Skip to main content

Exploring the Role of Logic and Formal Methods in Information Systems Education

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Software Engineering and Formal Methods (SEFM 2015)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 9509))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

This position paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the role played by logic and formal methods courses in the computing curricula. We report on an exploratory empirical study investigating the perceptions of Information Systems students on the benefits of a completed course on logic and formal specification. Participants indicated that the course had fostered their analytical thinking abilities and provided them with tools to handle abstraction and decomposition. This provides a starting point for a discourse on the benefits of formal methods courses for IS practitioners.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Perhaps it is important to mention here the authors’ relevant background. The first author is an associate professor at the Information Systems Department at the University of Haifa with active research interests in applied logic. The second author is the manager of the Software Performance and Quality research group at the IBM Haifa Research Laboratory, and a member of the IBM corporate Board of Software Quality. Both of the authors have several years of experience in teaching logic and formal methods to various audiences of students.

References

  1. Barland, I., Felleisen, M., Fisler, K., Kolaitis, P., Vardi, M.Y.: Integrating logic into the computer science curriculum. In: Annual Joint Conference on Integrating Technology into Computer Science Education (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Glass, R.L.: A new answer to how important is mathematics to the software practitioner? IEEE Softw. 17(6), 136 (2000)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. Hardy, G.M., Everett, D.L.: Shaping the Future of Business Education: Relevance, Rigor, and Life Preparation. Palgrave Macmillan, London (2013)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Harvey, V.J., Wu, P.Y., Turchek, J.C., Longenecker, H.E.: Coordinated topic presentations for information systems core curriculum and discrete mathematics courses. In: Proceedings of ISECON 2005 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Hussmann, H.: Indirect use of formal methods in software engineering. In: ICSE-17 Workshop on Formal Methods Application in Software Engineering Practice, Seattle (WA), USA, pp. 126–133. Citeseer (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Kramer, J.: Is abstraction the key to computing? Commun. ACM 50(4), 36–42 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Kramer, J., Hazzan, O.: The role of abstraction in software engineering. In: Proceedings of the 28th International Conference on Software Engineering, pp. 1017–1018. ACM (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Lethbridge, T.C.: What knowledge is important to a software professional? Computer 33(5), 44–50 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Makowsky, J.A.: From Hilberts program to a logic tool box. Ann. Math. Artif. Intell. 53(1–4), 225–250 (2008)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  10. Page, R.L.: Software is discrete mathematics. ACM SIGPLAN Not. 38, 79–86 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Patten, M.L.: Questionnaire Research: A Practical Guide. Pyrczak Publisher, Glendale (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Skevoulis, S., Makarov, V.: Integrating formal methods tools into undergraduate computer science curriculum. In: 36th Annual on Frontiers in Education Conference, pp. 1–6. IEEE (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kelley Sobel, A.E.: Empirical results of a software engineering curriculum incorporating formal methods. ACM SIGCSE Bull. 32(1), 157–161 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kelley Sobel, A.E., Clarkson, M.R.: Formal methods application: an empirical tale of software development. IEEE Trans. Software Eng. 28(3), 308–320 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Sotiriadou, A., Kefalas, P.: Teaching formal methods in computer science undergraduates. In: International Conference on Applied and Theoretical Mathematics (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Tavolato, P., Vogt, F.: Integrating formal methods into computer science curricula at a university of applied sciences. In: TLA+ Workshop at the 18th International Symposium on Formal Methods, Paris, Frankreich (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Topi, H., Valacich, J.S., Wright, R.T., Kaiser, K., Nunamaker, Jr., J.F., Sipior, J.C., de Vreede, G.J.: Is 2010: Curriculum guidelines for undergraduate degree programs in information systems. Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 26(1), 18 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Wing, J.M.: Teaching mathematics to software engineers. In: Alagar, V.S., Nivat, M. (eds.) AMAST 1995. LNCS, vol. 936, pp. 18–40. Springer, Heidelberg (1995)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  19. Wing, J.M.: Weaving formal methods into the undergraduate computer science curriculum. In: Rus, T. (ed.) AMAST 2000. LNCS, vol. 1816, pp. 2–7. Springer, Heidelberg (2000)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  20. Wing, J.M.: Computational thinking. Commun. ACM 49(3), 33–35 (2006)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  21. Zamansky, A., Farchi, E.: Teaching logic to information systems students: challenges and opportunities. In: Tools for Teaching Logic (2015)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Zamansky .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Zamansky, A., Farchi, E. (2015). Exploring the Role of Logic and Formal Methods in Information Systems Education. In: Bianculli, D., Calinescu, R., Rumpe, B. (eds) Software Engineering and Formal Methods. SEFM 2015. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9509. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49224-6_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49224-6_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-49223-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-49224-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics