Coping with Uncertainty in an Agile Systems Development Course

Autor/inn/en	Taipalus, Toni; Seppänen, Ville; Pirhonen, Maritta
Titel	Coping with Uncertainty in an Agile Systems Development Course
Quelle	In: Journal of Information Systems Education, 29 (2018) 2, S.117-126 (10 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1055-3096
Schlagwörter	Computer Software; Problem Based Learning; Information Systems; Simulation; Coping; Experiential Learning; Problem Solving; Student Attitudes; Assignments; Teaching Methods; Student Surveys; College Students; Likert Scales; Correlation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Problem-based learning; Problemorientiertes Lernen; Simulation program; Simulationsprogramm; Bewältigung; Experiental learning; Erfahrungsorientiertes Lernen; Problemlösen; Schülerverhalten; Assignment; Auftrag; Zuweisung; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Schülerbefragung; Collegestudent; Likert-Skala; Korrelation
Abstract	Uncertain and ambiguous environments are commonplace in information systems development (ISD) projects, and while different Agile frameworks welcome changes in organizational, technical, and business environments, the incurred uncertainty is known to negatively affect the development process and the quality of the final product. The effects of uncertainty on ISD projects have been studied in the past in real organizational contexts, but the effects of uncertainty on students in Agile systems development have received less attention from scholars. In this study, we measured the effects of experienced uncertainty on students' performance in an Agile systems development course and how uncertainty affected the quality of the system developed by the students using Scrum. We implemented the course using a problem based learning (PBL) approach and simulated uncertainty through various work environment reflecting concepts. Our study reveals that the effects of uncertainty are fairly similar among students and software professionals, and we identified three different coping strategies that students used with varying degrees of success. We present that learning approaches such as PBL enable a befitting environment for students to acquire hands-on experience in coping with uncertain environments, thus mitigating the problems students are likely to face in their work environments. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Journal of Information Systems Education. e-mail: editor@jise.org; Web site: http://www.jise.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01