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SWEN 5430 -- Software Metrics
Updated January 16, 2009

Office and Addresses

Delta 171 Phone 281.283.3805
email: boetticher@uhcl.edu
Secretary: Ms. Kim Edwards, Delta 161 281.283.3860

Face-to-Face Class Hours

Wednesdays 7:00 - 9:50, Delta 234

Office Hours

Mon. 5:30 - 7, Tues. 5:30 - 7, or by appointment. If the suite door is locked, then call my extension (last 4 digits) using the phone in the hallway, or by appointment.

Teaching Assistant

Mr. TBD, email : tbd
Office Hours: TBD

WebCT link

Required Textbook

Fenton, N., Pfleeger, S.L., Software Metrics, A Rigorous & Practical Approach Second Edition, PWS Publishing, 1997. Errata

Reference Materials

University of Magdeburg, Bibliography at SMLab, maintained by Dr. Dumke

Software Metrics Sites, maintained by Thomas Fetcke

Course Description

Software Metrics has become essential to good software engineering and good software engineering project management, i.e., "You can't manage what you can't measure." This course uncovers what software metrics are, why they are used, who should develop the metrics, when they should be applied, who should own the measurements, and what should be done with them. It course explores the current definitions of measures and metrics related to software production. It provides (i) the theoretical definition of measure and its application to software engineering; (ii) a comprehensive review of the state of the art in measurement for software production; (iii) guidelines on establishing a measurement program; (iv) cost-benefit analyses for selected industrial case studies. This course makes extensive reference to both the researcher’s and the practitioner’s points of view. Extensive use of the Internet will allow access to up-to-date literature and fresh experimental data. The traditional graduate student load is 3 courses. Be prepared to commit 15 to 20 hours per week to this course!

Course Goals

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to:

develop a software metrics program for an organization,
apply various tools and techniques for assessing software life cycle products,
discuss current research trends in software metrics.

Prerequisites

The prerequisite for this course is CSCI 3133 (programming in C). SWEN 4432 (software engineering) is recommended. If you do not meet the prerequisites then you need to drop this course!

Methodology

Web-based material and seminar and Lecture. All the material for this class is available on the web. The classes will be conducted in a seminar format (as opposed to a lecture). Activities for this course include class discussions, external readings, library research, case studies, and writing.

Appraisal

5 Homework/Projects:	15% of the total
Quizzes:	5% of the total
Participation	5% of the total
Midterm:	35% of the total
Final:	40% of the total

Grading Scale

93+ = A; 90 = A-; 87+ = B+; 83+ = B; 80+ = B-; 77+ = C+;
73+ = C; 70 = C-; 67+ = D+; 63+ = D; 60+ = D-; 0+ = F

My motto:

Seek the Truth.

Show altruistic love.

Appreciate beauty.

Schedule

Jan 21 – Course overview, Review Syllabus, Introduction to Metrics

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Orientation

· Read: Syllabus

· Take: Syllabus Quiz (May take multiple times. No time limit.

You need a 100% on this quiz in order to continue.)

· Read: Online materials - Introduction to Metrics (This will be

distributed during the first day of class. For the remainder of

the semester it is the student's responsibility to download

and print the notes and bring them to class.)

· Read: Chapter 1 of Fenton

· Take: Quiz 1.1 Chapter 1 of Fenton (2/4/09)

(Quiz deadline is 2/4/09, Time corresponds to

beginning of class time. Other quiz deadlines

follow this pattern.)

· Read: Social and Technical Reasons for Software Project Failures

· Read: Software Metrics: Ten Traps To Avoid

· Take: Quiz 1.2 Unit 1 Online Materials (2/4/09)

· Complete: Online Project Estimator Exercise (In notes)

Point value: 10 points (Counts as a quiz)

Due date: February 4^th 7 PM

· Read : Online Materials - Measurement Theory

· Take: Quiz 2.1 Unit 2 Online Materials (2/4/09)

· Read: Chapter 2 of Fenton’s book

· Take: Quiz 2.2 Chapter 2 of Fenton (2/4/09)

Jan 28 – Measurement Theory

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Online Materials – Product Metrics

· Take: Quiz 3.1 Unit 3 Online Materials (2/11/09)

· Read: Chapter 7 of Fenton’s book

· Take: Quiz 3.2 Chapter 7 of Fenton (2/11/09)

· Read: Chapter 8 of Fenton’s book

· Take : Quiz 3.3 Chapter 8 of Fenton (2/11/09)

· Complete: Online “Goodness of Code” Exercise (In Unit 3 notes)

Point value: 20 points (Counts as a quiz)

Due date: February 11^t^h 7 PM

Feb 04 – Product Metrics

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Online Materials – Project Metrics

· Read: Delphi estimation technique (link to paper is in unit 4)

· Read: Chapter 11 of Fenton’s book

· Read: Chapter 12 of Fenton’s book

Assign Human-Based Estimation Exercise

Point value: 10 points if you complete, 0 points if you do not complete this exercise.

