |
| Marchewka, J., Information Technology Project Management, Providing Measurable Organizational Value, John Wiley & Sons, USA, 2003. | |
| Ayers, D. et al, Professional Java Server Programming J2EE, Edition 1.3, Wrox Press, c1999 | |
| Bai, X., JavaServer Pages, Thomson Course Technology, Boston, USA, 2003. | |
| Barwell, F. et al, Professional VB.NET, 2nd Edition, Wrox Press, 2003. | |
| Horstmann, C. S. & Cornell, G., Core Java 2 Volume 1 - Fundamentals, The Sun Microsystems Press, Palo Alto, USA, 2000. | |
| Leffingwell, D., Widrig, D., Managing Software Requirements, Addison Wesley Longman Inc, New Jersey, April 2000. | |
| Morrison, M. & Morrison, J., Database-Driven Web Sites, Thomson Course Technology, Boston, USA, 2003. | |
| PMI Standards Committee, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge – 2000 Edition, Project Management Institute, Newtown Square, PA., 2001. | |
| Roof L., Fergus D., The Definitive Guide to the .NET Compact Framework, Apress, California, 2003. | |
| Schwalbe, K., Information Technology Project Management, 3rd ed, Course Technology, MA, 2004. | |
| Stiller, E. & LeBlanc, C., Project-Based Software Engineering, Addison Wesley, Boston, USA, 2002. | |
| Thayer, R. H., Software Engineering Project Management, 2nd ed, IEEE Computer Society, Los Alimitos, Calif, October 1997. | |
| Whitten, J. L., Bentley, L. D. & Dittman, K. C., Systems Analysis and Design Methods, 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill, USA, 2001. | |
Documentation Libraries
As well as the required and recommended textbooks, the following will be useful for the project.
Notices
Notices regarding the course will be posted to the newsgroup uq.itee.csse3004. You are expected to read these notices regularly (at least once a week and more often near deadlines for deliverables).
Web
The course web site is available at http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~csse7024. However, since this course is a shadow course of an undergraduate course CSSE3004, the main content of the course website will be the same as that of csse3004. The course web site will contain important information and links to other sites related to the course. You must be enrolled in the course to access some parts of the web site.
Newsgroup and email
The course newsgroup is merged with the undergraduate one: uq.itee.csse3004. Students are free to post questions (and answers to those questions) to the newsgroup. Notices will also be posted to the newsgroup (see above). If you have a general query or comment regarding the course that may be of interest to other students, we suggest you post it to the newsgroup. The teaching staff will monitor the newsgroup and respond in a timely manner (when necessary).
However, you should never post partial solutions or specific questions about your solution to the newsgroup. For such questions, or if you have a personal or very specific questions, you should use email to the course account csse7024@itee.uq.edu.au. We will aim to respond to these messages within one working day.
All e-mail communications from students are required to contain the same information as the example below:
| Subject: | CSSE7024 [Question about requirements] |
At the top of the body of the e-mail, the following information is required:
| Name: | [Jo Tappin] | |
| Student No: | [33333333] | |
| Group Code: | [Group X] |
where [ ] are examples of field to be completed.
Once groups have been formed, each group should elect a group contact person. All communications between a group and the lecturers should be through the group contact. A mailing list with all group contacts may be used in the course for project related announcements. It is the group contact's responsibility to pass information to all group members.
A variety of teaching modes are used in the course. These include lectures, tutorials, peer presentations, practical work and independent learning. The remaining time is to be spent on researching, developing and documenting the project.
In the first semester of the course lectures and tutorials cover Project Management topics and project activities. Lectures and tutorials involve interactive activities designed to help students improve their understanding of course material and guide students in the development of their projects. In the second semester lectures are used for conducting group meetings, performing project activities and conducting assessment. Although this course has three scheduled lecture hours and one tutorial hour each week, lectures and tutorials will not be held every week. See the Learning Activities in this document for details.
Tutorials
Tutorials will run for the first semester of the course. They will assist students in understanding the course’s lecture material and preparing for the project management examination.
Each student must register for one of the tutorial sessions using mySI-Net before the end of week 2.
