A Systematic Review of the Use of Agile Methodologies in Education to Foster Sustainability Competencies

Life-long learning and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the current fast-evolving and ever-changing society requires modern pedagogical tools and methodologies that help the transmission of key competencies such as coping with uncertainty, adaptability, creativity, dialog, respect, self-confidence, emotional intelligence, responsibility and systemic thinking. The recent trend of the application of Agile methodologies for the management of projects in different fields can be a valuable tool to convey these competencies due to the participative, collaborative and constructionist principles in which they are deeply rooted. Some experiences of the application of Agile Methodologies in education—originating what is known as Agile Education—are, therefore, starting to appear in the literature. This work carries out a systematic review to analyze how this modern pedagogical tool is being used to foster key sustainable development competencies in the field of education. Results are presented for 11 out of 121 analyzed studies which present a direct link between key ESD competencies and Agile Education. It is shown that Agile Education creates a learning environment favorable for the creation of responsible and sustainable citizens while improving the performance, satisfaction and motivation of both faculty and students

Use of an agile bridge in the development of assistive technology

Engaging with end users in the development of assistive technologies remains one of the major challenges for researchers and developers in the field of accessibility and HCI. Developing usable software systems for people with complex disabilities is problematic, software developers are wary of using user-centred design, one of the main methods by which usability can be improved, due to concerns about how best to work with adults with complex disabilities, in particular Severe Speech and Physical Impairments (SSPI) and how to involve them in research. This paper reports on how the adoption of an adapted agile approach involving the incorporation of a user advocate on the research team helped in meeting this challenge in one software project and offers suggestions for how this could be used by other development teams

Learning in an Agile Setting: A Multilevel Study on the Evolution of Organizational Routines

Recognizing a serious lack of research on routinized individual actions and organizational adaptation in the stability-change paradox, we intend to provide an in-depth explanation of the way in which agile methods affect organizational learning in self-managed, team-based organizations, taking a multi-level evolutionary approach. We explore learning in agile organizations by breaking the analysis of organizational routines down into different levels \u2013 individual, team and organization \u2013 and describing the process of variation, selection and retention of routines at each level. Leveraging on multiple case studies, we discuss how team members learn and gain knowledge, from both direct and indirect experience, and analyze how teams develop conceptual frameworks and interpret those experiences. Finally, we discuss how organizational memory develops and how teams in agile organizations adapt simultaneously within an ecological structure that also comprises the changing environment. Our findings reveal substantial flaws in the capacity of agile methods to foster organizational learning

Agile Teaching and Learning in Information Systems Education: An Analysis and Categorization of Literature

In this paper, we analyze and categorize research related to Agile teaching and learning in Information Systems education using an existing conceptual framework. To this end, a systematic literature review beginning with 642 papers led to the identification of 30 relevant papers written in English and published through 2018 in academic IS outlets. Our analysis reveals three ways in which Information Systems educators incorporate Agile into their courses: 1) using Agile as a pedagogical approach to teach non-Agile content, 2) using Agile as a pedagogical approach to teach Agile content, and 3) using non-Agile pedagogical approaches to teach Agile content. The majority of relevant papers were published between 2016 and 2018. We present an analysis of the three instructional approaches to serve as a resource for interested individuals and recommend directions for future studies related to Agile teaching and learning in IS education

SELF ORGANISING AGILE TEAM FRAMEWORK (SOATf) CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS FOR ORGANISATIONS IN TURKEY

Self-organising agile teams are considered to be the driving factor in improving organizational performance in the IT and service-related industries. Recent academic research has shown a dramatic increase in interest and understanding of how teamwork principles, internal communication, and the confidence in project outcomes could be supportive in developing strategies for self-organization as an alternative to a hierarchical management approach. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the impact of cultural issues and related behavioural aspects on the ways international self-organised teams are performing. In reflecting on this problem, this paper provides a foundational framework for self-organising team work classification and the cultural implications of this to organisations in Turkey

A Semester Long Classroom Course Mimicking a Software Company and a New Hire Experience for Computer Science Students Preparing to Enter the Software Industry

Students in a Computer Science degree programs must learn to code before they can be taught Software Engineering skills. This core skill set is how to program and consists of the constructs of various languages, how to create short programs or applications, independent assignments, and arrive at solutions that utilize the skills being covered in the language for that course (Chatley & Field, 2017). As an upperclassman, students will often be allowed to apply these skills in newer ways and have the opportunity to work on longer, more involved assignments although frequently still independent or in small groups of two to three students. Once these students graduate and enter the software industry they will find that most companies follow specific development methodologies from one of the many forms of Agile through Waterfall. All while working in large groups or teams where each developer is responsible for specific pieces of the functionality, participating in design meetings and code reviews, as well as using code versioning systems, such as git, a program management system, such as Jira, all in a very collaborative environment. This study will develop a course that will allow students to apply these skills in a more realistic setting while remaining on-campus and monitoring the students’ beliefs on their preparedness for the world outside of the computer science building

