The role of modelling in the software engineering curriculum

This paper argues that the concept of modelling, and particularly the modelling of software system structures, is not being given sufficient attention within current sources that describe aspects of the software engineering curriculum. The paper describes the scope of modelling as a general concept, and explains the role that the modelling of software system structures plays within it. It discusses the treatment of this role within the various sources, and compares this both with the experience of the role that such modelling plays in the undergraduate curriculum at Sheffield University, and with the practice in other branches of engineering. The idea is examined that modelling should be treated as a recurring concept within the curriculum, and it is shown that this gives rise to a matrix structure for the software engineering curriculum. The paper discusses how such a structure can be mapped into a conventional hierarchical curriculum model, and the relationships that need to be made explicit in doing so. It describes the practical implications of these results for the structures of degree programmes in software engineering.