This is the first of two courses in the Software Engineering sequence which forms the core of the Master of Science in Computer Science with specialization in Software Engineering. Software Engineering I focuses on software plans, processes, requirements and architectures. Software Engineering II focuses on software product creation, integration, test and maintenance with an emphasis on quality software production. Much of the content is organized around the key practices in the SEI Integrated Capability Maturity Model (CMMI).

This course will focus on the application of software engineering process models and management approaches for design and architecture of large software systems. Students will work in teams and be required to understand and apply the Win-Win spiral model and Model Based System Architecting and Software Engineering guidelines for software engineering to real-world projects. Students will also be expected to understand and apply quality management approaches to their projects.

Past projects have included develoment of e-commerce systems for commerical entities, projects for various needs of the Center of Software Engineering and, projects for USC's Information Services Division (ISD) . During this course, the student team members will formulate operational concepts, requirements specifications, architectures, prototypes, life cycle plans, and integrating rationale for the proposed capabilities. In CSCI 577b, student teams develop Initial Operational Capability products based on the best results from CSCI 577a.