About COMP 410, "Software Construction Methodologies"
Comp410 is a software engineering course where the students form a small software development "company" who is contracted to a "customer" to develop a large-scale project. The students are placed in a realistic development scenario that requires a state-of-the-art software solution. Typical projects involve multi-client/multi-server frameworks with database connectivity. Usually, the project is something that has never been attempted by anyone anywhere. The students must interact with a person who is their customer, gathering and developing specifications and requirements, setting timelines and giving progress reports. The students must create their own sub-teams, set milestones for all their members and work as a cohesive team on a very tight schedule. Comp410 uses a "pure discovery-based learning" approach where the students are placed into a difficult situation and only through diligent research, discussion, reflection, trials and errors will they be able to overcome the obstacles and in doing so, learn the critical software engineering skills they need to become successful in the real world.
Students are required to have a background that includes advanced object-oriented design and programming, as one would have gotten in Comp202, Comp211 or Comp212. Comp314 is also highly recommended. The class will use C# and .NET technologies, but those are not required as prerequisites.
ADA Statement: If you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please contact me to discuss your needs. Additionally, you will need to register with the Disability Support Services Office in the Allen Center.