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 NEW
FACULTY
Communication with clients
is key for software engineer
by Joy Poliquin
“My students may not like me at first,” says
Dr. Daniela Damian, “but they’ll come away from my class
with everything they need.”
The assistant professor of software engineering is
honest about how students could react to the workload and structure
of her software engineering class this term. But she knows what
she’s doing. She wants to improve the communication between
software engineers and their customers. That’s where her class
comes in—her students will get a first-hand look at the importance
of good communication in software development.
“Software engineers are trained as developers,”
she explains, “so there’s often a communication gap when
it comes to understanding the concepts, needs and interests of the
client.” In her class, students will approach projects as both
suppliers and clients, and follow projects from the initial stages
of specifying requirements to testing the final product. Students
will work on projects ranging from a booking system for the recreation
and athletics centre, to setting up a Web-based auction for used
books.”
Her interest in improving the lines of communication
was piqued while doing a post-doctorate degree in Australia last
year. She worked alongside programmers who were developing software
for an American company. “Although they were speaking the same
language, there was a huge culture and communication gap,”
she says. “I want to know how we can solve this.”
Damian has always sought out answers to tough questions.
As a child in Romania, she was the only girl in an elite math group
that qualified for national math competitions six years in a row.
Her love of numbers and complex problems led her to choose software
engineering, a relatively new field at the time.
Now Damian will encourage her own students to push
the boundaries. “I’m very excited about my courses and
the research opportunities here at UVic,” she says. “I’ve
come out of my PhD and postdoc work with tons of research questions,
and this is a great place to explore them.”
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