Software engineering: Graduate-level courses for AFIT professional continuing education

Abstract

The Air Force has witnessed a shortage of qualified software engineering personnel, a dramatic increase in the use of software across all application areas, and an increasing complexity of systems subsequently requiring personnel to have higher software engineering skill levels. In addressing these issues, several Air Force commands worked with the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in developing a non-command-specific continuing education program in software engineering. The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) assisted Air Force personnel and AFIT faculty and staff in defining the curriculum and course content, and developing five graduate-level courses in AFIT's Professional Continuing Education program. The overall effort extended over a period of several years, from initial definition to the delivery of the first course(s). This paper describes the background and results of this unique collaborative effort, which included AFIT, the SEI, and SEI resident affiliates.

This work is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense.