Professor:	Paul Ammann
Office:	Engineering 4028, 993-1660
Email:	pammann@gmu.edu
URL:	http://cs.gmu.edu/~pammann/
Class Hours:	TR 12:00 - 1:15, Innovation Hall 136
Prerequisite:	CS 211 and Math 125
Office Hours:	Monday 1-2
GTA:	Xin Meng
GTA Email:	xmeng@gmu.edu
GTA Office Hours:	Wednesday 2-4, Engineering Building 4456

TEXTS:

• Introduction to Software Testing, Ammann and Offutt, Cambridge University Press, 2008 Book website
• Test Driven: Practical TDD and Acceptance TDD for Java Developers, Lasse Koskela, Manning Publications, 2007, ISBN: 1-932394-85-0.
  Amazon
  Direct Safari Link
  General Safari Link (off campus)

OBJECTIVE:

Concepts and techniques for testing and modifying software in evolving environments. Topics include software testing at the unit, module, subsystem, and system levels; developer testing; automatic and manual techniques for generating test data; testing concurrent and distributed software; designing and implementing software to increase maintainability and reuse; evaluating software for change; and validating software changes.

CONTENT:

This course has two closely related themes. First, more than half the effort in software development is devoted to activities related to testing, including test design, execution and evaluation. This course will teach quantitative, technical, practical methods that software engineers and developers can use to test their software, both during and at the end of development. Second, more than half of software development effort is not new development, but maintenance activities such as adding new features, correcting problems, migrating to new platforms, and integrating third-party components into new projects. These two themes are intertwined because much of the effort during maintenance is testing the changes, and much of the effort in testing is about evaluating changes.

This course covers these two themes quantitatively, with a solid basis in theory and with practical applications. These topics will be useful to strong programmers in the Computer Science program, as well as engineers, physical scientists, and mathematicians who regularly integrate software components as part of their work. The topic of this course is of interest to and accessible to students in a wide variety of specializations.

READING:

We will read from the text, various sources on the web, and transparencies that will be made available on the web site. You will undersetand the lectures much better if you read the text before the lecture.

HOMEWORKS:

Weekly homework assignments will be made available on the class web site. Some homeworks will be submitted on paper in class. Others will be submitted electronically. Be sure that you receive email through your gmu.edu account, as refinements and hints for the assignments will be sent through email. Homeworks must be submitted before class on the day they are due. Substantial late penalties apply to late submissions.
Submit electronic assignments via Blackboard.
Because this offering of the class is relatively small, I plan to make the course substantially interactive. In particular, students will be expected to present homework solutions and lead/participate in discussions on a regular basis.

IN-CLASS COMPUTERS AND COMMUNICATION:

Phone calls, text messages, instant messages, email, and general web surfing are not allowed during class time. Computers may only be used to follow the material in class.

HONOR CODE STATEMENT:

As with all GMU courses, SWE 437 is governed by the GMU Honor Code. In this course, all assignments, exams, and project submissions carry with them an implicit statement that it is the sole work of the author, unless joint work is explicitly authorized. Help may be obtained from the instructor or other students to understand the description of the problem and any technology, but the solution, particularly the design portion, must be the student's own work. If joint work is authorized, all contributing students must be listed on the submission. Any deviation from this is considered an Honor Code violation.

GRADING POLICIES:

• Weekly homework assignments (total 30%).
• Weekly quizzes (total 30%).
• A closed book, in-class, comprehensive final exam (40%).

Note: There are no make up quizzes. In compensation, the lowest 2 quiz scores will be dropped from the final grade computation.

ABET COURSE OUTCOMES:

1. Knowledge of quantitative, technical, practical methods that software engineers and developers can use to test their software.
2. Testing techniques and criteria for all phases of software development – unit (developer) testing, integration testing, system testing, etc.
3. Theoretical and practical knowledge of how to apply test criteria to improve the quality of software
4. Knowledge of modern challenges and procedures to update continuously evolving software
5. Understanding of best quantitative programming and design practices for ensuring software can be efficiently and effectively modified and tested
6. Understanding that maintainability and testability are more important than efficiency for almost all modern software projects