A computerized support tool for conducting a scrum-based software engineering capstone course

• Autores: Viljan Mahnič, Anže Časar
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 32, no. 1 (Parte A), 2016, págs. 278-293
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • A software engineering capstone course is often used for the introduction of agile methods like Scrum. Apart fromexposing students to state-of-the-art topics, the capstone course also enables teachers to use modern ways of teachingthrough practical problem solving and gives researchers opportunities to conduct empirical studies with students assubjects. In order to satisfy the needs of all parties involved, a good computerized support tool is needed. The students needsuch a tool to manage their projects, the teachers require instruments for maintaining project requirements and monitoringstudent progress, while the researchers are interested in data for evidence-driven assessment of the development process. Inthis paper, an example of such a tool that was developed to support a Scrum-based software engineering capstone course isdescribed. The course design, which requires students to develop a quasi-real project, is described first. Following this, astep-by-step description of the course execution is provided and the tool support of each step is illustrated. Finally, theopinions of 57 students obtained through an anonymous survey after using the tool for the first time are analyzed. Thestudents found the tool intuitive and easy to use, providing good visualization of the project progress and making theexecution of their projects simpler and more efficient. The tool gives directions on how their collaboration should proceedand prevents them from exploring their projects blindly. By visualizing the development process, it helps all partiesinvolved to know what each team member is doing, thus preventing procrastination and ‘‘free-rider’’ syndrome.