You may invite colleagues to complete the exercise.

Due date: February 11^t^h 7 PM

Assign Project 1

Point value: 100 points

Due date: February 25^th 7 PM

Feb 11 – Project Metrics: Introduction, Human-Based Estimation

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: COCOMO II Document

· Take: Quiz 4.1 Unit 4 COCOMO II Document (2/18/09)

· Take: Quiz 4.2 Unit 4 Online Materials (2/18/09)

· Take: Quiz 4.3 Chapters 11 and 12 of Fenton (2/18/09)

Feb 18 – Project Metrics - COCOMO II

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Function Point Training Booklet (Longstreet Consulting)

Function Point Analysis exercise is Due February 25^th beginning of class. It is worth 20 points.

Feb 25 – Project Metrics - Function Point Analysis

Project 1 Due

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Online Material - Quality Metrics

· Read: Chapter 9 of Fenton’s book

· Take: Quiz 5.1 Chapter 9 of Fenton (3/4/09)

· Take: Quiz 5.2 Unit 5 Online Materials (3/4/09)

Assign Project 2

Point value: 100 points

Due date: March 25^th 7 PM

Mar 04 – Quality Metrics

Function Point Analysis exercise is due.

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

Study for the midterm. You are responsible for everything up to the end of this class. You may submit questions for the midterm (multiple-choice, short answer, essay). These are due by Tuesday, March 10^th, 2009, at 7 PM.

Mar 11 – Midterm starting at 7 PM on Wednesday in Delta 234

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Online Materials – Research Design

· Take: Quiz 6.1 Unit 6 Online Materials (3/25/09)

· Read: Chapter 4 of Fenton’s book

· Take: Quiz 6.2 Chapter 4 of Fenton (3/25/09)

· Read: Chapter 5 of Fenton’s book

· Take: Quiz 6.3 Chapter 5 of Fenton (3/25/09)

· Read: Chapter 6 of Fenton’s book

· Take: Quiz 6.4 Chapter 6 of Fenton (3/25/09)

Mar 18 - Spring Break - No Class

Mar 25 – Research Design

Project 2 Due

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Online Materials – Empirical Software Engineering

· Take: Quiz 7.1 Unit 7 Online Notes Sections 7.0 - 7.1.4 (4/1/09)

Assign Project 3

Point value: 100 points

Due date: April 15^th 7 PM

* Last day to drop a class/withdraw for the semester is March 30^th*

Apr 01 – Empirical Software Engineering, Part 1

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: A Neural Net-Based Approach to Software Metrics

· Read: A Neural Net Paradigm for Characterizing Reusable Soft.

· Read: An Assessment of Metric Contribution in the

Construction of a Neural Network-Based Effort Estimator

· Read: Applying Machine Learners to GUI Specifications in

Formulating Early Life Cycle Project Estimations

· Read: Building a Genetically Engineerable Evolvable Program

(GEEP) Using Breadth-Based Explicit Knowledge for

Predicting Software Defects

· Read: Nearest Neighbor Sampling for Better Defect Prediction

· Take: Quiz 7.2 Unit 7 Online Notes Sections 7.2 to 7.7 (4/8/09)

· Read: Chapter 15 of Fenton’s Book

· Take: Quiz 7.3 Chapter 15 of Fenton (4/8/09)

Assign Project 4

Point value: 100 points

Due date: April 22^nd 7 PM

Apr 08 – Empirical Software Engineering, Part 2

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Online Materials – Metrics Framework

· Read: Chapter 3 of Fenton’s book

· Read: Basili’s G/Q/M Paper

· Take: Quiz 8.1 Chap. 3 of Fenton & Online Materials (4/15/09)

· Read: The Capability Maturity Model

· Read: The Capability Maturity Model integrated

· Read: The Capability IM-Maturity Model

· Take: Quiz 8.2 The Capability Maturity Model (4/15/09)

Apr 15 – Metrics Framework

Project 3 Due

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Online Materials – Establishing a Metrics Program

· Read: Chapter 13 of Fenton’s book

· Take: Quiz 9.1 Chapter 13 of Fenton (4/22/09)

· Read: Chapter 14 of Fenton’s book

· Take: Quiz 9.2 Chapter 14 of Fenton (4/22/09)

Apr 22 – Establishing a Metrics Program, Part 1

Project 4 Due

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

· Read: Online Materials – Establishing a Metrics Program

· Read: Case studies/Best Practices (see Online Material)

· Read: Software Metrics Capability Evaluation Guide

· Read: Measurement Planning Template

· Take: Quiz 9.3 Unit 9 Online Materials (4/29/09)

Apr 29 – Establishing a Metrics Program, Part 2

FOR NEXT CLASS (IF NOT SOONER)

Study for the final. You are responsible for everything up to the end of this class. You may submit questions for the midterm (multiple-choice, short answer, essay). These are due by Tuesday, May 6^th, 2009, at 7 PM.

