Engineering of computer based-systems enhancement courses-proposed course outlines

Many modern systems are controlled by Computer-Based Systems (CBS). Examples include commercial management information systems such as airline reservations, payroll information, stock central, and electronic banking systems, real-time embedded computer systems such as process control and computer integrated manufacturing systems, space systems, telephone and communications systems, transportation systems (automotive control, train control, ship control, traffic control), medical instruments, avionics systems, missile control systems, microcomputer controlled domestic appliances and point of sale systems. The CBS controlling these systems, typically consist of many networked geographically distributed subsystems. Each subsystem may be or may contain a multi-computer system. They are intensively dependent on software, and frequently depend on data communication networks, human-computer interaction, and special hardware. Engineers developing such systems have to work with CBS engineers responsible for the development of the supporting CBS. To be able to work with them they have to have a basic knowledge in the Engineering of CBS (ECBS). The paper describes the ECBS tasks to be undertaken by systems engineers during the development of systems they build, the CBS subjects they should understand and comprehend and the structure of the courses they should take to augment their knowledge. The proposed courses can be given as part of regular engineering undergraduate or graduate programs, or as training courses in industry. The proposed ECBS courses are being developed by the Education and Training Working Group of the IEEE Computer Society ECBS Technical Committee. The current version of the suggested courses is based on the results of the discussions of the working group during the ECBS98 conference in Jerusalem, and on work done during the past year by the group following ECBS98.