(Last modified Thu Apr 17 22:42 2008)

Time and place

TuTh 3:30-4:50pm, ICS 180
Exam slot:  Jun 10 Tu 4:00-6:00pm

Professor

Thomas Alspaugh
office:  5224 ICS3
office hours:  9:00-10:00 and 12:30-1:30 Thursdays, or by appointment
lastname ics · uci · edu  

Only email with subject beginning "115" and from a UCI account is guaranteed an answer.
Replies to questions about course material or work will be posted to the class mailing list.

The class mailing list goes to your UCI account, so please check it periodically (or forward it to the account you check) and ensure you have space to receive new emails. 

Reader

Sukanya Ratanotoyanon
sratanot uci · edu

Textbook

We will not use a textbook for this class.

Course goals (for you)

• Examine what software quality means, and how it may be specified, improved, and evaluated.
• Become familiar with the range of specification and test techniques.
• Apply what you learn to software quality problems.

The structure of the course

• Lectures (usually without slides) and in-class exercises and discussion.
• Four focused homework assignments plus a final one to wrap up the quarter. 
• A midterm and a final exam giving you the chance to show what you have learned during the quarter. 
• Your in-class participation is essential and expected; out-of-class consultation with me is to your advantage, and (for students I do not already know) at least one office visit is required.  It is your job to make sure I know who you are and what you have contributed the class meetings. 

Grading

The reader will post a template for each assignment, which you must use in order to receive full credit. 

Written work will receive markedly and increasingly less credit if presented late. 

You are expected to be familiar with and conform to the principles of academic honesty. 

Participation

I have a somewhat idiosyncratic view of class participation.  Your presence and active participation in class meetings is required, but I do not wish to take roll at each meeting.  Therefore, to receive full participation credit you should: 

1. participate actively and enthusiastically in the in-class discussions and exercises;
2. volunteer answers rather than waiting for me to call on you even though your hand is not raised;
3. (if I do not already know you from a previous class) come to my office hours at least once during Weeks 3 through 5 of the quarter.  See the EEE gradebook for your status. 
4. attend class regularly enough that I am clearly aware of your presence;
5. be present on all the randomly selected days that I take class photos; and
6. be one of the people whose names I know.

Assignment submission

All written assignments are to be submitted electronically through checkmate.  I would like each of your submissions to be in the form of a single Word .doc file, so that the TA and I can read your submission without using any specialized programs for displaying diagrams or images, and so we can put our markings in your files using Change Tracking.  Contact me if this is a hardship for you.  You may also submit PDF files if you wish to use LaTeX (see me first). 

To get set up for electronic submission, go to checkmate.ics.uci.edu, log in with your UCInet ID, and follow the instructions there.

Marked work will be returned in the EEE AssignmentReturn dropbox for this class. 

All work must have your name and UCInetID (not your student ID number!), "In4matx 115", the assignment identifier (listed on the course schedule), and the date at the top of the first page. 

Use the template for each assignment to organize your work to follow the form in which the assignment is stated.  For example, if the assignment is stated as 1, 2, 3a, 3b, etc., organize your submission under corresponding headings numbered 1, 2, 3a, 3b, etc. 

Each must be named YourUCINetID-hwN.doc.  For example, Maurice A. Student's hw1 assignment must be in a file named mastuden-hw1.doc. 

Grades will be posted in the EEE gradebook. 

Student disability

Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss his or her specific needs.  Also contact the Disability Services Center at (949) 824-7494 as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Thomas A. Alspaugh
Assistant Professor, Informatics Dept.
School of Information and Computer Sciences