Tutorials commence in week 3 and go through to week 12 inclusive. Tutorial are interactive and group sizes will be limited. Students will be given exercises or will discuss and present aspects of a topic. Students working in groups should attend tutorials in their group. Students should prepare for tutorials prior to attending. Depending on the size of the class some of the tutorial classes listed on mySI-Net may not be offered.
Practical Sessions
Supervised computer lab sessions commence in week 3. The available practical sessions are listed on mySI-Net (subject to change).
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Students that achieve an exam mark of 49 or less will have their final mark for the course capped as per the table that follows.
|
Exam Mark |
Final Mark |
|
>= 50 |
not capped |
|
45-49 |
capped at 64 |
|
40-44 |
capped at 49 |
|
20-39 |
capped at 44 |
|
0-19 |
capped at 19 |
Submission
There is a submission box on level 1 of General Purpose South (Building 78) that has to be used for all assessment items, unless otherwise indicated in 'Project Deliverable Requirements' document.
All submissions must be have a signed coversheet declaring that the submission is your / the group members’ original work. Failure to submit the declaration may result in loss of some / all marks for that submitted item as it may be considered a late submission.
Late submissions must be submitted directly to the lecturers OR to the Level 2 Office (reception).
Group Mark Distributions
Students working as part of a group are expected to contribute equally to the work of the group. If the contribution of group members is uneven, the group should, in the first instance, seek resolution within the group during their regular group meeting. For some deliverables that are submitted by a group, the group will have the opportunity to decide upon the distribution of marks to members. To determine if marks can be unevenly distributed refer to the corresponding marking sheet for the assessment item. If group members do not want to share marks equally, the group must complete the form, 'Mark Distribution Sheet', and submit it with the deliverable (by the deliverable's due date). This form is available on the course web site. By default, marks will be shared equally and no form is required.
If resolution of issues relating to uneven contributions is not achieved after one meeting, the group should notify the Course Coordinator and arrange a group meeting to resolve the issue. If, despite all efforts to reach agreement, an unequal contribution persists, the Course Coordinator will decide the mark allocations. The Course Coordinator will not attempt to make fine distinctions.
Return of Marked Work
Project work will be handed back in the class following the marking unless otherwise notified (via the newsgroup). If you cannot make the class, advise the lecturer so that alternate arrangements may be made.
Assessment
CSSE7024 will be assessed by several methods as outlined below. Your final grade (on a 1 to 7 scale) will be determined by combining the marks from the various assessment components. A general description of these assessment items is given in the sections that follow. For specific details about assessment items and submission dates, see the 'Project Deliverable Requirements' document.
Reports
There are two types of reports to be submitted regularly: Project Reports and Individual Reports. So that the marks for reporting are not lost, it is in the best interests of each student to ensure that all reports are submitted on time and completed correctly. Students should consider developing a process that will ensure marks are not lost.
Project Reports are to be completed by all project groups and a single report is required for each group. Individual Reports are required for each student.
Documentation
Documentation submissions will broadly consist of a Business Case, Project Management Plans, Requirements documents, Design documents and Testing documents.
Project Development
During the project, students will develop, test and demonstrate their working components and / or complete systems. For group work, students will demonstrate as a group.
Reflective Components
During the project, students will be required to reflect upon the experience and learnings from the activities they have been involved in. Reflective assessment will include reflective reviews in written format, presentations and a post implementation review with the class in the last week of the second semester.
Students are required to deliver two (2) presentations in the second semester of the course. These presentations give an excellent opportunity for students to communicate what they have learned about the implementation of project management and the construction of their project. These reflective presentations are informative and require preparation.
Project Examination
A two hour project management examination will be held during the final examination period of the first semester of the course. This exam will be open book and will contain short-answer and case study questions.
Award Certificate
An award certificate is available to members of a group to recognise the best overall internal project. The best overall project will be judged by the lecturers and will be biased toward a client's expectations for the project, teamwork and the application of the principles (as observed by the lecturers). This award will be independent of overall marks.
