Putting Requirements and Quality at the Core of Global Service Delivery: Current Efforts and Future Plans at Pace University

This paper outlines some initial steps we have taken at Pace University to prepare Computer Science students for working in a service-oriented business environment. In such an environment, we suggest that software procurement and development become tasks that revolve around articulating needs and finding a way to match these needs to available supply, wherever this supply may be sourced. The capability to act as either a client or a provider in this context thereby demands the mastery of a number of skills. Firstly, the ability to determine the changing services that are required and to describe these needs so as to support on-demand service acquisition. Secondly, the ability to develop, assure and assess the quality of component services as part of a larger global supply chain. Our Software Engineering teaching emphasizes the centrality of requirements engineering and quality processes, and designs student projects that provide experience in co-production via distributed global software development. We believe these skills are fundamental to supporting service determination and delivery.