Development project at Swegon Ilto Oy for the production of sheet metal parts using the Scrum reference framework

Abstract. At the end of 2022, we investigated the possibility of manufacturing sheet metal products for our own production at the Kaarina factory in Swegon ILTO Oy. The goal was to design a unit that, when completed in 2–3 years, would be at the forefront of development, both in terms of machines and equipment, and their control. All sheet metal parts are currently procured as subcontracts, and some are transported to the factory even at long distances. The goal was to create a preliminary plan for future production units together with industry players. In this project, you were allowed to dream about the possibilities of future technology; however, the selected technologies will be in use in the next few years. The project was implemented with selected partners. The idea was developed to such an extent that budget offers could be requested from partners, and thus, completed results can be used as a basis for an investment decision. In this research, I aimed to investigate the suitability of agile project management for the implementation of this industrial production development project as a case study. To manage the project, I used the Scrum framework to make a large development project easier to manage when we start with the basics and progress in sprints to an increasingly advanced entity. First, we learned about agile project management in general. During the project, the research focused on determining the benefits and challenges of using Scrum in this hardware project. The project progressed as planned and was completed on schedule. With the help of the Scrum framework, we were able to combine the knowledge of the company and expertise of our partners into clear conclusions. In particular, daily meetings steered the project forward efficiently and in the correct direction. Agile project management improved the flow of information and transfer of knowledge from an experienced person to a team member who joined the company. The month-long sprints divided and organized the project in such a way that there was no idle time or unnecessary work phases during the project. These research results were achieved in our own operating environment in one project; therefore, I cannot generalize them. However, the results were so interesting that we decided to continue Scrum use in the future. Encouraged by this, the Scrum reference framework can be applied to the development of a product development project model in the future.Kehitysprojekti Swegon Ilto Oy:llä tulevaisuuden ohutlevyosien valmistukseen Scrum viitekehystä hyödyntämällä . Tiivistelmä. Loppuvuoden 2022 aikana olemme selvittäneet mahdollisuuksia valmistaa ohutlevytuotteita omassa tuotannossamme nykyisellä Swegon Ilto Oy:n Kaarinan tehtaalla. Tavoitteena on suunnitella yksikkö, joka valmistuessaan 2–3 vuoden kuluttua olisi kehityksen kärjessä sekä koneiden ja laitteiden että niiden ohjauksen osalta. Kaikki ohutlevyosat hankitaan tällä hetkellä alihankintana ja osa niistä kuljetetaan tehtaalle pitkienkin matkojen takaa. Tavoitteena on luoda tulevalle tuotantoyksikölle alustava suunnitelma yhdessä alan toimijoiden kanssa. Tässä projektissa oli lupa unelmoida tulevaisuuden tekniikan mahdollisuuksista, kuitenkin niin, että valitut tekniikat olisivat käytössä lähivuosina. Projekti toteutetaan yhdessä valittujen yhteistyökumppanien kanssa. Ideaa kehitetään niin pitkälle, että yhteistyökumppaneilta voidaan pyytää budjettitarjouksia ja näin valmiita töitä voidaan käyttää investointipäätöksen perustana. Tässä tutkimuksessa pyrin selvittämään ketterän projektinhallinnan soveltuvuutta tämän teollisen tuotannon kehittämisprojektin toteuttamiseen tapaustutkimuksena. Projektin johtamisessa käytin Scrum viitekehystä suuren kehitysprojektin hallinnan helpottamiseksi, kun aloitetaan perusasioista ja edetään sprinteissä yhä edistyneempään kokonaisuuteen. Aluksi tutustuimme ketterään projektijohtamiseen yleisesti. Projektin aikana tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli löytää etuja ja haasteita Scrum viitekehyksen käytöstä tässä projektissa. Projekti eteni suunnitellusti ja valmistui aikataulussa. Scrum-viitekehyksen avulla kykenimme yhdistämään yrityksessä olevan tiedon ja yhteistyökumppaneiden osaamisen selkeiksi johtopäätöksiksi. Erityisesti päivittäispalaverit ohjasivat projektia tehokkaasti eteenpäin ja oikeaan suuntaan. Ketterä projektinhallinta paransi tiedon kulkua ja osaamisen siirtämistä kokeneelta henkilöltä vasta yritykseen tulleelle tiimiläiselle. Kuukauden mittaiset sprintit jaksottivat ja ryhdistivät projektia niin, että projektin ajalle ei tullut tyhjäkäyntiä, eikä turhia työvaiheita. Nämä tutkimustulokset saavutettiin omassa toimintaympäristössämme yhdessä projektissa, joten en voi yleistää niitä. Tulokset olivat kuitenkin niin mielenkiintoisia, että olemme päättäneet jatkaa Scrumin käyttöä myös jatkossa. Tämän kannustamana Scrum-viitekehystä tullaan soveltamaan jatkossa tuotekehitysprojektimallin kehittämiseen