Introduction to Software Engineering

CS 3302

Critiquing Software Engineering Artifacts

The following assignments will aid in-class discussion for Week 9 lectures.

Wednesday: Design Critiques

We will review the Design documents produced by each team in order to determine good practice and to see if we have learned anything about recognizing good and bad features in a complex design artifact. In order to prepare for this class, each student is to prepare a critique of three separate design documents from different project teams and come to class prepared to discuss them. To determine which design documents to review, begin with the number assigned to your project team (call it n) and then review the three teams n+1, n+2 and n+3, modulo the number of teams in the class. For example, in Section A, Team 1 (Ultimate Stenographer) is to review the design document for Teams 2, 3 and 4, and Team 8 (Faux Rhino) is to review Teams 9, 10 and 1.

For each design document reviewed, your critique (which you should prepare in writing in advance of class and bring with you) should follow this outline:

  1. What has the team done well and why?
  2. What has the team done poorly and why?
  3. What kind of success or failure would you predict the team would have in development based on this design document?

Finally, rank the three design documents from 1 (best you reviewed) to 3 (worst you reviewed).

Friday: Schedule Critiques

We will review project schedules produced by each team in order to learn what practices for estimating and monitoring project progress have worked and not worked for various teams. Each individual is responsible for reviewing the schedules for three other teams. To determine which design documents to review, begin with the number assigned to your project team (call it n) and then review the three teams n-1, n-2 and n-3, modulo the number of teams in the class. For example, in Section A, Team 1 (Ultimate Stenographer) is to review the schedule for Teams 10, 9, and 8, and Team 8 (Faux Rhino) is to review Teams 7, 6, and 5.

For each schedule reviewed, your critique (which you should prepare in writing in advance of class and bring with you) should follow this outline:

  1. How has the schedule been modified as the quarter progressed, both in terms of time planned for activities and the number of tasks identified?
  2. How well did the original schedule predict the kinds of activities that the team actually performed and the time it took to perform those tasks?
  3. If planned time estimates were different from actual times, why do you think the time estimates were wrong initially?

Finally, rank the scheduling practices of the teams you reviewed from 1 (best practice) to 3 (worst practice). This overall ranking should take into account the overall value of the documented schedule, how it was modified over the quarter and the schedule monitoring practices of each team as evidenced by changes to the documented schedule itself.

Gregory D. Abowd <abowd@cc.gatech.edu>
Last modified: Sat May 16 23:48:43 EDT 1998