From the Editor
IEEE Software, September/October 1999
Update on Professional Development
For many years, the only way to attain an
education in software engineering has been through the school of hard
knocks. A common lament among experienced software developers is that
colleges don’t teach students the skills they need to perform effectively on
the job. What is needed to give software developers a better start?
Formal professional education has traditionally been divided into three
parts. Initial education consists of attaining an undergraduate degree in a
particular field from an accredited university. Skills development gives
nascent professionals real-world experience in their chosen occupation. It
can consist of an internship before graduation or an apprenticeship
afterwards. Then, after working in the field for awhile, ongoing
professional development helps professionals keep their skills up to date.
Software engineering is seeing encouraging signs in each of these three
areas.
University Programs
Graduate-level programs in software engineering have existed for 20 years
or more. Seattle University awarded the world’s first software engineering
master’s degree in 1982. At present, about 25 master’s programs in software
engineering are offered in the US; Canada, the UK, Australia, and other
countries offer a handful more.
However, undergraduate software engineering programs are still in their
infancy, especially in North America. The Department of Computer Science at
the University of Sheffield in the UK introduced the first such program in
1988. Rochester Institute of Technology initiated one in the US, admitting
freshmen in 1996. At least 13 UK and six Australian universities offer
undergraduate programs. As of fall 1999, in the US, new bachelor’s programs
will begin at Auburn University, the Milwaukee School of Engineering,
Monmouth University, and Montana Tech. In Canada, bachelor’s programs are
offered by Concordia University, McMaster University, Memorial University of
Newfoundland, and the University of Ottawa. Several other North American
universities are actively considering adding programs.
One encouraging element of these programs is the skills development
component. RIT’s program, for example, requires five quarters of work
experience in addition to the academic studies.
I hope that many more undergraduate programs emerge, but compared to just
five years ago, numerous opportunities are now available for the
undergraduate who wants to study software engineering.
SWEBOK
Supporting all levels of professional development is the joint IEEE
Computer Society/ACM initiative to define the body of knowledge for software
engineering. This initiative, spearheaded by researchers at Université du
Québec à Montréal, focuses on identifying the generally accepted elements of
software engineering. The effort involves both academic and industrial
participants and is currently looking for reviewers. If you would like to
help, please see the call for reviewers on the SWEBOK Website at
http://www.swebok.org.
Professional Development
"These developments in undergraduate education sound great," you say. "But
what about those of us who have already been in the field for 10 years? Do
we have to go back to school?" The answer to this question is, "Yes and no."
A lot of knowledge has been developed in the software engineering field in
the past 10 to 20 years, and professionals who haven’t kept up with these
developments probably have become out of date. If you’re out of date, you do
need to study to catch up. But you don’t have to go to school. One of the
hallmarks of any field in which knowledge changes rapidly is that
professionals are expected to engage in an ongoing program to keep their
skills current. In well-developed fields such as medicine, law, and
accounting, professionals must attain some number of continuing-education
credits to renew their license or certification.
Software engineering doesn’t yet have any widespread licensing or
certification, so the requirements for continuing education are left to
individual initiative. Many software developers work by themselves or in
small groups and don’t have any idea where to start on their continuing
education. In support of that need, my company has made its
professional-development ladder publicly available at
http://www.construx.com/ladder. The ladder contains the following levels:
¨ Levels 8-
10. Acquire proficiency in fundamental skills of excellent software
development. These levels are appropriate for students just out of college
and other workers who haven’t engaged in any systematic study of software
engineering.
¨ Level 11. Acquire
professional-level skills in software engineering. This level is designed to
train a person to become a professional software engineer.
¨ Level 12. Perform as a
professional software engineer. This is the plateau level. At my company,
most software engineers are expected to attain this level five to 10 years
into their career and then maintain the education and training necessary to
perform at this level.
For each level, we have mapped out a program of self study that is loosely
based on the SWEBOK knowledge areas. Emphasis in levels 8 through 10 is on
attaining "introductory" or "competency" knowledge. The emphasis at level 11
is on attaining "competence" in all knowledge areas and "mastery" in a few.
The Website contains detailed listings of the books and articles a concerned
software professional should know in order to perform effectively in the
field.
IEEE Software’s Role
IEEE Software’s mission is to "build the community of leading software
practitioners." As part of that mission, our articles and columns should be
both thought-provoking and educational. How are we doing? Are we helping you
keep your education and training current? Are we hitting the mark? Please
let us know by sending email to me at software@construx.com or to the
magazine staff at software@computer.org.
By the way, the next issue of IEEE Software will focus on
professional issues. Look for it in November.
Editor: Steve McConnell, Construx Software, 11820 Northup
Way #E200, Bellevue, WA 98005.
E-mail: steve.mcconnell@construx.com
- WWW:
http://www.construx.com/stevemcc/
