Supporting large projects in a small college computer systems management program

Many large universities have the luxury of well-developed computer science and software engineering programs that include team projects at several levels, from group work in an introductory data structures or software engineering course through a multi-course team project for an external client. In this paper, we will discuss our computer systems management curriculum that exposes students to large software engineering (analysis, design, programming, and user interface) projects within the time and budget constraints of a typical small college program. In the curriculum, we have two courses where students do full group design and analysis projects, Database Design and Systems Analysis. Other courses emphasize specific aspects of the software engineering process that tend to be impossible to experience in a limited-term project. Finally, we have a capstone course where students use all that they have learned to develop systems on their own. Students are responsible for all phases of the capstone project, from recruiting a client and specifying the project through delivery, documentation, and client evaluation.