Introduction to Software Engineering (CSSE1001)

Course overview

Introduction to Software Engineering through programming with particular focus on the fundamentals of computing and programming, using an exploratory problem-based approach. Building abstractions with procedures, data and objects; data modelling; designing, coding and debugging programs of increasing complexity

This course introduces fundamental concepts in software engineering, using the Python programming language. Emphasis is placed on problem-solving using computational techniques, creating algorithms and designing classes.

Course requirements

Assumed background

No prior knowledge ofﾠprogramming is assumed.

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

COMP1502, CSSE7030, ENGG1001

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Lectures will be recorded and available on the course Blackboard site. However, attendance at the physical lecture is strongly recommended, with recordings used to revise content.

Aims and outcomes

This course focuses on the organising ideas of software design and construction. Because software systems are highly complex structures, special effort and techniques are needed to control that complexity and make them understandable by humans, not simply machines. Taking this course will teach you such techniques, which are common to good software engineering design, independent of the programming language, and include building abstractions to hide details, separating specification from implementation and establishing conventional interfaces to allow the creation of standard modules. Programming practice is necessary to the course, and you'll be using Python as it is well-suited to understanding fundamental computing ideas and practices.

At course completionﾠyou will be able to analyse a problem and design and implement a computational solution to the problem.ﾠYou will make use of three major programming paradigms: structured, object-oriented and event-driven.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Assignment 1

Mode

Written

Category

Computer Code

Weight

15%

Due date

24/04/2026 3:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L03, L04, L06

Task description

Submission guidelines

Assignment submitted on-line via Gradescope. Students must submit their code regularly to Gradescope as they progress in the assignment to evidendence authenticity of their authorship.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Extensions are limited to 7 days as feedback will be provided within 14 days.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

In-semester exam

• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

25%

Due date

In-semester Saturday

27/03/2026 - 3/05/2026

A personal exam timetable will be emailed to your student email address with the date and time of your exam.

Other conditions

Secure.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L03, L04, L05, L06

Task description

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Assignment 2

Mode

Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written

Category

Computer Code

Weight

20%

Due date

22/05/2026 3:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Task description

Submission guidelines

Assignment submitted on-line via Gradescope. Students must submit their code regularly to Gradescope as they progress in the assignment to evidendence authenticity of their authorship.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Extensions are limited to 7 days as feedback will be provided within 14 days.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

End of semester exam

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

40%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

6/06/2026 - 20/06/2026

Other conditions

Secure.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

A mark in this course is calculated from the following four assessments in this course:

1. Assessment 1 (A1) 

2. In-semester exam (EM)

3. Assessment 2 (A2)

4. End-of-semester Exam (EF)

Supposing A1, EM, A2, EF are percentages in [0%, 100%] then your mark is

MARK = MAX(M1, M2)

where

M1 = 0.15*A1 + 0.20*A2 + 0.25*EM + 0.40*EF

M2 = 0.15*A1 + 0.20*A2 + 0.10*EM + 0.55*EF

This means that poor performance on the in-semester exam can be mitigated by performing well on the final exam.

Your mark will be computed using two digits precision, then rounded UP to the nearest integer.

At the discretion of the course coordinator, marks for the assessment items may be adjusted upwards (uniformly across the class), but not downwards.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Assessment Interviews

Students must be able to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their submitted code independent of AI and machine-translation (MT) tools. The Course Coordinator reserves the right to require any student to participate in an oral examination regarding any assessment submission. During such an examination, students may be required to explain and/or modify their submitted code and/or solve new, related programming problems to demonstrate understanding. Assessment marks are provisional and subject to confirmation following any such examination. A student's assessment mark may be adjusted, including reduced to zero, based on the level of understanding demonstrated during this examination.

During the examination, students may not use notes or modified code and must work exclusively from the code exactly as submitted, except where instructed to solve new problems. Failure to attend a scheduled examination without an approved reason, or failure to meaningfully participate, will be treated as unsatisfactory performance and may result in the relevant assessment mark being reduced, including to zero. Oral examinations will be scheduled on a case-by-case basis.

Census Date

Though no summative grades are released until Week 8, feedback is available throughout the first six weeks. The weekly formative Ed Lesson assessments provide immediate feedback and GradeScope offers feedback even for partially completed submssions.

Having Troubles?

If you are having difficulties with any aspect of the course material you should seek help. Speak to the course teaching staff.

If external circumstances are affecting your ability to work on the course, you should seek help as soon as possible. The University and UQ Union have organisations and staff who are able to help, for example, UQ Student Services are able to help with study and exam skills, tertiary learning skills, writing skills, financial assistance, personal issues, and disability services (among other things).

Complaints and criticisms should be directed in the first instance to the course coordinator. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may bring the matter to the attention of the School of EECS Director of Teaching and Learning.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Blackboard

There are extensive video modules, readings, examples, contact exercises, assignments and other resources that can be accessed via Blackboard.

Online Material

Lecture related notes can be accessed via Blackboard. Lectures will be example-driven, demonstrating the application of the concepts covered in the weekly readings. You need to be prepared for the lectures for this course by reading the weekly notes beforehand. This course will make use of ShiFoo. ShiFoo is a programming exercise system that automatically checks your answers and gives you feedback.

Facilities

Practical work for this course will take place in PC labs or classrooms. If your practical session is in a classroom, you will need to bring a laptop computer with you to work in these sessions. Several slots have been booked for this course, when you will have priority in the lab. A demonstrator will be present to answer questions and help with any problems - this includes any problems you are having with any of the online material. You should be aware that you will need to do more work independently of the 2 hours per week that is set aside for practicals. The required software, libraries and documentation are on the the machines in the PC labs and instructions for downloading for home use can be accessed via Blackboard. For details of the Occupational Health and Safety requirements of the labs, refer to the  EECS Student Guide.

Handouts

Notes, assignments, solutions, etc. will be made available through Blackboard.

Distribution of Notices

Important notices will appear on Blackboard.

Ed discussion forum 

This course will use Ed Discussion forum.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Additional learning activity information

There are 12 formative programming tasks in Ed Lessons that receive immediate feedback.

GradeScope (the assessment submission portal) gives immediate feedback about the correctness of the submission.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
• AI for Assessment Guide

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

School guidelines

Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course:

• EECS School Guidelines for Students