This course provides an introduction to the techniques for organizing, planning and controlling the software development process, to obtain the desired software product with at predictable cost and within the required delivery time, assuring a suitable quality level.
The illustrated techniques deal with: process modeling, software product and process measurement, techniques for building estimation models, development time and cost estimation methods, project planning, monitoring and control, risk management, quality planning and control.
The course complies, to the extent possible, with the "Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge" from the Project Management Institute.
An additional goal consists in teaching the specific technical language in English.
At the end of the course, the students
- know the nature and characteristics of the various types of software artifacts;
- know the nature and characteristics of the software development process.
- know software lifecycles and their suitability with respect to typical situations, requirements and constraints, are able to choose the most suitable ones for specific applications, and know how to build development process models;
- know and are able to apply project management techniques, including data analysis techniques, estimation model building, and planning of resource allocation;
- know and are able to apply risk analysis, classification, evaluation, and management techniques;
- know controlled software change management.

The ability to relate techniques, methods and tools to the characteristics and organization of software development processes –developed throughout the course– enable students to understand and learn new techniques, methods and tools, as well as to adapt and refine their knowledge and skills.