17-677 Practicum of Software Engineering I

Practicum of Software Engineering I is a 12 unit full semester course.

Practicum is the capstone demonstration by the student of their abilities as a software engineer.

The purpose of the practicum is for the student to demonstrate command of the material learned in the core and electives courses. Students will do so by solving a substantial practical problem in a realistic setting with a focus on understanding major aspects of the software development life cycle in detail.

While the Practicum is intended for individual students or small teams of three or four students.  All members of the team must have completed the MSIT core courses.  A team project is generally more significant in scope than a project done by an individual.

The Practicum may be completed on campus or off-campus at one's place of work.

The steps for the Practicum are

	Propose a project. This will take the form of a formal document and will be considered the first deliverable of the project. The proposal must include an executive summary a definition of the work to be completed, including deliverables* timelines reviews final report two advisors (A A technical advisor who can evaluate the content of your work and a Carnegie Mellon faculty mentor who will evaluate the correctness of your process.) a proposal of how you want the grade to be generated from the practicum material
	Deliverables will always include a report that addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the technique in the chosen domain, and relate what went both well and poorly throughout the Practicum experience.
	Discuss the project.  Discussions will take place with the student's faculty mentor, technical advisor, and pertinent work supervisor (in the case that the Practicum was done off-campus and in cooperation in with the student's employer).
	Receive approval. Approval usually occurs after all parties involved have agreed on the proposal and deliverables,  clarified  issues that may have arisen in the proposal process, and contact between the mentor and the advisor has occured. Approval must be in writing from the Carnegie Mellon faculty mentor.
	Begin the project. Students are to report periodically to their faculty mentor and technical advisor.

An alternative to the outlined Practicum is for a student to participate in the development phase of an existing MSE Studio project. The deliverables are the work that the student performs as part of the Studio project, in addition to his/her contribution in a specialized area of the software development process.   Deliverables will always include a report which addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the technique in the chosen domain and relates what went well and what did not.

Should the student choose to work with an MSE team, he or she must secure the necessary agreements from the program directors, and submit a proposal for consideration. Additionally, the selected MSE team must agree to the participation of the MSIT student.  Attendance at and active participation in the MSE mid- and end-of-semester presentations and deliverly of the final project products are mandatory.

Guidelines for the Practicum

Example of a practicum proposal

Practicum Proposal Form (MS Word format)

Examples of previous practicums

How to Write an Executive Summary

Crafting a Powerful Executive Summary

Prerequisites:

• Successful completion (with a grade of "B-" or better) of the five Software Engineering MSIT-SE core courses. It is preferable to have completed all of the elective course prior to starting the Practicum. No less than two months prior to the student enrolling in the Practicum, he or she must complete a project proposal as described in the Guidelines for the Practicum in Software Engineering and obtain departmental approval.