Using generative AI in software design education
Using generative AI in software design education
This paper provides an experience report on introducing GenAI into an undergraduate software design class. Students were required to use GenAI (in the form of ChatGPT) to help complete a team-based assignment in which they were tasked with designing the core of the solution for how an educational traffic simulator could keep track of the elements in the simulation as well as how to advance the simulation over time. We collected and analyzed both the ChatGPT conversation logs and the teams’ reflections on using ChatGPT for the assignment. We report on how the teams used ChatGPT, reflect on how they felt ChatGPT helped them and where they felt it had shortcomings, and identify several key lessons for educators in how to deploy GenAI in a software design class.
Association for Computing Machinery
Jackson, Victoria
28beab06-6fae-46d3-ad73-1d29897680db
Liu, Susannah
259a7fdb-c246-4e81-8102-9aa1bebf4c04
Van Der Hoek, André
4c4cdeed-2314-47ad-ab7f-ae14026a028c
Jackson, Victoria
28beab06-6fae-46d3-ad73-1d29897680db
Liu, Susannah
259a7fdb-c246-4e81-8102-9aa1bebf4c04
Van Der Hoek, André
4c4cdeed-2314-47ad-ab7f-ae14026a028c
Jackson, Victoria, Liu, Susannah and Van Der Hoek, André
(2025)
Using generative AI in software design education.
In Designing '26.
Association for Computing Machinery.
8 pp
.
(In Press)
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
This paper provides an experience report on introducing GenAI into an undergraduate software design class. Students were required to use GenAI (in the form of ChatGPT) to help complete a team-based assignment in which they were tasked with designing the core of the solution for how an educational traffic simulator could keep track of the elements in the simulation as well as how to advance the simulation over time. We collected and analyzed both the ChatGPT conversation logs and the teams’ reflections on using ChatGPT for the assignment. We report on how the teams used ChatGPT, reflect on how they felt ChatGPT helped them and where they felt it had shortcomings, and identify several key lessons for educators in how to deploy GenAI in a software design class.
Text
Designing_2026_Using_GenAI_in_Design_Education (1)
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 28 November 2025
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 511110
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/511110
PURE UUID: d72d415f-a411-488e-ae56-6ec48b623ce5
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Date deposited: 05 May 2026 16:32
Last modified: 06 May 2026 02:14
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Contributors
Author:
Victoria Jackson
Author:
Susannah Liu
Author:
André Van Der Hoek
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