Scrum2Kanban: Integrating Kanban and Scrum in a University Software Engineering Capstone Course

Using university capstone courses to teach agile software development methodologies has become commonplace, as agile methods have gained support in professional software development. This usually means students are introduced to and work with the currently most popular agile methodology: Scrum. However, as the agile methods employed in the industry change and are adapted to different contexts, university courses must follow suit. A prime example of this is the Kanban method, which has recently gathered attention in the industry. In this paper, we describe a capstone course design, which adds the hands-on learning of the lean principles advocated by Kanban into a capstone project run with Scrum. This both ensures that students are aware of recent process frameworks and ideas as well as gain a more thorough overview of how agile methods can be employed in practice. We describe the details of the course and analyze the participating students' perceptions as well as our observations. We analyze the development artifacts, created by students during the course in respect to the two different development methodologies. We further present a summary of the lessons learned as well as recommendations for future similar courses. The survey conducted at the end of the course revealed an overwhelmingly positive attitude of students towards the integration of Kanban into the course

The Single Leg Bridge Test (SLBT) as a field test to measure hamstring strength in young footballers

Purpose The muscle strength of the hamstrings is often reported as asymmetric in footballers and is associated with the occurrence of muscle injuries. Therefore, discriminating, reproducible and valid screening tests are sought. Methodology The objectives of this study were: to assess the muscle strength profile of the hamstrings with the Single Leg Bridge Test (SLBT) in U17 and U19 football players, to calculate the asymmetry of muscle strength and to classify the results according to 3 performance levels. This cross-sectional study included 37 young footballers, 20 U17 and 17 U19. The SLBT was performed for the left and right leg. History of hamstring muscle injury has been identified up to 2 years prior to SLBT. Results A significant difference was found between the left and right side (P = 0.01), particularly among U17s (P = 0.03). The asymmetry of strength was 23% for the U17s and 17% for the U19s. The performance considered “poor” (21–30 repetitions) was different between U17 and U19 (P < 0.05). No association was found with a history of hamstring muscle injury. Conclusion The SLBT is an adequate field test for the assessment of hamstring strength in order to detect hamstring muscle asymmetry in young footballers. This test requires little equipment, money, and can be performed on multiple players simultaneously. Classification according to performance (number of repetitions) adds practical value in order to develop individual muscle building programs based on the calculated asymmetry in the young footballers

A Gamified Proposal for Software Risk Analysis in Agile Methodologies

In the conventional software development environment, risks are generally managed through a risk management framework; however, application of risk management in agile projects is limited despite its elaborate discussions in the board rooms among professionals. Moreover, risk mitigation used to monitor a project continuously through effective communication is limited. Risk management is critical for achieving success in software projects. It is an improvement process implemented through the institutionalization of best practices among software development teams. Such institutionalization assists in reducing costs, achieving higher levels of client satisfaction, increasing productivity, and reducing project failure. All of the above, it s necessary define risk management techniques for minimize the effort and guaranteeing the respect of the agile manifesto. Using the risk analysis, reviewing techniques to be adopted by the agile teams and incorporating improvement strategies such as the gamification could be an alternative method to obtain a risk analysis proposal for agile environments. This proposal aims to develop a strategy for analyzing the project risks by a software development team, incorporating agile methodologies, and applying gamification elements for motivating team members to reduce the time for completing the risk management cycle. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

Microalgal Biorefinery for Bulk and High-Value Products: Product Extraction Within Cell Disintegration

Microalgae are a promising source for proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates for the cosmetic, nutraceutical, chemical, food/feed, and biofuel industry. In comparison with soy and palm oil, microalgae can be produced in a more sustainable way. To make microalgae production economically feasible, all biomass ingredients need to be efficiently utilized, similar to petroleum refineries in which oil is fractionated in fuels and a variety of products with higher value. However severe conditions can affect the properties of some components in the biomass. To overcome this, focus needs to be put on biorefinery techniques which are mild and effective. Microalgal biorefinery is a linear process consisting of harvesting, cell disintegration, sequential extraction, and further fractionation. Among these steps, the cell disintegration often represents a bottleneck for the extraction of hydrophilic or hydrophobic components, due to the presence of a tough cell wall in many strains. State of the art knowledge on both novel and classical techniques for product extraction within cell disintegration is presented. Comparison is made on the basis of two main criteria: yield of disintegration and energy consumption. The current work gives also a comprehensive outlook on business cases for microalgae biorefinery

Microalgal biorefinery for bulk and high-value products : Product extraction within cell disintegration

Microalgae are a promising source for proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates for the cosmetic, nutraceutical, chemical, food/feed, and biofuel industry. In comparison with soy and palm oil, microalgae can be produced in a more sustainable way. To make microalgae production economically feasible, all biomass ingredients need to be efficiently utilized, similar to petroleum refineries in which oil is fractionated in fuels and a variety of products with higher value. However severe conditions can affect the properties of some components in the biomass. To overcome this, focus needs to be put on biorefinery techniques which are mild and effective. Microalgal biorefinery is a linear process consisting of harvesting, cell disintegration, sequential extraction, and further fractionation. Among these steps, the cell disintegration often represents a bottleneck for the extraction of hydrophilic or hydrophobic components, due to the presence of a tough cell wall in many strains. State of the art knowledge on both novel and classical techniques for product extraction within cell disintegration is presented. Comparison is made on the basis of two main criteria: yield of disintegration and energy consumption. The current work gives also a comprehensive outlook on business cases for microalgae biorefinery