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Free course

An introduction to software development

Free statement of participation on completion
An introduction to software development

Software development is the practice of organising the design and construction of software, the beating heart of much technology fundamental to our personal and professional life. This free introductory course, An introduction to software development, discusses the engineering nature of software development, its challenges and some fundamental practices which have developed to meet them. Software development is a fast-moving discipline and as a software development professional you must be able to track its leading edge. The course also teaches you some fundamental skills to help you interact with the growing published academic and professional literature on the subject.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

  • appreciate the engineering nature of software development
  • describe key activities in software development and the role of modelling
  • explain key concepts in software development such as risk and quality
  • explain the basics of an object-oriented approach to software development
  • describe a simple workflow for interacting with the published literature on software development.

First Published: 01/05/2014

Updated: 16/03/2016

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