The effects of task type on the patterns of communication behaviors among global software student teams

A key factor in the success of global software development learning teams is the communication that occurs among the group. Various task characteristics, however, may affect the both the quality and quantity of the group communication. This study investigates the effects of task type on the communication behaviors of student teams engaged in a software development project. Two groups of teams completed assignments that varied in degree of task type and product. Content analysis was used to identify distinct patterns of interactions and examine how these patterns were associated with task type. Results indicate that differences in task context and product do not have large effects on the communication behaviors of global software teams. These findings will provide a basis for creating instruction that can help maximize successful communication among global software learning teams

Evaluating pedagogical practices supporting collaborative learning for model-based system development courses

Model-based software development (MBSD) has been widely used in industry for its effectiveness of code generation, code reuse and system evolution. At different stages of the software lifecycle, models -- as opposed to actual code -- are used as abstractions to present software development artifacts. In a university software engineering curriculum, compared to other concrete and tangible courses, e.g., game and app development, these levels of abstraction are often difficult for students to understand, and further, to see models' usefulness in practice. This paper presents an evaluation of pedagogical practices supporting collaborative learning for MBSD courses from experiences of teaching them at University of Oslo. The focus is to answer two research questions: 1) What are the challenges and possibilities when using a collaborative learning approach for teaching modelling and architecture? 2) What are the challenges and benefits of having a holistic approach to MBSD courses in light of the requirements of academia and the needs of industry? The term “holistic” is understood 1) as an approach that involves human factors (users), technology and processes, 2) as an approach to teaching MBSD courses where modelling for Enterprise Architecture is taught together with System Architecture and Model-Driven Language Engineering. Empirical data was collected through interviews, questionnaires, and document analysis. The paper’s research results show that three different course perspectives (Modeling for Enterprise Architecture with Business Architecture, System Architecture and Model Driven Language Engineering) are essential parts of teaching modeling courses, and an industry field study shows that industry sees the potential of having junior architects to provide support to a team and solving basic architectural problems

Interdisciplinaridade na Engenharia de Software

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in the filed of software engineering. We present the concepts involved and illustrate them with two practical examples related to distributed software development and software process improvement programs.Keywords: Software Engineering, multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity.O objetivo deste artigo é discutir a importância de pesquisas multidisciplinar, interdisciplinar e transdisciplinar na Engenharia de Software. São apresentados os diversos conceitos envolvidos, ilustrados com dois exemplos práticos relacionados ao desenvolvimento distribuído de software e programas de melhoria de processo de software.Palavras-chave: Engenharia de Software, multidisciplinaridade, interdisciplinaridade, transdisciplinaridade

The effect of programming competency on success in undergraduate team projects in computing science

PhD ThesisAs part of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Project, Active Learning in Computing (CETL ALiC) Newcastle University, in partnership with Durham University, developed a Cross-Site Software Development Activity in their Stage 2 Software Engineering modules (FHEQ level 5) and both universities carried out this activity during the academic years 2005/06 to 2008/09. This initiative involved ‘Companies’ of Newcastle and Durham students working in partnership to develop a software solution together throughout the academic year. This initiative was risky because assessment and marking of deliverables for the project was conducted between staff at both sites. Each module had differing assessment weightings, learning outcomes and taught content. Therefore it was imperative that CETL ALiC staff kept a close eye on assessment outcomes during the project to ensure that no students were disadvantaged by the Cross-Site work. This thesis outlines an initial review of assessment carried out at Newcastle University, the findings of which led to some concerns about fairness in attainment between students on different programmes at Newcastle due to student perceptions about the ‘higher’ value of programming skills and the ‘lower’ value of soft skills. These findings were the motivation for the deeper investigations into the assessment framework used in the Software Engineering Team Project (SETP) at Newcastle University that are presented in this thesis. The investigations show that student perceptions of the value of technical roles in the project teams led to students in non-technical roles being awarded lower peer percentage weightings, which in turn meant they achieved lower overall marks for the module. The thesis introduces remedial work in the form of competency matrices that was carried out in an attempt to address this problem. This remedial work led to the development of the Student Appraisal Method, a 360 degree feedback method of formative assessment that is presented at the end of this thesis. This method of assessment can be generalised for other disciplines and should ensure students become more aware of their own personal competency development in team projects in the future and that they make better ii judgements about the contribution of their teammates, irrespective of whether their role is technical or non-technical during Software Engineering projects

VMAG3D : apoio à compreensão de modelos de sistemas de software utilizando o controle por gestos em um ambiente multiusuário de visualização 3D.

