A course in operating system development by a team

Abstract

A one term course on the cooperative development of an operating system by a team of individuals is described. Operating system implementation is limited to resource allocation functions and is facilitated by using a system software design and simulation package. The course is based on a programming project which includes phases of planning, design, implementation and evaluation. Issues involved in designing the project, organizing a project team and project management are briefly discussed. Emphasis is placed on the communication problems which arise in cooperative systems programming efforts. Three experiences with teaching the course are described and it is conjectured that the major issue affecting group productivity was inter-personal communication.