Dr. Kristen Walcott

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Photo of Kristen Walcott

Kristen Walcott

Associate Professor

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 719-255-3670

Address: Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO, 80919

Office: ENGR 192

About Kristen Walcott

My research interests lie in the area of software testing and computer architecture with an emphasis on software testing and debugging in resource-constrained environments such as mobile devices and embedded systems. My dissertation work was completed under the advisement of Dr. Mary Lou Soffa on how hardware performance monitors and mechanisms can be exploited for use in software testing.

In recent years, my research has expanded to include security issues in software engineering, software testing in IoT, and user interaction for testing. I am also interested in developing new metrics and analysis techniques in software testing in each of these areas.

I earned my Ph.D. at the University of Virginia in May 2012. The title of my thesis was “Testing in Resource-Constrained Environments” and it can be found here.

In May 2007, I completed my master’s of computer science degree with Sudhanva Gurumurthi. My master’s project was with regard to dynamically predicting architectural vulnerability factors using a few easy-to-extract microarchitectural metrics. The work was presented at ISCA in San Diego, in June 2007.

I received my bachelor’s degree at Allegheny College in 2005. At Allegheny, I double majored in Applied Computer Science and Mathematics, working under Dr. Gregory M. Kapfhammer in Computer Science and Dr. Tamara Lakins in Mathematics. In computer science, I focused on time-aware regression test prioritization techniques. In mathematics, I concentrated on group theory, particularly Burnside’s Lemma. Burnside’s Lemma is a result of group theory which is useful in taking account of symmetry when counting mathematical objects.

My CV can be seen here

Guides for Graduate Students

Guide to Writing PhD, Masters Thesis, and Masters Project Proposals

Guide to How to Ask for a Reference Letter (for work, scholarships, graduate school, etc…)

Professional Activities/Memberships

Conference Papers

Journal Publications

Book Chapters

  • Kristen R. Walcott-Justice (2014). “Exploiting Hardware Monitoring in Software Engineering.” In Advances in Computers (Vol 93), Ali R. Hurson and Atif M. Memon, Ed. Academic Press. March 2014.

Presentations

  • Sara Alspaugh, Kristen R. Walcott, Michael Belanich, Gregory M. Kapfhammer, and Mary Lou Soffa. Efficient Time-Aware Prioritization with Knapsack Solvers. Presented at the ASE 2007 Workshop on Empirical Assessment of Software Engineering Languages and Technologies. Atlanta, Georgia, November 5, 2007.
  • Kristen R. Walcott. Dynamic Prediction of Architectural Vulnerability from Microarchitectural State. Master’s Presentation, May 2007.
  • Kristen R. Walcott, Gregory M. Kapfhammer, and Mary Lou Soffa. Time-Aware Test Suite Prioritization. Presented at the International Symposium for Software Testing and Analysis (ISSTA), Portland, Maine, July 2006.
  • Mary Lou Soffa, Kristen Walcott, and Gregory M. Kapfhammer. Exploring Time-Aware Test Suite Prioritization. Presented at Microsoft Research in China, June 2006.
  • Daniel Fiedler, Kristen Walcott, Thomas Richardson, Gregory M. Kapfhammer, Ahmed Amer, and Panos K. Chrysanthis. SETTLE: A Tuple Space Benchmarking and Testing Framework. Presented at the Ninth Jini Community Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, October, 2005.

Technical Reports

  • Armando Fox, David A. Patterson, Richard Ilson, Samuel Joseph, Kristen Walcott-Justice, and Rose Williams Software Engineering Curriculum Technology Transfer: Lessons learned from MOOCs and SPOCs UCB/EECS-2014-17. Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California at Berkeley. March, 2014.
  • Kristen R. Walcott, Greg Humphreys, and Sudhanva Gurumurthi. Dynamic Prediction of Architectural Vulnerability from Microarchitectural State. CS-2007-05. Department of Computer Science, University of Virginia. November 2006.
  • Kristen R. Walcott. Prioritizing Regression Test Suites for Time-Constrained Execution Using a Genetic Algorithm.  CS05-11. Department of Computer Science, Allegheny College, May 2005.
  • Kristen R. Walcott.  Applications and Analysis of Burnside’s Theorem. Department of Mathematics, Allegheny College. May 2005.

Invited Presentations

  • Kristen R. Walcott, Kristin Rozier, and Katie Panciera. Choosing Your Building Blocks. Presented at the Grace Hopper Conference for Women in Computing, Keystone, CO, October 2008.
  • Barbara Ryder and Kristen R. Walcott. Finding a Research Topic. Presented at the CRA-W Graduate Student Cohort, Seattle, WA, March 2008.
  • Diane Litman and Kristen R. Walcott. Finding Academic Year Funding. Presented at the CRA-W Graduate Student Cohort, San Francisco, CA, March 2007.
  • Kristen R. Walcott. Research Opportunities in Computer Science. Presented at Allegheny College, Meadville, PA, February 2007.

