Connecting reality with theory — An approach for creating integrative industry case studies in the software engineering curriculum

Case studies have been successfully integrated into a wide variety of educational contexts and disciplines. Today, case studies are increasingly accepted as valuable teaching tools in science and engineering curriculums to complement the underlying theory of the field. Well-articulated cases can reinforce abstract concepts, demonstrate the nature of real client interactions, and showcase the relevance of soft skills to students that lack significant practical experience. However, assembling and delivering quality case studies to students requires a great deal of practical disciplinary knowledge, and a careful alignment of the case content and delivery style with curricular objectives, course learning outcomes, and the overarching institutional format. In this paper, we summarize our experience with an approach for constructing case study teaching materials that are integrative and deep in content, but also carefully aligned to the core principles and format of a senior-level software engineering course. Our approach ensures that the cases are complex enough to retain their realism and intrinsic appeal, while mirroring the format and objectives of the course such that the cases reinforce key points in a familiar and consistent fashion to the students.