System Modeling has been an indispensable discipline for the better understanding and evolution of these systems. So it has been sought ways to improve the visualization of the data involved in these models and their relationships. These means must offer freedom to explore for users, besides allowing collaboration and communication between users. The use of Virtual Reality techniques promotes an immersion in these models, encouraging the user to visualize data from different angles and in new contexts This dissertation proposes an approach for Model Visualization Assisted by Gestures in 3D, called VMAG 3D, to support the three-dimensional visualization of system models. It is inspired by the VisAr3D approach, a teaching and learning environment that provides the exploration and interaction of UML models with the use of 3D visualization, and aims to support the visualization of computer systems models, using gesture control, favoring a better usability and opening the possibility for a greater accessibility, while encouraging collaboration and communication among users. A prototype based on this approach was developed and a study was done to evaluate its usability, showing positive results in relation to user experienceA Modelagem de Sistemas tem sido uma disciplina indispensável para a melhor compreensão e evolução de sistemas computacionais. Por isso, tem-se buscado formas de melhorar a visualização dos dados envolvidos nesses modelos e seus relacionamentos. Essas formas necessitam oferecer liberdade de exploração aos usuários, além de permitir a colaboração e comunicação entre vários usuários. O uso de técnicas de Realidade Virtual promove uma imersão nesses modelos, incentivando o usuário a visualizar os dados sob diferentes ângulos e em novos contextos. Esta dissertação propõe uma abordagem para Visualização de Modelos de sistemas Assistida por Gestos em 3D, denominada VMAG 3D, para o apoio da visualização tridimensional de modelos de sistemas. Ela é inspirada na abordagem VisAr3D, um ambiente de ensino e aprendizagem para a exploração e interação de modelos UML com o uso de visualização 3D, e visa dar suporte à visualização de modelos de sistemas computacionais, usando o controle por gestos, favorecendo uma melhor usabilidade, além de incentivar a colaboração e comunicação entre os usuários. Um protótipo de ferramenta baseado nesta abordagem foi elaborado e um estudo foi feito para avaliar a sua usabilidade, mostrando resultados positivos em relação à experiência de uso dos participantes

An empirical study of the coordination in a distributed software development team

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-92).As today's software systems become more and more complicated, coordinating the development of such systems has been an important factor to their successful implementation. The need for good coordination is especially important when the development team is geographically distributed and has to rely on information and communication technologies to support its activities. With limited available coordination mechanisms, distributed software teams need to carry out a set of coordination functions effectively throughout the software development process. In addition, in response to the changes in context and task, distributed software teams needed to be adaptive in their coordination. In this study, I try to understand how different coordination methods and tools could serve the changing coordination needs in software development through an empirical study of a distributed software team's practice.by Xusong Xie.S.M

Active learning in computing :using social media to support group work in higher education

