1,810 research outputs found
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 universityâs 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, âDo you think that if this game was part of your Project Management module, would you get a better understanding about Scrum?â 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
Beyond Surveys: Analyzing Software Development Artifacts to Assess Teaching Efforts
This Innovative Practice Full Paper presents an approach of using software
development artifacts to gauge student behavior and the effectiveness of
changes to curriculum design. There is an ongoing need to adapt university
courses to changing requirements and shifts in industry. As an educator it is
therefore vital to have access to methods, with which to ascertain the effects
of curriculum design changes. In this paper, we present our approach of
analyzing software repositories in order to gauge student behavior during
project work. We evaluate this approach in a case study of a university
undergraduate software development course teaching agile development
methodologies. Surveys revealed positive attitudes towards the course and the
change of employed development methodology from Scrum to Kanban. However,
surveys were not usable to ascertain the degree to which students had adapted
their workflows and whether they had done so in accordance with course goals.
Therefore, we analyzed students' software repository data, which represents
information that can be collected by educators to reveal insights into learning
successes and detailed student behavior. We analyze the software repositories
created during the last five courses, and evaluate differences in workflows
between Kanban and Scrum usage
Origami: An Active Learning Exercise for Scrum Project Management
Scrum is a popular project management model for iterative delivery of software that subscribes to Agile principles. This paper describes an origami active learning exercise to teach the principles of Scrum in management information systems courses. The exercise shows students how Agile methods respond to changes in requirements during project implementation, one of the four Agile principles, in a deeper manner than many Agile active learning exercises. This learning activity uses an uncommon approach in Agile exercises in that tasks are provided, estimates made, progress is measured, and pivots to new tasks can be introduced based on task progress. All students were introduced to Scrum through two different lessons â one lecture-focused and one activity-focused. Students were surveyed after each lesson to determine lesson effectiveness. Students indicated they understood Agile concepts after completing the exercise and found the activity engaging. Studentsâ perceptions of Agile were similar for both lecture and activity lessons. The results from the study find that studentsâ perception of Agile learning increased when they had the lecture followed by the activity. If class time is constrained to a single lesson then the activity would be more beneficial than the lecture. Detailed instructions are provided for instructors to complete this activity
Agile software development approach for \u27ad-hoc\u27 IT projects
Restrictive Scrum assumptions make the effectiveness of this approach debatable in projects deviating from typical execution conditions. This article delivers a comprehensive software development approach for both academic and commercial Information Technology (IT) projects effectuated by teams that are hampered by significantly unsystematic participation of project members and mercurial internal communication. The nature of âad-hocâ projects imposes another level of difficulty in terms of both managing the conduct of such a project and ensuring the quality of the end product. Multicyclic action research enabled a gradual adaptation of the Scrum approach to support such project conditions. This study introduces major alterations to Sprint implementation and minor enhancements within the documentation process to streamline knowledge sharing among Development Team members. Proposed key alterations include the evolution of Daily Scrum towards Weekly Scrum, the possibility of extending Sprints length, the eventuality to switch team members during Sprint due to substantial failure to meet deadlines, having at least two team members responsible for a single Product Backlog Item (PBI) at all times, as well as exclusion of Burndown Chart in favor for Development Team members updating their working time. Positive validation of enhancements in mixed settings confirms that the generic Scrum framework can be adapted to support highly volatile projects. The proposed approach is suitable not only for carrying out software development initiatives that rely heavily on the skills of external experts and/or volunteers. It also supports traditional Scrum teams that seek to reduce their exposure to risk arising from organizational changes
Supervision of master theses based on scrum: a case study
The success rate of a master program on Information Systems and Computer Engineering (MEIC) in a Portuguese university is very unsatisfactory, showing that less
than half of the students complete the assigned work in their first term. However, the
success rate of a group of students that were supervised based on the Scrum framework
was much higher. So, in this study we assess the current situation and identify the
benefits of using Scrum to manage masterâs theses. Evidence suggests that this
approach increases the number of students successfully completing their projects. So,
this paper discusses the issues at stake and reports on a qualitative study with focus on
the actual practices and benefits reported by students in the master program. We found
that some methods in the Scrum framework can address existing problems in the
development of theses with very positive results.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Evaluation of team dynamic in Norwegian projects for IT students
The need for teaching realistic software development in project courses has
increased in a global scale. It has always been challenges in cooperating
fast-changing software technologies, development methodologies and teamwork.
Moreover, such project courses need to be designed in the connection to
existing theoretical courses. We performed a large-scale research on student
performance in Software Engineering projects in Norwegian universities. This
paper investigates four aspects of team dynamics, which are team reflection,
leadership, decision making and task assignment in order to improve student
learning. Data was collected from student projects in 4 years at two
universities. We found that some leader's characteristics are perceived
differently for female and male leaders, including the perception of leaders as
skilful workers or visionaries. Leadership is still a challenging aspect to
teach, and assigned leadership is probably not the best way to learn. Students
is are performing well in task review, however, needs support while performing
task assignment. The result also suggests that task management to be done in
more fine-grained levels. It is also important to maintain an open and active
discussion to facilitate effective group decision makings
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 educationâoriginating what is known as Agile Educationâare, 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
Fostering Cooperative Learning with Scrum in a Semi-Capstone Systems Analysis and Design Course
Agile methods such as Scrum that emphasize technical, communication, and teamwork skills have been practiced by IT professionals to effectively deliver software products of good quality. The same methods combined with pedagogies of engagement can potentially be used in the setting of higher education to promote effective group learning in software development classrooms. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to integrate both Scrum and cooperative learning guidelines into a systems analysis and design classroom to promote the skills of teamwork, communication, and problem-solving while learning systems analysis and design methods. This integration was implemented in a sophomore, semi-capstone design course where students were engaged in collaborative classroom activities. Two different approaches â overlapped approach and delayed approach â were used in two different semesters for this implementation. Based on the analysis of student performance in the course, student reflections on their team performance, and student overall perceptions of the teaching approach, this study suggests that the integration of cooperative learning and Scrum serves as guidance for students to effectively analyze and design software solutions, as well as to reflect on their team performance and learning process. In addition, a delayed approach for Scrum implementation appears to effectively support student learning by providing better and earlier feedback
Management of an ICT project in the public sector implementing a new system
The Master's Thesis (TFM) deals with the management of implementation projects in the public sector through the collaboration between NTT Data, the company where the internship was carried out, and the Centre of Telecommunications and Information Technologies of Catalonia (CTTI). The study focuses on a specific project for the Department A of the Generalitat de Catalunya and explores the integration of management methodologies, such as NTT Data's COM and CTTI's Agile approach, to improve efficiency and quality in project execution. The TFM provides a detailed overview of the project phases, from pre-documentation to implementation, highlighting the importance of project management in the public sector and the need to ensure the efficient use of public resources. It describes the methodologies used, such as SCRUM and functional testing, and emphasizes collaboration with end users to ensure that the final product meets their expectations. The paper also highlights the relevance of user acceptance testing (UAT) and customer feedback meetings to continuously refine and improve the project. Furthermore, it details the importance of documentation, such as user manuals and workflows, to facilitate the understanding and effective use of the developed application
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