Software Design

COURSE OBJECTIVE
Learn notations to model software systems. Practice with model-driven reasoning about a piece of software. Develop critical reasoning skills to select the most appropriate modeling notation and apply it to the (software) problem at hand.

COURSE CONTENT
Developing real-case software systems is complex; they are large, and their development often starts when it is still unclear what they should precisely do. The goal of software modeling is to model modern, complex software systems in a systematic manner. The lectures will cover and apply a number of software modeling notations and techniques. The students will learn which technique is the most appropriate for which problem, how to describe a (software) problem in models, how to use such models to reason about software, and finally how to use models to discuss ideas and plans with other stakeholders so that requirements are clarified and software systems are well understood and developed in a more reliable way.

TEACHING METHODS
Lectures (H). Modeling exercises (W). Weekly presentations (pre).

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT
Modeling assignments (in teamwork project) contributing to the final grade, and final written exam. The specific grading rules are explained in the first lecture and are published on Blackboard.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Object-oriented programming (for instance Java or C/C++)