Tackling the incompleteness of software engineering education with the ESSENCE kernel

Abstract

Today, it is practically impossible to provide a complete undergraduate education within software engineering, not only because of its breath and depth but also due to its complexity, intricate nature and huge competition from other curriculum subjects. In this paper, we suggest a half-day tutorial providing one angle of teaching software engineering and tackling the incompleteness problem. The tutorial is based on the ESSENCE Kernel, a recently accepted OMG standard. The Kernel covers the domain of software engineering in a minimalistic way. It includes specifications of the essential things that must be considered for assuring the progress and health of every software engineering endeavor. Hence, it provides a good basis for embracing the whole software engineering domain in a simple yet fully covering manner.