Ten unsafe assumptions when teaching topics in software engineering

Abstract

Software engineering is a branch of systems engineering and, to be successful, software engineering students must work in a systems-focussed manner. Instructors, including the author, routinely assume that students have the requisite skills for this or can learn them quickly. This article identifies ten common assumptions that are unsafe to make and, if made, impact negatively on the ability of a student to acquire the essential foundation on which to build their understanding of the technical aspects of software engineering. The ten unsafe assumptions are that students understand how to decompose problems, that they know that systems have to be specified at different levels of abstraction, that they know how to bridge different levels of abstraction, that they understand how software and hardware reflect these different levels, that they can follow instructions and pay attention to detail, that they can easily follow oral or written explanations, that they are able to stress test their own software, that they understand the relevance of professional practice, that they are adept at self-criticism, and they understand the relevance of examples. In each case, we identify the implications for teaching practice of not making these assumptions.