Morton Hirschberg
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Volume 5 Number 2 - Software Engineering Education
This issue inaugurates Tech Views, an editorial column focusing on the articles featured here. Tech Views will provide commentaries and/or augmentation regarding the theme of each issue. One or more members of the Editorial Board will contribute to each Tech Views editorial.
The articles appearing in this issue have an underlying theme - ŚSoftware in Crisisą. A crisis of product rather than process and a crisis in education. Several programs dealing with these issues are presented.
Computer Science and Software Engineering Education is vital for the continued success of communications and weapons development for the DoD. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Computer Society of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-CS) have jointly developed the Curricular Guidelines for Undergraduate Programs in Computing (see www.acm.org/sigcse/cc2001). This important document provides guidance for the matriculation of entry level Computer Scientists and Software Engineers.
To continue their education from entry-level positions to fully skilled journeymen practitioners and beyond requires both on-the-job training, which provides realism, and additional education. The latter can range from a course or two to advanced degrees at the Masters and Ph.D. levels. Such instruction may be obtained through the classroom and now through distance learning via hard documentation (texts, videotapes, etc.) or the Internet.
Many institutions now offer distance learning. A prime example is given in the Baker and Michel paper, which examines software acquisition. Further examples of distance learning may be found at www.ed.gov, which details the Distance Education Demonstration Program, listing participants and programs.
The paper by Jack Jensen details Masters and Ph.D. level programs available from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, CA. Courses may be taken via distance learning. More importantly, these programs are designed with civilian employees of the DoD in mind. Course materials use DoD examples and thesis work can be related directly to the studentąs own job. Courses taken which lead to a certificate of training may be applied toward obtaining an advanced degree at a later date.
Bernstein and Klappholz take the approach of teaching using real production cases and working in the large. This as opposed to small world problems, which are typically small and process oriented.
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