Agile communicators: Preparing students for communication-intensive software development through inquiry, critique and reflection

Michigan Technological University, Houghton MI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will address a significant, important, and largely overlooked need in the education of future software professionals: thorough, sustained instruction in the communication skills required for real software development. The quality of team communication is widely acknowledged to be a key factor in the success or failure of software projects. The fast pace and constant change of today's software workplace demand an Agile approach, i.e., drive by constant team and customer communication. This project will develop an undergraduate curriculum for computer science and software engineering programs that promotes Agile communication through exercises in inquiry, critique and reflection, all grounded in authentic software development settings. The goal of the project is to strengthen the Agile communication characteristics of proactivity, flexibility, and creativity among computer science and software engineering students. Communication-intensive activities are woven through introductory courses in a variety of ways. The well-established Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) framework will provide a structured approach to inquiry. Automated feedback on test coverage, programming style and code documentation will be provided through WebTA, a tool that supplements instructor feedback with continual critique of code and documentation. A program of guided inquiry through case studies of software communication prepares students for their team software activities, and a series of reflective exercises will lead them to focus on their own team communication practices.