Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News
UNT Prof To Study Behavior of Student Software Teams
8/28/2007
The National Science Foundation has awarded a University of North Texas computer science professor a half-million dollar grant to study the performance and behaviors of student software development work groups, the university announced.The project, headed by UNT computer science professor Kathleen Swigger, will study how far-flung programmers work on large software projects at UNT and in Turkey, Panama and the United Kingdom.
"Outsourcing is not going to go away," Swigger told the university public affairs office. "There is a growing need to ensure that computer science students are taught the necessary skills to deal with this new type of programming. Students need to know how to use technology to work in culturally mixed and geographically distributed work teams, because distributed software development is becoming the norm."
The $499,252 project will also develop a curriculum to teach students the best ways to work in global software teams, including how to develop software when team members come from different cultures and work in different time zones.
"We'll be closely looking at the interaction between the teams, as well as how much is actually done," Swigger said. "People who are closer together typically interact more and perform better. The UNT team and the team in Panama have about the same time zone difference as the teams in Great Britain and Turkey, so we will be seeing what sort of interaction happens among the teams."
Swigger said Travelocity, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin, which do similar projects at their companies, will act as advisors on the project.
Read More:
Paul McCloskey is a contributing editor for the Campus Technology group of publications.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- Drexel Sees 802.11n as Logical Leap
For colleges and universities considering a wireless network upgrade anytime soon, whether or not to go with the new, not-yet-final 802.11n standard is a tough call.
- Internet Freedom: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo Near Agreement
Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are "close to agreement" on a code of conduct for Internet technology companies that are doing business in countries restricting citizen dissent and speech rights, according to an announcement issued Monday by United States Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL.
- Pepperdine U Upgrades WiFi with Xirrus Arrays
Pepperdine University has deployed 161 Xirrus XS8 WiFi Arrays (1,288 radios) at its 830-acre Malibu, CA campus. The XS8 WiFi Array integrates eight radios and high-gain directional antennas in one device, along with an onboard gigabit switch, WiFi controller, firewall, and dedicated WiFi threat sensor, which, the vendor said, dramatically reduces the number of devices, cables, and switch ports required to achieve a comparable range of WiFi service.
- IBM To Team with Linux Vendors on 'Microsoft-Free' PCs
IBM and name-brand Linux operating system distributors Red Hat, Novell, and Canonical/Ubuntu have disclosed their intentions to join forces with their hardware partners to create what they are calling "Microsoft-free personal computing choices."
- IBM Unveils New Software Designed To Streamline eDiscovery
IBM has announced the release of new Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software specifically designed to meet the needs of clients dealing with complex legal discovery requirements. The eDiscovery solutions expand on IBM's ECM platform and are intended to give organizations greater control of digitally stored documents in an effort to reduce costs and streamline the discovery process involved in litigation.
- Microsoft Releases SQL Server 2008 to Manufacturing
Microsoft has released SQL Server 2008 to manufacturing (RTM) and, as an evaluation edition, to subscribers of its Microsoft Development Network and TechNet services, the company announced Wednesday.