May 06 – Final Exam: Starting at 7 PM on Wednesday in Delta 234

Other Policies

Homework, Projects, Research Paper

Homework and projects are due exactly at the prescribed time (usually the beginning of class). As soon as a homework or project is collected, then all others are considered 1 day late (even if it only 3 minutes). In the event you might be running late, you might want to email the assignment. Also, when preparing your assignment, be mindful of possible backlogs at the printer, jammed printer, printer out of toner, etc.
Late projects are accepted with a penalty of 10% deduction per day after the due date. No late project will be accepted one week after the due date. The last project cannot be late.
There will be no extra-credit homework or projects in this course.
All homework and projects must be typed not hand-written.
VERY IMPORTANT! In certain classes students are encouraged to work in groups. For this class you are expected to work on all homework and projects individually. Students may not discuss, use, email, show, give, buy, sell, borrow, trade, steal, download from the Internet, etc. in whole or part, any of the homework or projects in any manner not prescribed by the instructor. Handing in an assignment for another student is considered cheating. Penalty for cheating will be extremely severe and may result in an F for this course. This condition applies even after you complete this course! Penalty for cheating will be extremely severe and may result in an F for this course.
VERY IMPORTANT! Failing to report to the instructor any incident in which a student witnesses an alleged violation of the Academic Honesty Code is considered a violation of the academic honesty code. Please see me to discuss any incidents.
VERY IMPORTANT! Purchasing, or otherwise acquiring and submitting as one's own work any research paper or any other writing assignment prepared by others constitutes cheating. Penalty for cheating will be extremely severe and may result in an F for this course.
VERY IMPORTANT! Plagiarism on either an abstract, draft of a paper, or final paper will result in a 0 for all three parts (abstract, draft version, final paper). Please review the following links regarding plagiarism very carefully: http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ewts/wts/plagiarism.html http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/style/plagiarism/plagiarism.html http://ollie.dcccd.edu/library/Module4/M4-VII/plagar.htm http://www.realisticdiplomas.com/A-Guide-To-Plagiarism.aspx
Standard academic honesty procedure will be followed. See the following link for additional information: http://b3308-adm.cl.uh.edu/PolicyProcedures/Policy.html

Tests and Quizzes

There are no make-up tests except in verified medical emergencies and with immediate notification. Rescheduling a final exam in order to catch a plane flight is unacceptable. Make up exams are harder, and different, than original exams.
There are no make-up quizzes. Allow plenty of additional time in the event that webCT crashes.
You are responsible for all the readings assigned throughout the semester.
Students are to work on test and quizzes individually. Students may not discuss, show, give, sell, borrow, trade, share, etc. their tests or quizzes. Penalty on cheating will be extremely severe. Standard academic honesty procedure will be followed.
VERY IMPORTANT! Providing answers for any assigned work or examination when not specifically authorized by the instructor to do so. Or, informing any person or persons of the contents of any examination prior to the time the examination is given is considered cheating. Penalty for cheating will be extremely severe and may result in an F for this course.
VERY IMPORTANT! Failing to report to the instructor any incident in which a student witnesses an alleged violation of the Academic Honesty Code is considered a violation of the academic honesty code. Please see me to discuss any incidents.

Miscellaneous

Any person with a disability who requires a special accommodation should inform me and contact the Disability services office or call 281 283 2627 as soon as possible.
Incomplete grades or administrative withdrawals occur only under extremely rare situations.
The ringing, beeping, buzzing of cell phones, watches, and/or pagers during class time is extremely rude and disruptive to your fellow students and to the class flow. Please turn off all cell phones, watches, and pagers prior to the start of class.
As a web-based class, there is no formal attendance policy. However, it is my experience that those students who do attend class on a regular basis do better on tests than those that don't.

I am willing to provide letters of recommendation/references only if you have attained an 'A' in one of my classes, or two 'A-' in two of my classes. Getting a letter of recommendation/reference does not guarantee that I will hire your for a TA/RA position.

I highly recommend that you seek out your advisor and complete you Candidate Plan of Study (CPS) as soon as possible. I am normally not available for advising during the summer months.

Pay very careful attention to your email correspondence. It reflects on your communication skills. Below is a compilation of email errors I have received during the past year.

dear sir.

wen r u gonna grad the homework, bcoz i have a doubt about the third problem

Some student

Common problems:

   *   wen instead of when

   *   bcoz instead of because

   *   r instead of are

   *   u instead of you

   *   lowecase i instead of I

   *   starting a sentence with a lowercase letter

   *   doubt instead of question

I immediately discard anonymous emails.

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Delta Building. Office 164
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Voice: 281-283-3805
Fax: 281-283-3869
boetticher@cl.uh.edu