Using pre-release software to SPUR student learning

ACM President David A. Patterson's recent "manifesto" calls on IT and computer professionals to focus their attention on the neglected areas of security, privacy, usability, and reliability (SPUR). We report on a recent classroom exercise designed to increase students' awareness of and engage their interest in addressing SPUR concerns.IT students at George Mason University, as part of their senior design project course, were given the opportunity to perform hands-on testing of pre-release security software being developed by Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. Over two class sessions, forty students were tasked with testing a research prototype application designed to limit harm from malicious code. Results from this experience suggest that hands-on access to pre-release software can provide an effective vehicle for enhancing student understanding of the challenges of meeting the interlocking goals of security, privacy, usability, and reliability. The faculty observers noted additional beneficial side-effects of this exercise. Working through bugs, designing experiments to test ideas, and analyzing the interface served as a whetstone to sharpen students' trouble shooting skills and critical thinking abilities.We conclude that IT undergraduate programs should consider the incorporation of a hands-on software evaluation module that stresses the principles of the SPUR manifesto. Such a module can make use of open source software where commercial pre-release software is not available. This could be incorporated into a projects class, human-computer interaction class, or software development class as appropriate to a particular program.