Subject Design and Evolution
This subject has been incrementally improved for five teaching semesters now. This page contains information on the design of the subject, it's goals, and how it has been refined. The material is intended mostly for instructors seeking a little more information on the reasoning and process that has made the subject what it is.
Original design
This subject was designed in late 2003, after the first delivery of a software architecture subject demonstrated that simply following one of the established reference books wasn't going to work very well in an undergraduate class. Since the original design, the subject has evolved, much of it for the better, but it has also (in my opinion) lost some things that could be recaptured if the subject were taught at a late undergraduate or a postgraduate level.
The original design document is here:
The current subject status is best described by:
- Formal Subject Documentation. This is the formal subject documentation that goes into the Faculty Handbook.
- Subject Guide. Another formal document, which sets out the subject goals and assessment criteria, for the students.
Evaluation and refinement
Each semester, I write an evaluation document that describes instructor experiences in the subject, documents student feedback on the subject, and suggests specific areas for improvement. Here they are. The first one is the most interesting, and has some fairly extensive thoughts on the subject. I would go back to this given an opportunity to take a fresh look at the subject. The documents become less interesting after that, except for the written student feedback, which I find is usually qute rewarding to read.