Using unfamiliar platforms in software engineering projects

This paper describes the use of programming projects for handheld devices within software engineering project classes. There are several benefits associated with using an unfamiliar platform and development tools in upper-level software engineering courses. The student's lack of familiarity with the development environment forces more time to be spent early on in the requirements and design of the project. In addition, the increasing popularity of mobile computing devices has made handheld programming experience valuable to graduating students in their job searches. This paper addresses the motivation for using handheld device programming projects, the technical issues associated with such projects, and the results of several semesters worth of teaching experience and student feedback.