Cultivating Performance-Aware Software Engineers

该项目旨在通过开发利用基于问题的学习来提高学生对软件性能工程的知识的课程材料来服务于国家利益。性能和容量是每个软件系统的理想属性。尽管如此，在开发软件系统时，性能很少得到足够的关注，导致软件在过载时崩溃并导致系统中断。修复软件性能问题可能非常昂贵，并且通常需要大量的重新设计和重新实现。这些问题可能导致成本和进度超支，甚至项目取消。软件设计选择的性能影响通常只是在本科课程中偶然提及，很少以系统的方式教授。大多数本科生缺乏对设计和构建软件的性能影响的认识，以及规划和分析典型性能问题的相关定量技能。该项目的目标是开发创新和系统的方法，以提高现有本科课程的性能工程技能。项目成果将包括大学毕业生谁是更好的职业生涯作为专业的软件工程师准备。该项目将整合创新的基于问题的学习技术，使学生能够在本科课程中学习软件性能工程（SPE）的概念和技能。它将汇集史蒂文斯理工学院的软件工程教师与教育研究人员和软件性能工程领域的行业领导者，以开发一种系统的方法，将软件性能建模和分析的基本知识，技能和技术灌输到学习成果中。特别是，该项目将设计和实施一套课程单元和基于问题的学习活动，可以很容易地在各种本科课程设置。该项目的研究和评估将侧重于教师参与课程单元的实施和提高学生的学习成果。该项目有可能通过增加对SPE价值的理解和参与基于问题的学习活动的发展，培养积极的SPE思维和能力技能，在本科生的软件工程教育领域做出重要贡献。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by developing curricular materials that utilize problem-based learning to improve student knowledge of software performance engineering. Performance and capacity are desirable properties of every software system. Despite this, performance seldom receives adequate attention when software systems are developed, resulting in software that when overloaded crashes and causes system outages. Fixing software performance issues can be very expensive, and often, requires significant redesign and re-implementation. These issues may lead to cost and schedule overruns and even project cancellations. The performance implications of software design choices are often only incidentally mentioned in undergraduate courses and are rarely taught in a systematic way. Most undergraduate students lack awareness of the performance implications for designing and constructing software as well as the associated quantitative skills for planning for and analyzing typical performance issues. The goal of this project is to develop innovative and systematic approaches to enhance performance engineering skills in existing undergraduate curricula. Project outcomes will include college graduates who are better prepared for careers as professional software engineers. This project will integrate innovative problem-based learning technologies to engage and enable student learning of software performance engineering (SPE) concepts and skills in undergraduate courses. It will bring together software engineering faculty at Stevens Institute of Technology with education researchers and industry leaders in the field of software performance engineering to develop a systematic approach for instilling essential knowledge, skills, and techniques for software performance modeling and analysis into learning outcomes. In particular, the project will design and implement a set of curricular units and problem-based learning activities that can be easily adopted in a variety of undergraduate course settings. The research and evaluation of the project will focus on engaging faculty in the implementation of the curricular units and improving student learning outcomes. This project has potential to make important contributions to the field of software engineering education through increasing knowledge on understanding the value of SPE and the development of engaging problem-based learning activities for cultivating proactive SPE mindset and competency skills in undergraduate students. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.