Teaching Undergraduate Software Engineering Using Open Source Development Tools

Abstract

Software engineering is a key topic in computing education. Many schools offer a project-oriented course, or multi-course sequence, to teach students both the theoretical concepts of software development as well as the practical aspects of developing software systems in a team environment. Typically, in these courses, students practice the principles of requirements analysis, project management, a development methodology, and effective teamwork through a small-to-medium software project. For such a course to maintain its currency and relevancy, it is important for students to be exposed to current tools and techniques for software development. Capabilities, such as project management, requirements tracking, configuration management, collaboration tools, and team communication are ideally experienced in a hands-on manner as part of the project. Commercial tools can be cost-prohibitive and difficult to learn to use effectively in a one or two semester course. At our institution, we inve)