Course syllabus

Welcome

Welcome to the course homepage of DIT837 V20 Software Engineering and Management Bachelor Thesis Project.

The course is given by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Campus Lindholmen during Study Period 3-4, 2020. You find information about the course below.

 

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Course-PM

DIT837 Bachelor Thesis in Software Engineering and Management SP3-4 VT20 (15 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Computer Science and Engineering

Contact details

Examiner/Course responsible: Richard Berntsson Svensson, richard@cse.gu.se

Student representatives

Evgeny Groshev, gusgrosev@student.gu.se

Tim Eklund, guseklti@student.gu.se

Salvatore Spanu Zucca, gusspansa@student.gu.se

Nikolaos Machairiotis Sasopoulos, gussasoni@student.gu.se

Nuria Cara Navas, gusnurca@student.gu.se 

Course purpose

The course involves an investigation of a relevant problem in the Software Engineering domain. The problem is identified by the students and shall have practical and/or theoretical relevance for the SE domain. Students work individually or in pairs preferably within a company setting in which the problem they address is investigated. The investigation shall be documented in the form of a written thesis report.

Schedule

  • Introduction lecture: February 4, 2020, 13:15 - 15:00 in Alfons
  • Progress report meeting : April 21 - 24, 2020, with examiner and supervisor
  • Final steps lecture: May 27, 2020, 8:15 - 10:00 in Alfons
  • Final thesis presentation: June 4, 2020, 8:00 - 17:15 - Zoom

TimeEdit

Course literature

This is a thesis project course that has no specific literature list. Instead, each thesis group must find the relevant literature that is related to their specific bachelor thesis topic, including literature for the used research methodology.

Course design

The thesis is conducted within the area of software engineering and management under the supervision of an academic supervisor from the faculty. The work is done either  individually or in a group of 2 students. Each thesis is assigned an academic examiner for grading. Thesis proposals have to be accepted by the course examiner and the progress report must be accepted by the academic examiner. The final submitted thesis report is presented verbally in front of an audience composed of examiners, supervisors and peer students.

 

The teaching consists of two lectures, one introduction lecture and one lecture about the final steps of the thesis process. Moreover, there is a progress report meeting with the academic examiner (and the supervisor) where the progress of the thesis will be discussed. In addition, there is a mandatory (for all students) presentation day where each thesis group (that has submitted their final thesis report on time) presents their thesis and act as opponent of another group's thesis. 

Form of teaching

Initiation

The students write a thesis proposal according to the guidelines on the study program software engineering and management. The thesis proposal shall provide a detailed description of the problem/task. The thesis proposal must also contain the background, purpose, objective, scope, and method. The thesis proposal is submitted to the examiner for approval. In order to continue with the thesis, the thesis proposal must be accepted (i.e. receive a passing grade).

Supervision

The students are entitled to regular supervision during the course of the their work.

Progress report

Halfway through the thesis work, the students must report the status of of their work to the examiner through a progress report. The progress report shall describe the achievements within the thesis work up to the halfway point, and include a plan for completing the remainder of the thesis work. After the progress report has been submitted, the thesis group meet with the academic examiner (and the supervisor) to discuss the progress report. In order to be able to submit the final thesis report and to present thesis, the progress report must be be accepted (i.e. receive a passing grade).

Written thesis report

The thesis report must be written in English. The thesis report must be checked for plagiarism, typically using anti-plagiarism software. The University of Gothenburg's policies regarding open access and confidentiality apply to the work on the thesis and to publishing the report. When two students work jointly on a thesis, the division of the work must be clearly stated in the thesis report.

The final written thesis report must be submitted on time in order to present the thesis work. 

Oral presentation

The oral presentation begins with the students presenting their work. This is followed by opposition (guided by other students) and discussion (guided by the examiner). At the time of the oral presentation, the written thesis report must be completed (and submitted on time) but not published. This is to make it possible to include viewpoints that arise during the oral presentation, from the written opposition report, and from the examiner, to be incorporated into the written thesis report.

The oral presentation and the opposition are mandatory for all students that shall present, and must be done at University of Gothenburg.

Opposition report

The students must write an opposition report (one per thesis group) according to the guidelines on the study program software engineering and management. The opposition report is submitted to the examiner for approval.

Submissions

All submissions (thesis proposal, progress report, final thesis report, and opposition report) must be submitted via Canvas. All submissions must follow the stated templates for each submission, and be submitted as pdf files. No other templates or formats will be accepted. 