PhD ThesisActive Learning in Computing was the first Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning project for Computing Science in England. Facilitating a shift towards far higher levels of active learner engagement in the HE computing curriculum, the project’s primary objectives sought to enhance the student learning experience by placing a far greater emphasis on both industry-relevant group work and independent problem solving. As part of this initiative, Newcastle and Durham University partners extended their traditional team-based software engineering programmes to address the emerging commercial adoption of Global Software Development (a practice whereby virtual teams of distributed domain experts use ICT-mediated systems to work collaboratively across spatial, temporal and organisational boundaries). Running over the course of an entire academic year, participating undergraduate students were placed into “virtual companies” and encouraged to collaborate both locally and cross-site to create a variety of complex software solutions for real-world industrial clients. Supported by considerable investment in ICT infrastructure, this approach sought to generate active interaction between team members and foster the development of both interpersonal and vocational skills significant to the requirements of employers. However, despite the best efforts of the Active Learning in Computing team, students continually reported substantial difficulties interacting and communicating with their peers both locally and cross-site; this in turn led to frequent duplication of work and increased team member frustration and isolation. Motivated by a desire to resolve these important issues, a new stream of research was established at Newcastle University to explore new, innovative and cost-effective ways to generate and maintain student interaction across all aspects of the group programming activity. Based upon the initial results of this work and an investigation into informal team communication strategies, an Internet-based Web 2.0 social application named CommonGround was developed and deployed on the Facebook platform. Conceived of as a means to reduce geographic and temporal barriers to student interaction and community formation, the tool combined project-centric planning facilities with Facebook’s built-in communication affordances. By doing so, the tool helped to foster the generation of social capital and the inclusion of “peripheral” team members who often presented difficulties forming and maintaining offline relationships with their colleagues. Representing the main contribution of this Active Learning in Computing was the first Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning project for Computing Science in England. Facilitating a shift towards far higher levels of active learner engagement in the HE computing curriculum, the project’s primary objectives sought to enhance the student learning experience by placing a far greater emphasis on both industry-relevant group work and independent problem solving. As part of this initiative, Newcastle and Durham University partners extended their traditional team-based software engineering programmes to address the emerging commercial adoption of Global Software Development (a practice whereby virtual teams of distributed domain experts use ICT-mediated systems to work collaboratively across spatial, temporal and organisational boundaries). Running over the course of an entire academic year, participating undergraduate students were placed into “virtual companies” and encouraged to collaborate both locally and cross-site to create a variety of complex software solutions for real-world industrial clients. Supported by considerable investment in ICT infrastructure, this approach sought to generate active interaction between team members and foster the development of both interpersonal and vocational skills significant to the requirements of employers. However, despite the best efforts of the Active Learning in Computing team, students continually reported substantial difficulties interacting and communicating with their peers both locally and cross-site; this in turn led to frequent duplication of work and increased team member frustration and isolation. Motivated by a desire to resolve these important issues, a new stream of research was established at Newcastle University to explore new, innovative and cost-effective ways to generate and maintain student interaction across all aspects of the group programming activity. Based upon the initial results of this work and an investigation into informal team communication strategies, an Internet-based Web 2.0 social application named CommonGround was developed and deployed on the Facebook platform. Conceived of as a means to reduce geographic and temporal barriers to student interaction and community formation, the tool combined project-centric planning facilities with Facebook’s built-in communication affordances. By doing so, the tool helped to foster the generation of social capital and the inclusion of “peripheral” team members who often presented difficulties forming and maintaining offline relationships with their colleagues. Representing the main contribution of this Active Learning in Computing was the first Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning project for Computing Science in England. Facilitating a shift towards far higher levels of active learner engagement in the HE computing curriculum, the project’s primary objectives sought to enhance the student learning experience by placing a far greater emphasis on both industry-relevant group work and independent problem solving. As part of this initiative, Newcastle and Durham University partners extended their traditional team-based software engineering programmes to address the emerging commercial adoption of Global Software Development (a practice whereby virtual teams of distributed domain experts use ICT-mediated systems to work collaboratively across spatial, temporal and organisational boundaries). Running over the course of an entire academic year, participating undergraduate students were placed into “virtual companies” and encouraged to collaborate both locally and cross-site to create a variety of complex software solutions for real-world industrial clients. Supported by considerable investment in ICT infrastructure, this approach sought to generate active interaction between team members and foster the development of both interpersonal and vocational skills significant to the requirements of employers. However, despite the best efforts of the Active Learning in Computing team, students continually reported substantial difficulties interacting and communicating with their peers both locally and cross-site; this in turn led to frequent duplication of work and increased team member frustration and isolation. Motivated by a desire to resolve these important issues, a new stream of research was established at Newcastle University to explore new, innovative and cost-effective ways to generate and maintain student interaction across all aspects of the group programming activity. Based upon the initial results of this work and an investigation into informal team communication strategies, an Internet-based Web 2.0 social application named CommonGround was developed and deployed on the Facebook platform. Conceived of as a means to reduce geographic and temporal barriers to student interaction and community formation, the tool combined project-centric planning facilities with Facebook’s built-in communication affordances. By doing so, the tool helped to foster the generation of social capital and the inclusion of “peripheral” team members who often presented difficulties forming and maintaining offline relationships with their colleagues. Representing the main contribution of this study, the results from a successful two-year trial of CommonGround are analysed and discussed along with an investigation into the tool’s evolution and overall impact on student/team performance.Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), School of Computing Science at Newcastle Universit