Software System Design

Catalog description

Design plays a crucial role in the success of a software product, as decisions made during the design stage have a long-lasting impact on qualities such as reliability, robustness, maintainability, scalability, and security. With the increasing use of AI-based programming tools (such as ChatGPT and Copilot), being able to effectively design large, complex software and reason about systems at scale will become highly sought-out skills in the software industry. This course teaches students how to design complex, large-scale software systems that are reliable, robust, and built to last. It introduces fundamental concepts and techniques for designing software to achieve qualities of a successful product (such as maintainability, scalability, and robustness) and to avoid catastrophic failures. After taking this course, students will be able to (1) systematically generate and explore design alternatives, (2) specify and evaluate design options using appropriate abstractions, and (3) communicate and critique design decisions with other members of large, multi-team organizations. The discussions of these concepts will be driven by case studies of past failures and successes in real-world software systems. The course will be hands-on and involve a semester-long project where the students will work in teams and collaborate with other teams to design, test, and deploy a complex software system. This course is aimed at both undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in the role of a software architect or designer in an organization. Course Website: https://cmu-swdesign.github.io/