Purdue Global IT391: Advanced Software Development
IT391 covers advanced design and programming concepts — applied across web and mobile contexts — with latitude in which language you implement assignments in. It sits late in the software development track and assumes you can already write working programs without hand-holding.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Purdue Global. This is an unofficial study guide.
Build my IT391 study planWhat makes it hard
The freedom is the trap: choosing your implementation path means nobody hands you starter code, and debugging time is wildly unpredictable against fixed Tuesday deadlines. Students comfortable following tutorials struggle when assignments require designing a solution first, and a program that almost works the night it's due is worth very little.
What you'll cover
- • Advanced program design concepts
- • Object-oriented patterns in practice
- • Web application development
- • Mobile development concepts
- • Debugging and testing strategies
- • Cross-language programming principles
The IT391 study guide
How to study for Purdue Global IT391, step by step.
- 1
Pick your language in week one and stay loyal
IT391 lets you choose your implementation path. Pick the language you're strongest in and resist switching mid-term — the concepts transfer, but tool churn eats the hours the projects need.
- 2
Start coding assignments the day the unit opens
Debugging time is unpredictable, and a program that almost works on Tuesday night scores like a program that doesn't work. Early starts turn mystery bugs from disasters into Tuesday-morning fixes.
- 3
Design before you type
The assignments reward planned solutions — sketch the structure, the data flow, and the pieces before writing code. Tutorial-following habits break down here because nobody hands you the skeleton.
- 4
Build a personal snippet library
Keep working examples of the patterns the course uses — file handling, UI wiring, data structures — in one place. Reusing your own tested code is the difference between a 4-hour and a 10-hour assignment week.
- 5
Test in slices, not at the end
Run the program every time you add a piece. A bug introduced 20 minutes ago is findable; a bug somewhere in 300 new lines on deadline night is not.
- 6
Let Fennie pace the build weeks
Upload the IT391 syllabus and Fennie's Daily Plan front-loads design and coding days ahead of each Tuesday deadline, with quizzes and flashcards built from the actual course concepts so the theory keeps pace with the code. It costs nothing to start.
Start my IT391 plan free
How Fennie helps with IT391
Fennie's Daily Plans front-load IT391's project weeks so design and coding start days before each deadline — the only reliable defense against unpredictable debugging time. Chat through a design approach or a concept that won't click before you burn an evening on it, and use generated quizzes to keep the conceptual material solid while you build.
FAQ
Is IT391 at Purdue Global hard?
It's one of the more demanding courses in the software track because assignments require designing and implementing solutions yourself, in your chosen language. Students who start early and test as they build manage it; deadline-night coders have a rough term.
What language is used in IT391?
The course emphasizes concepts that apply across languages and gives you a choice in implementation. Most students pick whichever language their earlier courses made them strongest in and stick with it all term.
How much programming experience do I need for IT391?
You should be able to write, run, and debug complete programs independently before starting. IT391 builds on earlier development courses and does not reteach fundamentals — gaps there make every weekly project longer.
Pass IT391 with a plan, not a cram
Upload your IT391 materials and Fennie generates a Daily Plan paced to your deadline — plus chat, flashcards, and quizzes built from the actual course content.
Get started freeMore Purdue Global courses
IT190 — Information Technology Concepts
IT190 is the entry point for Purdue Global's IT degrees, surveying hardware, software, operating systems, networking, databases, and security at an introductory level. It runs over the standard 10-week term with a unit of work due every week, and it sets the vocabulary every later IT course assumes.
IT273 — Networking Concepts
IT273 is Purdue Global's core networking course, covering the OSI and TCP/IP models, IP addressing and subnetting, network hardware, and basic network troubleshooting. It sits early in the IT and cybersecurity tracks and roughly tracks CompTIA Network+ territory.
IT331 — Technology Infrastructure
IT331 is an upper-division course on designing and evaluating technology infrastructure — networks, servers, cloud services, and the planning that ties them to business requirements. It typically culminates in a multi-part infrastructure design project that builds across the term.
IT332 — Principles of Information Systems Architecture
IT332 is an upper-division course on how the pieces of an information system fit together — hardware, operating systems, networks, and applications viewed as one architecture rather than separate topics. It leans on diagramming and design assignments that ask you to specify a complete system for a scenario organization.