Week 4, Sem 1: business case
Week 5, Sem 1: test cases and results, recovery scripts, demonstration of the working component
Week 6, Sem 1: reflective review
Week 7, Sem 1: project charter
Week 9, Sem 1: project plan, project reporting #1
Week 11, Sem 1: software requirements specification, project reporting #2
Week 13, Sem 1: entity relationship diagram, test cases and results, recovery scripts, optional functionality proposal, demonstration, project reporting #3, reflective review
Week 1, Sem 2: optional functionality negotiations, individual component agreements, project reporting #4
Week 2, Sem 2: test plan
Week 3, Sem 2: project reporting #5
Weeks 4-6, Sem 2: demonstration of individual component(s) developed
Week 5, Sem 2: project reporting #6
Week 7, Sem 2: project reporting #7
Weeks 7-8, Sem 2: proven use of project plan and software requirements specification
Week 9, Sem 2: project analysis presentation, project reporting #8
Week 11, Sem 2: final project folder, user manual, demonstration agenda sheet, demonstration of the full working system, project reporting #9
Week 12, Sem 2: post implementation review
Week 13, Sem 2: reflective review, class post implementation review
An overview of the University’s assessment-related policies can be found on myAdvisor (http://www.uq.edu.au/myadvisor/index.html?page=2910).
Academic Integrity
It is the University's task to encourage ethical scholarship and to inform students and staff about the institutional standards of academic behaviour expected of them in learning, teaching and research. Students have a responsibility to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity in their work. Students must not cheat in examinations or other forms of assessment and must ensure they do not plagiarise.
Plagiarism
The University has adopted the following definition of plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting as one's own original work the ideas, interpretations, words or creative works of another. These include published and unpublished documents, designs, music, sounds, images, photographs, computer codes and ideas gained through working in a group. These ideas, interpretations, words or works may be found in print and/or electronic media.
Students are encouraged to read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism policy (http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25128) which makes a comprehensive statement about the University's approach to plagiarism, including the approved use of plagiarism detection software, the consequences of plagiarism and the principles associated with preventing plagiarism.
As a student you have a responsibility to incorporate feedback into your learning; make use of the assessment criteria that you are given; be aware of the rules, policies and other documents related to assessment; and provide teachers with feedback on their assessment practices.
There are certain steps you can take if you feel your result does not reflect your performance. Please refer to the myAdvisor web site. (http://www.uq.edu.au/myadvisor/index.html?page=2953&pid=2910)Further to the statement on academic integrity and plagiarism above, students are required to read and understand the ITEE policy on Student Misconduct (http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/about_ITEE/policies/student-misconduct.html).
Late Arrival or Non-attendance at Examinations
The policy and procedure for late arrival or non-attendance at centrally controlled examinations is set out in the University's Examinations policy (HUPP 3.30.5), sections 8 and 10.2.
The way in which late arrival at a School-controlled examination is dealt with will be at the discretion of the course coordinator, who may be guided by the policy for centrally controlled exams.
In the case that a student requests a special exam for a School-controlled exam, the request will be considered and, if allowed, the timing shall be determined by the course coordinator, in consultation with the School's Chief Examiner where necessary, and in accordance with HUPP 3.30.5. Unless otherwise indicated in the Course Profile, applications must be made in writing to the Head of School no later than one week after the exam. Late applications will not be accepted.
Where an adjustment is made to an accredited program, it is the responsibility of the relevant Faculty to liaise with professional and registration bodies regarding the acceptability of the change/s.
Below is a table showing the relationship between the learning objectives for this course and the broader graduate attributes developed, the learning activities used to develop each objective and the assessment task used to assess each objective.
| Learning Objectives | |||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |
| Learning Activities | |||||||||||||
| Week 1 (Lecture) |
 |
|
|||||||||||
| Week 2 (Lecture) |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Week 3/4 (Tutorial) |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Week 3 (Lecture) |
|
|
|||||||||||
| Week 4/5 (Tutorial) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Week 4 (Lecture) |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Week 5/6 (Tutorial) |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
| Week 5 (Demonstration) |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Week 6/7 (Tutorial) |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
| Week 6 (Lecture) |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
| Week 7/8 (Tutorial) |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
| Week 7 (Lecture) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
| Week 8 has no Lecture (Other) | |||||||||||||
| Week 8/9 (Tutorial) |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
| Week 9/10 (Tutorial) |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||