The Soft Topics in Software Engineering

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The Soft Topics in Software Engineering

• Mark Ardis
• Stephen Chenoweth
• Frank Young

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Categories of Soft Topics

• Observing
• Reviewing
• Presenting
• Writing

• Planning
• Cooperating
• Reflecting
• Judging

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1. Observing

• Good listening skills
• Exploratory and goal-directed, not too focused
• Need to record without analyzing behavior

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2. Reviewing

• Reading and providing feedback
• Feedback to other groups in the lifecycle
• Need to learn how to give feedback to clients

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3. Presenting

• Industry practice requires responding to
  potentially hostile or anxious audience members
• Use of rubrics for evaluation is important

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4. Writing

• Many type of documents
• Requirements specifications
• Designs
• User documentation
• Many other informal documents
• Task lists
• Meeting agendas
• Interview summary

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5. Planning

• Estimation
• Individual and team estimates
• Need lots of feedback
• Project plans
• Scheduling
• Tracking
• Risk analysis

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6. Cooperating

• Teamwork
• Leadership
• Group problem solving

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7. Reflecting

• Project retrospectives
• Data collection and analysis
• Personal reflections (project notebooks)

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8. Judging

• Professional ethics
• Personal ethics
• Consideration of all stakeholders

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How Important are Soft Topics?

• 79 of topics in the Software Engineering Body of
  Knowledge involve them
• 5 of the most important 25 topics for software
  developers and managers Lethbridge 2000
• Numerous studies and industry surveys confirm
  need for soft skills

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Example 1 Usability Testing

• Design an experiment test usability of a
  software system
• Observe subjects using system
• Analyze results
• Recommend improvements

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Example 2 Capstone Project

• Elicit requirements
• Design a solution
• Implement and test
• Deliver to client
• Present final results

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Usability Testing Opportunities (1/2)

• Observing
• Subjects
• Other teams
• Reviewing
• Feedback to other teams

• Presenting
• Recommendations
• Project experiences
• Writing
• Instructions
• Survey
• Recommendations

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Usability Testing Opportunities (2/2)

• Planning
• Experiment
• Cooperating
• Team roles
• Working with subjects

• Reflecting
• Improvements
• Experimental process
• Judging
• Disabilities
• Demographics

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Capstone Opportunities (1/2)

• Observing
• Client meetings
• Reviewing
• Peer performance
• Other teams' artifacts

• Presenting
• Milestone reports
• Writing
• Project plan
• Requirements
• Documentation

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Capstone Opportunities (2/2)

• Planning
• Project plan
• Weekly reports
• Cooperating
• Group meetings

• Reflecting
• Retrospectives
• Judging
• Stakeholders

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Summary
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Usability Testing Materials

• http//www.swenet.org