Examination form

For the thesis to be approved, the following stages must be completed:

  • an approved thesis proposal (U/G)
  • an approved progress report (U/G)
  • an approved written thesis report (U/G/VG)
  • an approved presentation and defense of the thesis during the oral presentation (U/G)
  • an approved opposition of another thesis (U/G)
  • an approved opposition report (U/G)

A pass grade (G) for the entire course requires a pass grade for all stages in the course. The requirement to Pass (G) the the written thesis report is that the student in the written thesis report demonstrates the ability to formulate and investigate a research problem relevant to the software engineering domain. The student is expected to show abilities in systematically solving this problem by applying a research method and to plan and conduct a study in an appropriate way. The student has to be able to discuss the research problem and the fundamentals of the topic in a relevant and critical way. In the written thesis report, the student needs to use terminology common within the problem domain and show the ability to apply theories and models relevant to the topic, i.e. related research that add to the investigation of the research problem. An attempt to critically reflect on the research problem and the literature describing this is required.

 

To be awarded Pass with Distinction (VG) for the entire course, the student must, in addition, receive a VG on the written thesis report. The requirement to Pass with Distinction (VG) in the written thesis report is that the student in the written thesis report demonstrates the ability to formulate and investigate a research problem relevant to the software engineering domain. The student is expected to show abilities in systematically solving this problem by applying a research method and to plan and conduct a study in an appropriate way. Furthermore, the student has to be able to discuss the research problem and the fundamentals of the topic in an efficient and exhaustive way. In the written thesis report the student needs to critically reflect on the research topic, to critically reflect on theories and models, i.e. related literature and to critically assess the strengths and weaknesses that characterize the study that is conducted. This includes using a wide range of highly relevant references to support an argument, to discuss and analyze potentially contradicting aspects and to illustrate a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in the research problem by synthesizing information relevant to solve the problem.

Examination dates

For presenting in June, 2020

  • Thesis proposal - deadline: March 4, 2020 at 23:59 local time (i.e. Swedish time)
  • Progress report - deadline: April 20, 2020 at 8:00 local time (i.e. Swedish time)
  • Progress report meeting: April 21 - 24, 2020, with examiner and supervisor
  • Final thesis report - deadline: June 1, 2020 at 8:00 local time (i.e. Swedish time)
  • Thesis presentation (and opposition): June 4, 2020
  • Opposition report - deadline: June 5, 2020 at 23:59 local time (i.e. Swedish time)

 

For presenting in August, 2020

  • Thesis proposal - deadline: April 14, 2020 at 8:00 local time (i.e. Swedish time)
  • Progress report - deadline: June 1, 2020 at 8:00 local time (i.e. Swedish time)
  • Progress report meeting: June 2 - 5, 2020 with examiner and supervisor
  • Final thesis report - deadline: August 17, 2020 at 8:00 local time (i.e. Swedish time)
  • Thesis presentation (and opposition): August 20, 2020
  • Opposition report - deadline: August 21, 2020 at 23:59 local time (i.e. Swedish time)

 

For presenting in January, 2021

  • Thesis proposal - deadline: September 21, 2020 at 8:00 local time (i.e. Swedish time)
  • Progress report - deadline: November 16, 2020 at 8:00 local time (i.e. Swedish time)
  • Progress report meeting: November 17 - 20, 2020 with examiner and supervisor
  • Final thesis report - deadline: January 11, 2021 at 8:00 local time (i.e. Swedish time)
  • Thesis presentation (and opposition): January 15, 2021
  • Opposition report - deadline: January 16, 2021 at 23:59 local time (i.e. Swedish time)

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

After completion of this course the student should possess the following understanding, skills, abilities and judgement:
Knowledge and understanding, the student should:

  • identify a research topic and research question within the software engineering domain
  • explain the use of a research method for planning a research project
  • describe the current practice within the software engineering domain and the way in which practical problems and academic research may be related

Skills and abilities, the student should:

  • formulate a research question relevant in the software engineering domain
  • systematically solve a research problem relevant in the software engineering domain
  • apply a research method for solving a problem relevant to the topic
  • combine theories, models and/or methods relevant to the topic
  • plan and conduct a research project and document this in a written thesis report
  • integrate knowledge in a systematic and critical way in order to achieve and present knowledge relevant to the software engineering domain
  • communicate this knowledge in an academic environment, i.e. to present the research results to an academic audience

Judgement and approach, the student should:

  • discuss research areas relevant to the software engineering domain
  • reflect on the importance of how research can be communicated in an academic environment
  • use the knowledge from this course as a basis for entering the research community within the software engineering domain

Link to the syllabus https://kursplaner.gu.se/pdf/kurs/en/DIT837.

Changes made since the last occasion

This is the first time that DIT837 is given.

 

Find a potential supervisor

You will find a list of some potential supervisors and their research interest here

You will find a complete list of all potential supervisors here

 

Bachelor thesis proposal template

Here, you will find the template for the bachelor thesis proposal, download

 

CSE Student Pages

https://studentportal.gu.se/english/my-studies/cse/

Course summary:

Date Details Due