Comp 523, Software Engineering:  Final Essay
Assigned: 22 April 2008
Due: 1 May 2008, 4:00 p.m.  NO LATE ESSAYS ACCEPTED

At the end of every project, there is value to looking back and evaluating what went right and what went wrong.  There are two parts of this evaluation:  one is looking at process and the other is looking at how the team worked together.  This essay addresses the first part of that evaluation;  there is a second assignment to address the second piece.

During the semester we have looked at the broad definition and application of the software engineering process.  You have also been working on a semester-long project that has covered most of the development process.  You are to write a 2-3 page essay comparing the two processes and identify what was common between them and what was different.  You are also to evaluate which parts of the process worked well and which parts were less successful for your particular project.  You are to focus on process and not personality or personnel issues.  While I will not do so, the paper should be written in a manner that you would not mind being shared with the rest of your team.  I encourage you to talk as a team about the issues, but you are to write an individual essay.

Examples of discussions that I might expect: 

• The requirements process for this project was different than a typical project because the product is being designed for use by a single organization rather than a generally available program.
• Because we were extending an existing site, we did not have the need to design the user interface.  There were both advantages and disadvantages to this model.
• We had minimal requirements from our clients.  This freedom was envigorating but caused us problems in certain ways.
• Our develoopment process was significantly constrained by the tools (or language) that we chose to use.  There were particular problems that we encountered because of this that were unexpected.
• Testing of our system turned out to be very difficult because of the lack of data (or complex environment thatat we needed to set up.)
  

Remember to use appropriate references (and yes class presentations are fine).  As always, this assignment is open book, notes and discussion;  the final document itself, however, must be done individually.  Please pledge your paper.

Please turn in the essay both electronically (email) and in paper by the beginning of the final.