Introducing DevOps Techniques in a Software Construction Class

As more companies adopt techniques related to DevOps and continuous deployment, it is critical for students in software engineering courses to gain hands-on experience with these techniques. In this paper, we describe a collection of assignments given in a graduate software construction class that guides students through the process of creating Docker containers, configuring continuous integration services, constructing a build pipeline, and automating deployment of new versions of a software system when changes are committed to the code repository. We also briefly analyze the performance of students on these hands-on exercises, identifying areas where additional support is needed to ensure student success.