Scrum Game: An Agile Software Management Game

For the past few years, in their attempt to avoid the heavyweight bureaucracy of traditional project management methods such as the Waterfall model, companies have started incorporating agile methods (e.g. Extreme Programming, Scrum, Crystal) for their project development. These methods are characterised by their incremental and iterative delivery, their ability to incorporate change at any stage of the project lifecycle, as well as their small and co-located teams. Even though these methods are included in the syllabus of many software engineering modules at university level, many students currently feel more confident with traditional, rather than agile methods. Many employers find that recent graduates are not equipped with the desired skills of a software engineer because, even though they are knowledgeable in the different software engineering practices, they lack practical experience of these methods. The combination of these two factors show that the university’s approach to teaching software management methods is only theoretical and it does not give students the opportunity to apply them to their projects so they can get a better understanding of their use. The project developed the prototype of a computer game that simulates the use of the Scrum method within different projects, named Scrum Game. The game is supplementary material for a lecture course, and its purpose is to guide students through the Scrum lifecycle. Students can thereby get a small glimpse of the different phases of Scrum, the way that the different Scrum roles interact with each other, and the way that Scrum is used to implement real projects. In addition, the Scrum Game has an administrator mode enabling lecturers to view a log of the progress of all their students in the game. They can use this mode to create new projects or to alter existing ones by adding new tasks or problems, thereby adjusting the level of difficulty to the level of their students, or so that it fits their teaching. The web-based system was developed using PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX (jQuery) and Google Charts API. The system was thoroughly tested against the initial requirements and other system tests. The Scrum Game was evaluated by 22 peer colleagues reading for an MSc in Software Engineering at the University of Southampton, to identify whether the system achieved its goal of introducing students to the Scrum methodology and reaching a deeper understanding of its practical use during project implementation. The results of a questionnaire showed that little prior knowledge was assumed during the game, and that 86% of the participants felt that the game helped them learn more about Scrum. When asked, “Do you think that if this game was part of your Project Management module, would you get a better understanding about Scrum?” an impressive 95% (21 out of 22 participants) agreed that the game would be helpful, and rated the system 8 out of 10 on average

FROM TECHNICAL RESOLUTION TO AGILE EVOLUTION: A BLENDED ROLE AT HUMANE INTERFACE DESIGN ENTERPRISE (HIDE)

This report provides a comprehensive overview of my journey through two distinct roles at the Humane Interface Design Enterprise (HIDE) - as a Technical Consultant in Spring 2023 and an Agile Process Analyst in Fall 2023. My tenure as a Technical Consultant was marked by the application of academic knowledge and technical skills to tackle real-world challenges at HIDE, leveraging experiences from my capstone projects and my roles in the industry as an IT Analyst Intern at Milwaukee Tool and a Data Engineer at UST. This role at HIDE enhanced my problem-solving skills and contributed to the progress of the project teams. Transitioning into the Agile Process Analyst role in Fall 2023 signaled a shift to a more observational and analytical approach within HIDE\u27s software development processes, informed by my background in operational efficiency through technology at Milwaukee Tool. My engagement with HIDE was influenced by my interest in Software Development Engineering and Processes, particularly in system design and integration, process automation, and operational analysis. These areas, enriched by my industry experiences emphasizing Agile principles, and DevOps strategies, have steered my professional journey. The aim of this report is to articulate the evolution of my goals during my time at HIDE and highlight the skills I developed throughout this journey. It reflects on my contributions to HIDE\u27s projects, underscoring the knowledge, and impactful experiences that have propelled my growth as a technical professional

Proceedings of International Workshop "Global Computing: Programming Environments, Languages, Security and Analysis of Systems"

According to the IST/ FET proactive initiative on GLOBAL COMPUTING, the goal is to obtain techniques (models, frameworks, methods, algorithms) for constructing systems that are flexible, dependable, secure, robust and efficient. The dominant concerns are not those of representing and manipulating data efficiently but rather those of handling the co-ordination and interaction, security, reliability, robustness, failure modes, and control of risk of the entities in the system and the overall design, description and performance of the system itself. Completely different paradigms of computer science may have to be developed to tackle these issues effectively. The research should concentrate on systems having the following characteristics: • The systems are composed of autonomous computational entities where activity is not centrally controlled, either because global control is impossible or impractical, or because the entities are created or controlled by different owners. • The computational entities are mobile, due to the movement of the physical platforms or by movement of the entity from one platform to another. • The configuration varies over time. For instance, the system is open to the introduction of new computational entities and likewise their deletion. The behaviour of the entities may vary over time. • The systems operate with incomplete information about the environment. For instance, information becomes rapidly out of date and mobility requires information about the environment to be discovered. The ultimate goal of the research action is to provide a solid scientific foundation for the design of such systems, and to lay the groundwork for achieving effective principles for building and analysing such systems. This workshop covers the aspects related to languages and programming environments as well as analysis of systems and resources involving 9 projects (AGILE , DART, DEGAS , MIKADO, MRG, MYTHS, PEPITO, PROFUNDIS, SECURE) out of the 13 founded under the initiative. After an year from the start of the projects, the goal of the workshop is to fix the state of the art on the topics covered by the two clusters related to programming environments and analysis of systems as well as to devise strategies and new ideas to profitably continue the research effort towards the overall objective of the initiative. We acknowledge the Dipartimento di Informatica and Tlc of the University of Trento, the Comune di Rovereto, the project DEGAS for partially funding the event and the Events and Meetings Office of the University of Trento for the valuable collaboration

Interactive Web Portal Application for Ambalta School for Children with Autism

Abalta is a school, based in Galway, designed to educate children who suffer from autism. The school was borne out of the identified need for children with autism to get a specific focused education. In July, 2001, four sets of parents came together, using their own personal funds, to establish the school and had it up and running by September, 2001. It took months of hard work, political negotiating, and lobbying, culminating with a high court case to attain funding from the state. In today\u27s Internet-oriented world, a web application is essential for businesses, organiiations and individuals to optimiie their impact on the world: to reach more people, be more efficient, learn more and achieve their goals. As Abalta School is ever expanding, there is an extensive need for a web portal for the school. A web portal will provide the school with a means of sharing information on autism and answering questions that people may have. Currently, when a person requires information, they contact the school and the school principle is the person who answers questions. The principle can spend at any one time, up to an hour answering questions on the telephone, sending brochures to people and explaining the methodologies used by the school. Having a web portal would enable the staff and employees of Abalta to save time and effort by directing people to the web portal where questions can be answered and sought-after information can be found