App Lab logo

COMP 523: Software Engineering

Info for mentors

This page describes an important part of COMP 523: mentors.

Contents

The problem

COMP 523 has a problem. It’s a well-loved course, and many of our alumni say it was their favorite at UNC. But our undergraduate enrollment has grown enormously, from maybe 150 in 2009 to over 1,500 in 2018-19 (unofficial numbers). Every year, we have more interest than capacity, so interested students can’t get in to the course. Some even graduate without ever getting in.

One of the major bottlenecks in the course is the instructor, who not only manages the lectures and overall course design but also weekly meetings with each team. With very many teams, this can be overwhelming, even with help from a teaching assistant.

The solution

Last fall (2019), I piloted a new idea: bringing professional software developers in as mentors to the teams. Each mentor would meet weekly with one team, helping them overcome common challenges in collaborating with their client and with each other. Based on feedback from students and mentors as well as my own experience, I believe this idea worked very well, and I’m excited to bring it back for the fall 2020 semester.

Professional software developers—even relatively inexperienced ones— have overcome most of the problems the teams will face. This is, after all, typically the students’ first collaborative software project, and the problems they face are typically fairly basic. And although a mentor is welcome to get technical with the team, he or she is also welcome to keep the focus on the collaboration aspects that most software developers can relate to regardless of language or framework; students have other resources for technical problems (like the App Lab).

The opportunity

Why should you care? For one thing, it’s a way to give back. Did you have somebody who helped you overcome these challenges? (Aren’t you glad?) You could be that person for some students. Seeing the impact your efforts have can be a very rewarding experience.

For another thing, many teachers recognize that the best way to solidify your knowledge about something is to teach it to others. Do you have a way of collaborating on your team that’s reasonably effective, but you’d like to understand it better? Teach it to others, and you probably will.

The mechanics

So what does a mentor do? Most importantly, a mentor meets weekly with their team. (Note: it’s important to commit to these meetings and prioritize them, despite work deadlines and other things.) These meetings can happen remotely via video chat or in person (if the COVID-19 situation allows, that is), and most students are able to get off campus and meet somewhere with more readily available parking (although it might need to be on a bus line). A mentor also fills out a form describing the team’s progress and any issues discussed, so that I have enough information to notice brewing issues and so that I can to assign grades later (in a consistent fashion) despite not attending the meetings myself. This form can set the agenda during the meeting, but you are also welcome to structure the meeting however you like, so long as the form’s questions are answered.

The commitment

How much of a commitment is this? I am accustomed to doing 30 minute meetings, and that is totally acceptable. You may also take longer, if you prefer. The form should take 15 minutes at most to fill out, and probably much less once you’re familiar with it. This is for the fall semester only, starting a couple of weeks in and skipping fall break and Thanksgiving holiday as necessary (see the calendar), so you’ll have a total of 12–14 meetings. Let’s assume you spend an hour per week on this, for all 14 weeks. That’s 14 hours. I suspect, by the end of the semester, you’ll agree that the impact you made on the students’ professional lives will be well worth that much of your time.

The application

To apply to become a mentor, apply here. Please apply by the deadline of Friday, August 28.

FAQ

(Do you have other questions? Please feel free to email me.)

What does a mentor do?

The idea of a mentor is that they help a team navigate some of the complex issues in software engineering. They should be somebody with some experience doing software engineering.

A mentor meets with a team weekly, for 30–45 minutes, to discuss the project and its progress. Specifically, mentors will lead a discussion that typically includes things like:

  • What did the team work on this week?
  • How did the work go?
  • What do the results look like?
  • Did you meet your goals last week? If not, why not?
  • What do you hope to accomplish next week?
  • Are you having any problems with collaboration and teamwork, or with your client, or with your technologies, or anything else, or are you sensing that something could develop into a problem soon?

Finally, the mentor submits a brief, structured report to the instructor, to keep him in the loop.

What are some problems a team might face?

First, remember that, while you’re welcome to get technical with a team, you might not have experience with the language or framework they’re using, and they can get technical help elsewhere.

Of the non-technical problems, most of them are fairly basic. This is, after all, the first collaborative project most students have worked on, and also the first with a real client. Here are some example problems:

What if there’s a problem I can’t help with?

If it’s technical in nature, refer it to the App Lab. Otherwise, refer the team to me, and mention it in your report for the week. I am available to help with problems that are too big or too thorny for you and the team.

I don’t really do web apps or mobile apps. Is that OK?

Yes. As long as you have experience with software engineering, that is fine. If students have difficulty with the technical aspects of their projects, they can get help outside the mentor meetings, such as at the UNC App Lab.

Is there any compensation for being a mentor?

No. (If a modest remuneration would be the deciding factor for you to get involved, I’d be interested to know it so that I can have data to help me persuade administrative folks that it’s worth the accounting headache.)

Is this just a way to get free labor? Shouldn’t you be hiring more professors and/or accepting fewer students instead?

It’s a fair question. First, some context about student enrollment. Our department’s undergraduate major enrollment has grown from about 150 ten years ago to over 1,500 now (unofficial numbers). And we want to teach computer science to whomever is interested to learn, even when it’s hard to support so many students, rather than turning people away. That said, at some point we may have to limit the size of the major to prevent burning faculty out, and that’s something that is a discussion point in the department.

Second, although we’re actively working to hire more professors, we’re not the only CS department with a lot of growth. There has been a surge of interest in CS nationwide, and many CS departments are trying to hire more professors to help deal with the growth. There aren’t enough qualified candidates to go around, and the process of getting approval for a position, inviting applicants, and evaluating them is long, so it can literally take years to hire people.

For this class, the good news is that it’s pretty small (for us, anyway—“only” 60 students are enrolled at this point). If we don’t get enough mentors, there’s a fallback plan: I will meet with the teams myself. This is fine, but the thought behind inviting industry involvement is that this is a way to let students start to make connections with “real” software developers and companies, and vice-versa. So although I could use the help, it’s more of an opportunity to enhance the class rather than an existential need.

I can’t or don’t want to come to campus. Can meetings be remote?

Absolutely. In fact, I recommend that meetings be virtual and remote until there’s a solution to COVID-19. In that case, having at least a couple in-person meetings can help build rapport, especially at the beginning of your relationship.

Can I meet outside of normal working hours?

Definitely! In fact, student teams often have many constraints during weekday working hours because of classes, and many teams would prefer to meet on evenings or weekends. You’ll have a space in the application to list this preference.

What is the coding environment, or what languages and technologies are used?

Each team decides which technologies to use, subject to the constraints of their project. An early assignment is to make and justify a decision about the technology stack they will use for their project. You can help them make this decision, but please don’t pressure them to use your favorite stack.

In general, I expect that most of what you can help the teams with transcends particular tools and languages and deals more with the collaboration and human side of software engineering. If the team has technical challenges, there are resources such as the App Lab that can help with that.

How are mentors assigned to teams?

The primary criterion is availability of both you and the team to meet at the same time. So it’s important to note accurate meeting times when you apply to be a mentor, and to let me know before Friday, August 28 if those times change.

If there are other criteria that are important to you in matchmaking, feel free to mention that in your application, and I will do what I can to accommodate that, but no promises.