157.753/453 Rapid Application Development

Credits Value: 15 Campus: Albany Mode: Internal

This syllabus course web page is at http://brianwhitworth.com/courses.html

Weekly Participation Project1 Project2

Paper Coordinator: Brian Whitworth, Quad A, 2.03. Email: bwhitworth@acm.org
Office Hours: Friday 2:00-5pm
PUT PAPER NUMBER IN EMAIL TITLE TO ME REGARDING THIS COURSE e.g. 753 or 453

Lectures: Tuesday, 1-3pm, IIMS Lab 3

Other Contributing Staff: None

Textbook “Rapid Development”, Steve McConnell, Microsoft Press

Recommended Reading:

A 5 minute introduction to Scrum by a Swedish company (that works for big companies like Scania, Ikea, ...):
http://www.softhouse.se/Uploades/Scrum_eng_webb.pdf

An interesting real world deployment of agile methodologies with experiences of variations, etc. It's a pretty good
read, with 88 pages quite long, but well worth it as it is quite nicely understandable:
http://www.crisp.se/henrik.kniberg/ScrumAndXpFromTheTrenches.pdf

Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit for Software Development Managers (Paperback, Microsoft Press)
by Mary Poppendieck, Tom Poppendieck

Aim: To familiarise students with the issues surrounding the development of computer software under tight time pressure; the factors influencing the speed, cost and quality of the delivered product, and current best practices in software development.

Calendar Prescription: The paper investigates the concept and practice of Rapid Application Development. It examines the commercial pressures which promote RAD and the theoretical frameworks which make RAD a desirable methodology. Practical assignments will use RAD environments.

Learning Outcomes:

· Become familiar with computer and communication technologies as applied to RAD

· Display a level of proficiency with a development environment;

· Understand the issues effecting the constraints on software development;

· Gain an understanding of RAD project management techniques and practices

· Gain an insight into agile development methods (e.g. XP)

Assessment:

Assessment	Allocation	Graded Out Of
Project 1-1.	5%	100
Project 1-2.	15%	100
Project 2.	35%	100
Project presentation	10%	100
Participation/Homework	20%	100
Individual Final Report	15%	100
TOTAL	100%

All grades are based on the overall aggregate.

Timetable:
Readings are from the textbook.

Each week students submit a participation report representing their participation for that week. As this is a weekly participation – there can be no “late” – either you participated that week or you didn’t.

No	Week	Theory	Readings	Assessment
1.	27/2	Introduction	Read Ch1, 2, 2-1, 2-2 17, 18,	Project 1 issued
2.	6/3	Introduction to Rapid Development	Read Ch3, 3-1, 19, 20	Week 1 Report
3.	13/3	Classic Mistakes	Read Ch4, 4-1, 21, 22	Project 1-1 (Plan) due (plan start date is now) Week 2 Report
4.	20/3	Software Development Fundamentals	Read Ch5, 5-1, 5-2, 23, 24	Week 3 Report
5.	27/3	Risk Management	Read Ch6, 6-1, 25, 26	Week 4 Report
6.	3/4	Issues in Rapid Development	Read Ch7, 7-1, 7-2, 27, 28	Project 1-2 due Week 5 Report
		EASTER AND MID-TERM BREAK
7.	24/4	Lifecycle Planning	Read Ch8, 8-1, 8-2, 29, 30	Project 2 issued Week 6 Report
8.	1/5	Estimation	Read Ch9, 9-1, 31, 32	Week 7 Report
9.	8/5	Scheduling	Read Ch10, 10-1,10-2 Ch11, 11-1,11-2 33, 34	Week 8 Report
10.	15/5	Customers & Motivation	Read Ch12, 12-1,12-2, 12-3,12-4 Ch13, 13-1,13-2 35, 36	Week 9 Report
11.	22/5	Presentations		Project presentations Week 10 Report
12.	29/5	Wrap up		Project 2 due
		Study Week.		Individual Final Report Due 1 Jun (by email)

Learning Programme and Schedule:

In keeping with the nature of post-graduate level courses, students are expected to work extensively on their own or with their project group colleagues.

Conditions for Aegrotat Pass and Impaired Performance:

Standard conditions apply.

Student Time Budget:

Weekly scheduled class 2 hours

Weekly reading and theoretical work 10.5 hours

Total for entire course 187.5 hours

Deadlines and Penalties:

Assignments are expected to be submitted on time. Being on time is part of being professional. Plan to complete assignments with this in mind. If you leave things until the last moment, you are predictably vulnerable to the unexpected. As in the business world, there are penalties for lateness:

· Material received after the due date/time, will receive a one day late penalty of 5%. Note: material brought in at the end of class on the due day is one day late.

· For each additional working day period the assignment is late, up to five days, this penalty cumulates and increases by 5%

· Material received on the 6th working day after the due date will not be accepted.

The late deductions are: 5%, 15%, 30%, 50% and 75% for each day late. An assignment submitted five days late and given a grade of 100% is only awarded 25% after late reductions. It is strongly suggested you plan to ensure you submit items on time for this course.

Reasons for being on time. Late submissions cause problems for the entire class, as the instructor cannot begin grading an assignment set until all items to be graded are in. Handing in assignments on time means they are returned to you on time, usually within one to two weeks after all assignments are in. We suggest students aim to finish assignments ONE DAY EARLY – giving themselves a one day "window" to account for the unexpected. There is no extra work involved in moving your schedule one day back! "Expect the unexpected, for it commonly occurs" (Herodotus)

Proposed Feedback and Support for Student Learning

The turnaround time for assignments will be no more than two weeks from the due date. This timeframe applies only to those assignments submitted by the due date, not those submitted late.

All staff involved with this paper will be available during their office hours to provide feedback to students. Students are encouraged to contact the paper coordinator by email, telephone or in person whenever the needs arise.

Grievance Procedures:

A student who claims that he/she has sustained academic disadvantage as a result of the actions of a University staff member should use the University Grievance Procedures. Students, whenever practicable, should in the first instance approach the University staff member concerned. If the grievance is unresolved with the staff member concerned, the student should then contact the College of Sciences office on his/her campus for further information on the procedures, or read the procedures in the University Calendar.