Survey of software engineering practices in undergraduate information system projects

Abstract

Past research stated that the effectiveness of software engineering (SE) course is determined by theoretical knowledge, added with some practices and improved by the individual experiences [2]. An Information Systems Engineering programme, coded as CS226, has been introduced in Universiti Teknologi MARA in December 2000 with the aim to produce graduates who have extensive knowledge and skills in information technology mainly in software engineering fields. This paper describes a survey done to understand the undergraduate students' habit in applying SE practices in developing IS projects. This research collected data by distributing questionnaires to 78 ISE students. The questionnaire consists of questions related to systems planning, systems requirement and analysis, system design and implementation and system testing activities. Data collected are then analyzed using SPSS and the result can be used to measure the effectiveness of the courses taught and improve flaws that exists in SE curriculum. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.