Managing Software Development (COMP3120)

Assignments

The assessment strategy for COMP3120 includes three inter-linked assignments, a series of eight workshops and a final, three-hour written exam. The assignments will be completed in small groups of 3 - 4 students.

To complete all three assignments, students will work in the same small group of 3-4 students. Students in an assignment group will all attend the same workshop session.

Assignment 1 requires groups to research an assigned topic and produce a briefing paper on their assigned topic. This assingment will be submitted twice: once in draft and then again in final form. Assignment 2 requires groups to review and provide feedback on another group’s draft briefing notes on a topic different from theirs. Assignment 3 requires groups to present the key points of their briefing note in the final workshop of the semester.

The target audience is fellow COMP3120 students, and the purpose is to help fellow students learn about the topic.

• Assignment 1 - Research Report (10%)
  
  
  Students are required to research an assigned topic and produce a briefing note related to that topic.
  
  This assignment will be in two stages.
  
  • The first stage will require teams to submit a draft report which will become input into Assignment 2 and upon which they will receive feedback from another group of students.
  
  
  • The second stage will require teams to submit their final report, taking into account feedback received from their peers as part of assignment 2.
  
  


• Assignment 2 - Peer Review (10%)
  
  
  Students will be provided with a draft briefing note written by another team on a topic which is different from the one they have just researched. Teams will be required to provide written feedback related to their review. It is this feedback which will be assessed by the academics and for which teams will recieve a mark.
  
  Peer review is an important skill which as a professional software engineer you will use frequently, both informally (for example when a colleague asks you to look over a draft) and formally (as a supervisor). It is a skill which needs practice to develop: both the giving and receiving of honest, positive feedback. Peer review also provides an opportunity for you to learn more about another assignment topics.
  
  The goals of this peer review are:
  
  • to help improve your classmate's paper by pointing out strengths and weaknesses that may not be apparent to the author,
  • to expose you to an increased number of topics than otherwise would be possible and
  • to help you develop your assessment and evaluation skills.


• Assignment 3 - Presentation (5%)
  
  
  Students will be required to present the key points of their briefing paper in a presentation to their peers in the final workshop of the semester.



• Peer Assessment
  
  Using WebPA-x, Students will be required to provide a peer assessment of the contribution of each member of their team for each assignment. This peer assessment will be used to generate individual marks for each assignment.

Assignment topics & specification