Computer Engineering MA, Project-based Product Development, 15 credits

Aim

The student will, in collaboration with students with other skills, suggest a new product or service as a solution to a problem formulated by external clients, and develop a prototype or demonstrator. The aim is that students should develop skills in capturing requirements, agile software development and test-driven development (TDD). The student should practice how to manage and work in larger development projects in accordance with an agile project management method.

Course objectives

The student will be able to:
- Apply knowledge from previous courses on the subject, including advanced level courses and programming courses, on an industry related problem;
- Capture requirements;
- Propose and develop products or services based on users' needs and abilitites;
- Designing products with regard to relevant social and/or ethical issues;
- Choose and apply adequate methods for test-driven and agile system development;
- Plan and manage projects according to an agile project management model;
- Interact with people with other skill profiles;
- Communicate the product idea verbally and in writing.

Content

- Initial exercise in innovation and rapid prototyping.
- Intellectual property agreements: confidentiality, copyright, patents and open license forms
- Methods and tools for requirement engineering, test driven design (TDD), agile system development and version control
- Project and time planning
- Requirement engineering and choice of use cases for each partial delivery (sprint)
- Unit testing, integration testing, user testing
- Reconciliation meetings with demonstration of deliverables and presentation of test results
- Oral and written final project presentation and demonstration

Entry requirements

Previous studies 180 credits, including Computer Engineering MA, 6 credits, and a course in project management.

Selection rules and procedures

The selection process is in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance and the local order of admission.

Teaching form

The course may be offered as a campus course or as a web-based distance course. The student time commitment is estimated to about 400 hours.

Examination form

P101: Project run-up, 1.5 Credits
Grade scale: Fail (U) or Pass (G)
Selection of project, study visits*, active participation in group meetings and in writing agreements.

P201: Project run-up, examined in group, 3 Credits
Grade scale: Fail (U) or Pass (G)
Written project plan and seminars*.

P301: Project, 4.5 Credits
Grade scale: Fail (U) or Pass (G)
Active participation in group meetings and written assignments.

P401: Project, examined in group, 6 Credits
Grade scale: Fail (U) or Pass (G)
Seminars* and written report.

*) Replacement assignment is in the form of a written assignment

The examiner has the right to offer alternative examination arrangements to students who have been granted the right to special support by Mid Sweden University’s disabilities adviser.

Grading system

Fail (U) or Pass (G)