Title

A Software Development Capability Gpa To Represent Students' Proficiency In Software Development

Keywords

Assessment in computer science; Software Development Capability

Abstract

This paper presents a new vector model for assessing and representing students' capability for developing good quality software. The resulting metric called the Software Development Capability GPA (SWDC GPA), uses a four point scale to indicate students' proficiency in the skills required for each of the four primary activities of software development namely: requirements elicitation and modeling; requirements analysis and software design; coding and unit testing and integration and system testing. The focus on software development is a rational choice since over 30% of computer science(CS) graduates land jobs in software engineering; and even computing personnel not employed as software engineers, engage in software engineering as part of their daily professional activities [3]. Further, the use of this GPA as an assessment criterion would encourage academic institutions to incorporate the development of these four major software development skills across the CS curriculum. Thus, students would develop the skills necessary for employment. It is also believed that such a metric can provide valuable information to prospective employers seeking graduates with a specific skill set. This would reduce the frustration caused by mismatches between employees' capabilities and job assignments. A pilot study using the SWDC GPA assessment model, revealed that this metric can provide valuable information at a glance.

Publication Date

12-1-2008

Publication Title

Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Frontiers in Education: Computer Science and Computer Engineering, FECS 2008

Number of Pages

388-394

Document Type

Article; Proceedings Paper

Personal Identifier

scopus

Socpus ID

62649150223 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/62649150223

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