The course Analysis and Design of Algorithms (ADA) is the natural continuation of the programming subjects taken during the first and second years, as well as a direct complement to the Data Structures course. In this regard, ADA helps students consolidate their previous programming knowledge and progress from the mere construction of programs towards the systematic study of the efficiency, correctness, and suitability of algorithmic solutions.

This course represents students' first formal introduction to algorithmics, one of the fundamental pillars of computer science. Its importance is reflected in the development of any software application, since implementing a functional solution is not enough: it is also necessary to determine whether that solution is appropriate, efficient, scalable, and computationally sustainable.

Throughout the course, students are introduced to the methodology required to analyse algorithm efficiency, as well as to the main algorithm design techniques and the paradigmatic algorithms associated with each of them. These contents are directly related to competences such as designing solutions to computing problems, analysing the suitability and complexity of proposed algorithms, and building robust, secure, and efficient applications.

For these reasons, the techniques studied in ADA are essential for the effective and efficient development of software. They also provide a crucial foundation for successfully approaching later subjects in the degree, especially those related to advanced software development, artificial intelligence, optimisation, data science and, more generally, any field in which computational problems must be solved rigorously and efficiently.