The Meeting of Software Engineering and Dancing
Recently at Bilkent University, a novel concept was used to explain the principles of software engineering. On December 26, a seminar presented as part of a series by the Bilkent Bilişim Club (BIC) looked at the methods and processes of software engineering by relating it to the systematic structure of dance.
Participants in the seminar were Dr. Özlem Albayrak, an instructor in the Department of Computer Technology and Information Systems, and three of the department's students, Elif Doğulugil, Ayberk Yavuz and Kerem Yıldırım. During the presentation, features common to both fields were highlighted: to begin with, the importance of an education emphasizing discipline and technique. In addition, processes employed in software engineering, such as analysis, design, implementation and testing were associated with the rules of professional dancing. Similarly, as one of the topics in the CTIS "Concepts of Software Engineering" course, "The Waterfall Model" examined the steps and the structure that dancers use while preparing a dance performance as if they were a part of engineering.
In the seminar, the importance of teamwork and professionalism was also mentioned as an area of commonality, since universal principles of software engineering are applied to accomplish a professional task. After some research and discussion, a salsa performance was given as an example of the way in which theories are put into practice, providing a lively wrap-up to the seminar.
At the next seminar in the series, software engineering will be looked at from the perspective of sports.