Postgraduate Diploma in Software Development - Learning Outcomes
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The Software Development Programme is aimed at computer professionals, technical managers and other professionals in IT-related jobs and aims to update, broaden and provide a coherent overview of the field to serve as a firm foundation for their career developments.
Your studies will enable you to develop:
- a broad and critical understanding of all the processes for engineering
- high-quality software and the principles, concepts and techniques associated with software development
- an ability to analyse and evaluate problems and draw on the theoretical and technical knowledge to develop solutions and systems
- a range of skills focused on the analysis of requirements, design and implementation of reliable and maintainable software, with strong emphasis on engineering principles applied over the whole development lifecycle.
A range of optional courses allows you to further your knowledge in closely related and more specialised areas such as project management, distributed systems and architectures of operating systems.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes are described in four areas.
Knowledge and understanding
When you have completed this award, you will have knowledge and understanding of:
The software-development lifecycle, including:
- the place of technical, human, social and professional issues
- a range of different development approaches (primarily object-oriented methods)
- concepts, principles and techniques of requirements engineering, design, verification and validation, testing, and quality management and practice.
The concepts, principles and techniques associated with:
- designing and evaluating user interfaces
- relational databases and the process of database development
- implementation approaches for internet-based software.
Specialist knowledge in related areas can be gained from the available optional courses. Each option addresses the principles underpinning the particular topic area, relates these to practical applications and allows you the facility for applying the principles in the workplace.
Cognitive skills
On completion of this award, you will be able to:
- analyse new problems, sifting the irrelevant from the relevant, and express the results using standard formalisms and notations, and apply software development methods to develop solutions
- integrate knowledge and skills from various sources into a coherent whole, making the appropriate abstractions
- critically evaluate, using proven methods, the strengths and weaknesses of a particular software development methodology, software solutions or technologies within a computing system application
- synthesise arguments from underlying premises to produce overarching conclusions
- deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, making informed judgements in the absence of complete data
- demonstrate self direction and originality in tackling and solving problems
- critically evaluate and reflect upon your own work.
Practical and/or professional skills
On completion of this award, you will be able to:
- demonstrate knowledge of the legal and ethical issues associated with implementation of computing in the workplace
- demonstrate knowledge of the roles in software development and the responsibilities of those roles
- participate in development teams
- prepare cases advocating the appropriate use of software development techniques, methods or processes
- appraise new developments in software development techniques or processes and assess their applicability to a particular workplace scenario or area of academic or professional interest.
Key skills
On completion of this award, you will be able to:
- communicate clearly knowledge, ideas, arguments and conclusions about software development techniques and processes using appropriate media, for specialist and non-specialist audiences
- advance your own knowledge and understanding through independent learning
- develop your problem-solving skills and apply them independently to professional or equivalent level tasks/projects/functions
- work with others to refine ideas leading to an improved understanding of key concepts within the software-development context.
Teaching, learning and assessment methods
You will acquire knowledge and understanding mainly from the course texts, with supporting material provided via reference texts, commercially available computing environments, specially developed computing environments, computer conferencing and web-based resources. Formal assessment of the courses is by way of continuous assessment in the form of the tutor-marked assignments (submitted at fixed points in the course) and an examination for each course. Some courses use case-study-based assignments where you will choose a project from your personal experience.
Cognitive skills are also assessed in the assignments and examinations of the various courses. Assignments are carefully designed, complex pieces of work which require the skills of analysis, evaluation and integration. You will also be provided with practical activities to develop cognitive skills, using course software where appropriate.
Professional skills are covered specifically in some courses, and implicitly as part of the continuous assessment on each taught course. All teaching and assessment strategies will help you develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to your workplace, and the programme encourages a problem-solving approach to professional tasks in the assignments.
Key skills (many of which you will already have gained in your workplace) can be further demonstrated and developed by this programme through the in-course assignments.