Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

4-2014

Abstract

We present the use of a new type of dependency graph to aid students in analyzing the modifiability of software designs. Though a variety of software design concepts, such as information hiding, separation of concerns and patterns are taught to undergraduate students, they often have difficulty applying these concepts to the analysis of designs and particularly to comparing designs, perhaps due to the subjective nature of these concepts. Our new technique complements design structure matrix and ‘uses’ techniques to handle asymmetric dependency impacts and provide a deterministic approach to comparing alternative designs. A major goal of this technique was for students to be able to quickly learn about dependencies and use them to make design decisions. In this paper we present findings from a study with thirty third- and fourth-year undergraduates indicating that most were able to use the technique to analyze and compare designs after a single short workshop and indicate that they are likely to continue use the technique in the future.

Keywords

Software design, computer science education, dependency graphs

Discipline

Higher Education | Software Engineering

Research Areas

Learning and Information Systems Education

Publication

2014 IEEE 27th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T): Proceedings: April 23-25, Klagenfurt, Austria

First Page

65

Last Page

73

ISBN

9781479949700

Identifier

10.1109/CSEET.2014.6816783

Publisher

IEEE

City or Country

Piscataway, NJ

Embargo Period

3-23-2022

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1109/CSEET.2014.6816783

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