Posters

  • Kristen R. Walcott.  Dynamic Prediction of Architectural Vulnerability. Presented at University of Virginia Computer Science Day Celebration, February 2007 and CRA-W Graduate Student Cohort, March 2007.
  • Kristen R. Walcott.  Time-Aware Test Suite Prioritization. Presented at University of Virginia Computer Science Day Celebration, February 2006.

Computer Science 3300: Software Engineering I

  • Textbooks
    • Armando Fox and David Patterson. Engineering Software as a Service: An Agile Approach Using Cloud Computing, Beta Edition. Strawberry Canyon. 2012.
      • When taught: Spring 2013
    • Armando Fox and David Patterson. Engineering Software as a Service: An Agile Approach Using Cloud Computing, 2nd Beta Edition. Strawberry Canyon. 2013.
      • When taught: Spring 2014
    • Armando Fox and David Patterson. Engineering Software as a Service: An Agile Approach Using Cloud Computing, 1st Edition. Strawberry Canyon. 2014.
      • When taught: Spring 2020, (sabbatical Fall 2019), Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014
    • Armando Fox and David Patterson. Engineering Software as a Service: An Agile Approach Using Cloud Computing, 2nd Edition Beta. Strawberry Canyon. 2021.
      • When taught: Fall 2020

Computer Science 4300/5300: Advanced Software Engineering

  • Textbooks
    • Armando Fox and David Patterson. Engineering Software as a Service: An Agile Approach Using Cloud Computing, 2nd Edition Beta. Strawberry Canyon. 2021.
      • When taught: Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Spring 2021

Computer Science 5310: Software Requirements (4310/5310 beginning Spring 2022)

  • Textbooks
    • Karl E. Wiegers. Software Requirements, 2nd Edition. Microsoft Press. 2003.
    • Axel van Lamsweerde. Requirements Engineering: From System Goals to UML Models to Software Specifications. Wiley Publishing. 2011.
    • Ben Rinzler. Telling Stories: A Short Path to Writing Better Software Requirements. Wiley Publishing. 2009. (used Spring 2012 only)
  • When taught: Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Fall 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2012)

Computer Science 5320: Software Design (4320/5320 beginning Spring 2021)

  • Textbooks
    • Carlos E. Otero. Software Engineering Design: Theory and Practice. CRC Press. 2012.
    • David S. Platt. Why Software Sucks… and What You Can Do About It. Addison-Wesley. 2006.
  • When taught: Spring 2013

Computer Science 5340: Software Maintenance (4340/5340 beginning Spring 2021)

  • Textbooks
    • Kshirasager Naik and Priyadarshi Tripathy. Software Testing and Quality Assurance: Theory and Practice. Wiley. 2008.
    • Michael C. Feathers. Working Effectively with Legacy Code. Prentice Hall. 2005.
  • When taught: Spring 2021, (sabbatical Fall 2019), Spring 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2015, Fall 2013

Computer Science 5350: Software Project Management (4350/5350 beginning Fall 2020)

  • Textbooks:
    • Cockburn, Alastair. Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game (2nd Edition)
    • Glen, Paul and Maria McManus. The Geek Leader’s handbook. 2014.
    • de Jong, Jorrit. Dealing with Dysfunction. Brookings Institution, 2016.
  • When taught: Fall 2020, Spring 2019

Computer Science 5371: Software Testing for Mobile and Embedded Systems

  • No textbook. 20-30 publications from ACM and IEEE considered.
  • When taught: Spring 2019, Fall 2017, Spring 2016, Fall 2014, Summer 2013 (as CS5060)

Computer Science 1010: Introduction to Information Technology (UGrad at University of Virginia)

  • Textbook: Lawrence Snyder. Fluency with Information Technology: Skills, Concepts, and Capabilities, 5th Edition.
  • When taught: Fall 2011

Activities

  • Arduino: Unleash Your Inner Inventor, Girls STEM Day, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Fall 2012 and 2013.

Previous Teaching Experience

  • Instructor, Department of Computer Science, University of Virginia: Fall 2011
    • Introduction to Information Technology, CS 1010
  • Teaching Assistant, Department of Computer Science, University of Virginia: Aug 05 – May 06
    • Information Assurance Graduate Seminar, CS 651
    • Introduction to Computing, CS 101
    • Computer Science from Ada and Euclid to Quantum Computing and the World Wide Web, CS 150
  • Teaching Assistant, Department of Computer Science, Allegheny College: Aug 02 – May 05
    • Introduction to Computer Science I, CS 101
    • Introduction to Computer Science II, CS 102