Modern Object-Oriented Software Design:
Hands-On

What is this course about?

Traditional software development processes, including the unified process, suffer from excessive documentation and undue mechanical process steps, while Agile methods focus primarily on code and tend to be document and process agnostic. This course covers applying UML modeling to Agile strategies as an approach to developing software that benefits from agility without reducing documentation to dangerous levels.

Who will benefit from this course?

There can be significant benefit to sending an entire team to this course. The greatest benefit is gained when participants can share the same methodology with co-developers on a given project under the supervision and resource allocation of supportive management.

Is this course suitable for project managers?

Yes. The course is ideal for project managers. Although this is not a project management course, per se, it provides information on object-oriented (OO) design planning and resource allocation that is helpful when making decisions directed towards conducting a software development cycle. In this course project managers will see how a development iteration is conducted and will learn how to manage the iteration.

Is this course applicable toward a Project Management Institute (PMI) certification?

Yes. Though this course is not designed as preparation for an exam, it is beneficial to anyone working toward, or maintaining, a PMI certification. Most PMI certifications require a specific number of PDUs in order to obtain and maintain the credential. Completion of this course provides 23 professional development units (PDUs). Learning Tree offers several courses that help you prepare for PMI certifications, including Course 276, Preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP)^® Exam, which prepares you for PMI's most popular certification. For more details on these courses and PMI certifications, please see the Learning Tree PMI Registered Education Provider Q&A.

What background do I need?

You need to have a basic knowledge of computer systems development concepts, and preferably should have been involved in computer systems analysis, design, or programming. It is assumed that you have some background in object-oriented concepts.

Does the course focus on analysis?

Yes. The course covers requirements capture through user stories and use cases, and discusses techniques for turning the results into a design.

How much time is spent on each topic?

Times, including workshops, are estimates; exact times may vary according to the needs of each class.

What kinds of hands-on exercises does the course include?

Approximately 40 percent of this course is spent in hands-on exercises. You gain experience using iterative and icremental OO methods to:

• Expand user stories into use cases
• Design use case behavior using UML sequence
• Model complex behavior with state charts
• Construct a static architecture using class and component diagrams
• Produce and improve code using TDD
• Extract and identify design patterns in code

Will I be expected to program during this course?

Yes. However all of the learning points for the programming activities are related to software design and best practices. Coding exercises guide you step by step if you are not familiar with the programming languages.

What programming languages does the course use?

The course is independent of the target programming language. Techniques covered apply to all modern object-oriented languages such as Java, C#, Visual Basic .NET. How component based designs and architectures can be mapped onto these languages is also addressed.

Will I learn what tools to purchase?

No. Although Learning Tree does not endorse and specific tools, this course covers a number of areas where tools would greatly benefit the development process. You will use or see demonstrated: requirements capture tools, UML CASE tools, unit testing and mocking tools and version control tools.

How much of the life cycle does the course cover?

The object-oriented techniques described in the course are used throughout system development. The focus of this course is on capturing and expanding requirements, producing designs from them and realizing and refactoring them in code. The use of testing at all stages of this process is also emphasized.

Will this course help me make educated decisions concerning which methods and tools to introduce into my organization?

This course addresses the need to match the methodology to the size and nature of the project you need to accomplish. Throughout the course we discuss which OO software design techniques and tools are appropriate for specific application areas and organizations. The course does not answer this question for you, but it gives you the capability to ask the right questions and make an appropriate choice yourself.

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

• 216, UML 2: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction provides comprehensive coverage of the latest standard for the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and how UML fits into the software development life cycle.
• 316, Software Testing Foundation: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction shows how to build testing and inspection methods into work processes throughout the development life cycle.
• 918, Agile Project Management with Scrum provides a solid foundation in Agile project management techniques, based on the proven Scrum method

An ideal follow-on course for people interested in object-oriented programming is:

• 471, Java Programming: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction 
• 502, Programming with .NET: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction 
• 419, C# Programming: Hands-On 
• 2761, iPhone® and iPad® Programming: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction