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CM10251: Computing as a science and engineering discipline

Academic Year: 2018/9
Owning Department/School: Department of Computer Science
Credits: 12      [equivalent to 24 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 240
Level: Certificate (FHEQ level 4)
Period:
Academic Year
Assessment Summary: CW 50%, EX 50%
Assessment Detail:
  • Coursework 1 (CW 20%)
  • Coursework 2 (CW 30%)
  • Examination (EX 50%)
Supplementary Assessment:
CM10251 Coursework (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites: While taking this module you must take CM10227
Description: Aims:
1. To provide a foundation for understanding of Computer Science in the context of contemporary scientific and engineering practice and its role in wider society.
2. To introduce the concepts of method and process as they are used in computing as a science and engineering discipline.
3. To foster principled thinking about rigour and validity in Computer Science
4. To develop the ability of new Computer Science students to define and articulate a problem through analysis and integration of a variety of relevant and authoritative information sources.
5. To introduce concepts of software quality and measurement as challenges in the context of 'fitness for purpose' and the role of a specification.
6. To develop students' appreciation for the importance of validity for the formulation and testing of claims, so that students may develop arguments about the integrity of new technologies and allied advancements in Computer Science.
7. To exemplify rigour and validity in Computer Science by exposing new Computer Science students to contemporary research work.
8. To found and exercise students' abilities in group project definition, monitoring and evaluation.
9. To apply technical knowledge in a manner that tolerates ambiguity and respects the need to negotiate with stakeholders.
10. To equip new computer science students with abilities to construct arguments about the professional, social and ethical issues involved in the development and exploitation of Computer Science knowledge.

Learning Outcomes:
On completion of the unit the students will be able to:
1. Analyse relevant information to define a Computer Science problem and to construct a software requirements specification that encapsulates it
2. Use a modular strategy to construct High-Level Architectural models of software systems that reflect non-functional requirements, including performance, security and reliability.
3. Systematically test software based on a software requirements specification.
4. Explain how the scientific method relates to empirical testing of software
5. Prepare and present clear, succinct, critical and comparative accounts of group project work in a manner that is appropriate for a defined audience.
6. Identify and discuss potential ethical issues in sociotechnical systems as inherent aspects of Computer Science research and professional practice.

Skills:
Information analysis, report writing, presentation skills, group working, critical reflection, identification of opportunities for personal development.

Content:
Software complexity, abstraction and modularity.
The lifecycle concept and agility in software engineering
Scientific method and hypothesis testing (disconfirmability) and the problem of indeterminacy in sociotechnical systems.
Review processes in assuring scientific and engineering knowledge (peer review and quality cycles).
Software quality and testing, including security as a system-wide property in sociotechnical systems
Specification of software requirements.
Project management and collaborative work (scheduling, task allocation, monitoring, risk analysis and mitigation).
Exemplars of contemporary research work in Human-Computer Interaction, Media Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Mathematical Foundations.
Scientific ethics (e.g. plagiarism, falsification, misreporting).
Professional codes of conduct.
Programme availability:

CM10251 is Compulsory on the following programmes:

Department of Computer Science
  • USCM-AFB06 : BSc(Hons) Computer Science (Year 1)
  • USCM-AAB07 : BSc(Hons) Computer Science with Study year abroad (Year 1)
  • USCM-AKB07 : BSc(Hons) Computer Science with Year long work placement (Year 1)
  • USCM-AFB20 : BSc(Hons) Computer Science and Mathematics (Year 1)
  • USCM-AAB20 : BSc(Hons) Computer Science and Mathematics with Study year abroad (Year 1)
  • USCM-AKB20 : BSc(Hons) Computer Science and Mathematics with Year long work placement (Year 1)
  • USCM-AFB09 : BSc(Hons) Computer Science with Business (Year 1)
  • USCM-AAB10 : BSc(Hons) Computer Science with Business with Study year abroad (Year 1)
  • USCM-AKB10 : BSc(Hons) Computer Science with Business with Year long work placement (Year 1)
  • USCM-AFM01 : MComp(Hons) Computer Science (Year 1)
  • USCM-AAM02 : MComp(Hons) Computer Science with Study year abroad (Year 1)
  • USCM-AKM02 : MComp(Hons) Computer Science with Year long work placement (Year 1)
  • USCM-AFM14 : MComp(Hons) Computer Science and Mathematics (Year 1)
  • USCM-AAM14 : MComp(Hons) Computer Science and Mathematics with Study year abroad (Year 1)
  • USCM-AKM14 : MComp(Hons) Computer Science and Mathematics with Year long work placement (Year 1)

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2018/19 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2019/20 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2018/19.
  • Programmes and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
  • Undergraduates: .
  • Postgraduates: .