Honours Computer Science / Software Engineering Option

The term ``software crisis'' has been used since the late 1960s to describe the recurring software development problems that cause products to be

• late,
• over budget,
• unacceptable (with respect to customer's needs),
• full of errors,
• full of errors,
• difficult to maintain and/or enhance.

In response to these problems, there has been an on-going attempt to turn software development into an engineering discipline. This discipline is called Software Engineering -- an apparent contradiction in terms, but the name has endured because it succinctly expresses the desired goal. More formally, software engineering is defined to be ``the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software; that is, the application of engineering to software.'' [IEEE, 1993]. There has been a growing and increasingly visible demand from industry and governments for graduates with stronger software engineering qualifications. Furthermore, in the last couple of years, it has become evident that there is a sufficiently rich and stable body of knowledge to form the foundation of a specialized undergraduate option.

In Fall 1996, the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering starting a jointly-offered undergraduate Option in Software Engineering. The option curriculum is designed to cover a range of important software engineering concepts and skills:

• Requirements analysis, specification, design, construction, verification, testing, maintenance and modification of programs, program components, and software systems;
• Algorithm design and complexity analysis;
• Database design, administration, and maintenance;
• Knowledge of more specialized application domains, such as human-computer interaction systems, compilers, real-time systems, embedded systems, etc;
• Management of projects that accomplish the above tasks, including estimating and controlling their cost and duration, organizing teams, and monitoring quality;
• Selection and use of tools and components;
• Appreciation of commercial, financial, legal, and ethical issues arising in software engineering projects;
• Non-technical skills, such as critical reasoning, technical writing, and presentation skills.

The option is designed to appeal to students who are interested in specializing in the principles, models, methods, and techniques for developing large software systems.

Option Curriculum

Below is an unofficial list of requirements for the Software Engineering Option. It is intended to give a flavour of the course work involved. Please see the Computer Science Undergraduate Handbook for an official list.

Faculty Core

Computer Science Honours Core

Software Engineering Core

Software Intensive Courses (2 of)

Societal Issues (1 of)

Business Issues (1 of)

Reasoning Methodologies (1 of)

Communications (1 of)