Development of a web-based introduction to software engineering short course for working professionals

This paper describes the conversion of an existing two-day Introduction to Software Engineering workshop taught to working professionals in a "stand-up" forum into a web-based class. The conversion was performed by the author in conjunction with instructional specialists from Arizona State University\´s distance learning center and industry advisors. The goal was to create a highly interactive course that engages the participants and would be taught over a two week period of time. This paper discusses the strategy taken in the course for engaging the students in the content and providing them with a "workshop" type environment in a web-based format. The structure of the class is presented as well as examples of the types of interactions generated. The paper concludes with lessons learned from the development activity.