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NSW Education Standards Authority

11–12Software Engineering 11–12 Syllabus

Record of changes
Implementation from 2024
Expand for detailed implementation advice

Content

Year 12

Software engineering project
Identifying and defining
  • Define and analyse the requirements of a problem

    Including:
    • demonstrating need(s) or opportunities
    • assessing scheduling and financial feasibility
    • generating requirements including functionality and performance
    • defining data structures and data types
    • defining boundaries
  • Explore tools used to develop ideas and generate solutions

    Including:
    • brainstorming, mind-mapping and storyboards
    • data dictionaries, including selecting appropriate data types
    • algorithm design
    • code generation
    • testing and debugging
    • installation
    • maintenance
  • Investigate types of software implementation methods

    Including:
    • direct
    • phased
    • parallel
    • pilot
Research and planning
  • Research and use the Waterfall software development approach

    Including:
    • logical progression of steps used throughout the life cycle
    • stages of ‘falling water’
    • advantages and disadvantages
    • scale and types of developments
  • Research and use the Agile software development approach

    Including:
    • rate of developing a final solution
    • method tailoring
    • iteration workflow
    • scale and types of developments
  • Research the WAgile software development approach

    Including:
    • understanding it is a hybrid model
    • analysis of the ‘when’ and ‘how’ intervention is applied during the development life cycle
    • scale and types of developments
  • Apply project management to plan and conduct the development and implementation of a project and software engineering solution

    Including:
    • scheduling and tracking using a software tool, including Gantt charts
    • using collaboration tools
  • Explore social and ethical issues associated with project work, including working individually, collaboratively and responding to stakeholders

  • Explore communication issues associated with project work

    Including:
    • involving and empowering the client
    • enabling feedback
    • negotiating
  • Investigate how software engineering solutions are quality assured

    Including:
    • defining criteria on which quality will be judged
    • ensuring requirements are met using a continual checking process
    • addressing compliance and legislative requirements
  • Demonstrate the use of modelling tools

  • Explain the contribution of back-end engineering to the success and ease of software development

    Including:
    • technology used
    • error handling
    • interfacing with front end
    • security engineering
Producing and implementing
  • Design, construct and implement a solution to a software problem using appropriate development approach(es)

  • Present a software engineering solution using presentation software

  • Develop, construct and document algorithms

  • Allocate resources to support the development of a software engineering solution

  • Demonstrate the use of programmed data backup

  • Implement version control when developing a software engineering solution

  • Explore strategies to respond to difficulties when developing a software engineering solution

    Including:
    • looking for a solution online
    • collaboration with peers
    • outsourcing
  • Propose an additional innovative solution using a prototype and user interface (UI) design

Testing and evaluating
  • Apply methodologies to test and evaluate code

  • Use a language-dependent code optimisation technique

  • Analyse and respond to feedback

  • Evaluate the effectiveness of a software engineering solution

    Including:
    • developing a report to synthesise feedback
    • developing a test plan
    • testing data used/generated based on path and boundary testing
    • comparing actual output with expected output
Related files