Application Development Design Studio I

Catalog description

Introductory design and development studio course for IST and SRA students. IST 261 Application Development Design Studio I (3) This studio course will provide opportunities for students to practice the technical skills acquired in their foundation application design and development courses, specifically, in IST 140 and IST 242 . The course will follow the general format of experiential studios in the arts and architecture. It will be primarily problem-based and project oriented. Peer and instructor design critiques will be the major feedback and assessment mechanisms. Students in the IST Software Design Studios will be expected to complete deliverables in each phase of the systems development lifecycle (i.e. problem definition, requirements analysis, design, development, test) regardless of the development paradigm employed (plan-based, agile, etc). A key objective of this design studio will be to introduce students to the challenges faced in different application design and development activities before exposing them to specific techniques to manage these challenges in upper-division courses. Projects may be undertaken by individuals, pairs, or larger groups but each studio participant will be responsible for producing significant individual project deliverables. Project ideas may come from the student or from the instructor; however, projects related to students' other course deliverables will require the agreement of both instructors. Students will be required to maintain a design and development journal. This journal will be the analog of an engineering notebook or artist's sketchbook and should contain a running account of the students design and development ideas, explorations, rationale, and other notes. The IST design and development studios are a forum for serious students to engage with the concepts, process, tools, and materials used to envision and build software applications. Both collaboration and individual performance will be emphasized, as will experimentation, risk-taking, and enthusiasm for the process of designing and building working software applications. Students will be expected to improvise and then respond constructively to feedback from instructors and peers.