What kinds of communication are required on the job
V. W. Pine, Martin L. Barrett · Journal of computing sciences in colleges · 2005
In computer science, but particularly in software engineering, the ability to communicate well is an important skill. However, in a classroom setting, the writing and oral communication assignments that we require of our students may not be directly related to tasks that they will be called upon to do after graduation. For example, one typical writing assignment - writing a term paper on some technical topic - is not typical of the kind of writing done on the job. Other assignments may be closer to the mark - for example, specification and design documents, code reviews, and user manuals are more like real work products. While the skills involved in the two kinds of assignment are similar, those that prepare students with job skills may be preferable. Since project-oriented software engineering courses are intended to give students practice with real-world skills for use on industrial system development projects, the question arises: are these writing and presentation assignments typical of the actual communication tasks students will be asked to do on the job?