Abstract
Software engineering design is a vital component of modern industry, unfortunately, the processes involved are still poorly understood. This poses a major problem for teachers of the subject, who are under constant pressure to improve the quality of education, but are unsure how to bring this about, or even how to detect such improvement. This thesis attempts to start the process of clarifying what we mean by "software engineering design", and apply the insights gained to the activity of curriculum design. First, we establish a method for the research, by constructing a framework to constrain and guide the process of seeking new insights. This leads to a decidedly eclectic approach to the problem, as software engineering design is viewed, and reviewed, from a number of different perspectives. Next, these views are synthesised into a model of the software engineering design process, and new insights are sought to refine the model. The central theme of this model is the idea that the design process can be considered as a one of theory building. Finally, we bring this model into direct contact with the task of curriculum design, both in a general sense, and also by providing illustrations of some of the consequences of its use.