Challenges (and Opportunities!) of a Remote Agile Software Engineering Project Course During COVID-19
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The study examines the challenges and opportunities that arose during a remote agile software engineering project course at the Hasso Plattner Institute due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies ten challenges experienced by student teams and thirteen positive aspects of remote collaboration, highlighting unexpected benefits such as improved communication and easier organization of team activities. The findings aim to inform future courses on maintaining the advantages of remote learning while addressing the identified challenges.
![2
Case Study Context
An undergraduate Agile software engineering course
“methods, concepts, and technologies that
help successfully deliver large software
products developed by multiple teams. [1]
”
[1]ihttps://hpi.de/plattner/teaching/archive/winter-term-2020-21/
softwaretechnik-ii-agile-software-development-in-large-teams.html
Image: Mortar Board by Catia Marsh Mallow from NounProject.com](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/hicss22-230412132211-57e7c8e0/85/Challenges-and-Opportunities-of-a-Remote-Agile-Software-Engineering-Project-Course-During-COVID-19-2-320.jpg)
![Remote Collab. Challenges
7
■ Encountered challenges of emergency remote teaching
experience mirror previous reports
□ Especially regarding remote lectures [2]
However, we also noticed positives of remote Agile software
engineering education and teamwork that were not anticipated
Perceived challenges and opportunities
[2] Watermeyer, R., Crick, T., Knight, C. et al. COVID-19 and digital disruption in UK universities: afflictions and
affordances of emergency online migration. High Educ 81, 623–641 (2021).
Image: Challenge by LUTFI GANI AL ACHMAD from NounProject.com](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/hicss22-230412132211-57e7c8e0/85/Challenges-and-Opportunities-of-a-Remote-Agile-Software-Engineering-Project-Course-During-COVID-19-7-320.jpg)
![Positives of Remote Collab.
8
■ Results: 13 topic clusters on positives of remote collaboration in
undergraduate SE project course
■ Surprised by aspects of the remote collaboration approach
that were deemed explicitly beneficial
■ Other educators also thought “transforming to online teaching
would be much harder than what they experienced” [3]
Results of comment analysis regarding opportunities
[3] Hjelsvold, R., Nykvist, S., Lorås, M., Bahmani, A., Krokan, A. Educators’ Experiences Online:
How COVID-19 Encouraged Pedagogical Change in CS Education. No. 4 UDIT Norsk konferanse
for utdanning og didaktikk i IT-fagene. (2020)
Image: Positive by Ömer Demirsoy from NounProject.com](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/hicss22-230412132211-57e7c8e0/85/Challenges-and-Opportunities-of-a-Remote-Agile-Software-Engineering-Project-Course-During-COVID-19-8-320.jpg)
![Positives of Remote Collab.
13
Increased Pair Programming
■ Remote course featured more Pair Programming
■ Extensive use of code collaboration tools, e.g. LiveShare
■ Virtual setup does not require physical co-location
in front of a shared computer
■ Both “driver” and “navigator” can use their customized
computing setups, which is more comfortable
Extract of observed positives of a remote agile SE course
[4] VisualStudio Code Liveshare https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/de/services/live-share/
Image: Pair Programming by Creative Stall from NounProject.com](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/hicss22-230412132211-57e7c8e0/85/Challenges-and-Opportunities-of-a-Remote-Agile-Software-Engineering-Project-Course-During-COVID-19-13-320.jpg)
Challenges (and Opportunities!) of a Remote Agile Software Engineering Project Course During COVID-19
- 1. Hasso Plattner Institute University of Potsdam, Germany christoph.matthies@hpi.de @chrisma0 Challenges (and Opportunities!) of a Remote Agile Software Engineering Project Course During COVID-19 Christoph Matthies, Ralf Teusner, Michael Perscheid virtual conference, January ’22 Image: Video Call by Vectors Point from NounProject.com
- 2. 2 Case Study Context An undergraduate Agile software engineering course “methods, concepts, and technologies that help successfully deliver large software products developed by multiple teams. [1] ” [1]ihttps://hpi.de/plattner/teaching/archive/winter-term-2020-21/ softwaretechnik-ii-agile-software-development-in-large-teams.html Image: Mortar Board by Catia Marsh Mallow from NounProject.com
- 3. Case Study Context 3 Course contents, context and study motivation ■ Practical project course featuring multiple student teams ■ Teams collaborate to build a common product ■ Scrum and Kanban are taught and used in practice ■ Close to real-world software development experiences: large-scale collaboration, software architecture, work organization, customer management COVID pandemic: switch from in-person teamwork to completely virtual setup Image: Virus by Nawicon from NounProject.com
- 4. Main Research Question 4 The aim of this study Research Question: What challenges and opportunities occurred in a multi-team Agile university project course taught (emergency) remotely for the first time? Image: Question by KonKapp from NounProject.com
- 5. Case Study Context 5 ■ Experienced student tutors participate in all regular student team meetings, act as knowledgeable mentors ■ Teaching team member takes on role of project customer supplying requirements and feature wishes ■ Teaching team members available for questions and comments Teaching team support Image: High Five by Adrien Coquet from NounProject.com
- 6. Data Collection 6 ■ Two main methods of data collection: □ Semi-structured notes of regular teaching team meetings □ Anonymous, free-text end-of-term course evaluations ■ Items included that received at least two separate mentions ■ Iteratively grouped into topic cluster Categorized items as challenges or opportunities Perceptions of educators and students Image: Data Collection by Becris from NounProject.com
- 7. Remote Collab. Challenges 7 ■ Encountered challenges of emergency remote teaching experience mirror previous reports □ Especially regarding remote lectures [2] However, we also noticed positives of remote Agile software engineering education and teamwork that were not anticipated Perceived challenges and opportunities [2] Watermeyer, R., Crick, T., Knight, C. et al. COVID-19 and digital disruption in UK universities: afflictions and affordances of emergency online migration. High Educ 81, 623–641 (2021). Image: Challenge by LUTFI GANI AL ACHMAD from NounProject.com
- 8. Positives of Remote Collab. 8 ■ Results: 13 topic clusters on positives of remote collaboration in undergraduate SE project course ■ Surprised by aspects of the remote collaboration approach that were deemed explicitly beneficial ■ Other educators also thought “transforming to online teaching would be much harder than what they experienced” [3] Results of comment analysis regarding opportunities [3] Hjelsvold, R., Nykvist, S., Lorås, M., Bahmani, A., Krokan, A. Educators’ Experiences Online: How COVID-19 Encouraged Pedagogical Change in CS Education. No. 4 UDIT Norsk konferanse for utdanning og didaktikk i IT-fagene. (2020) Image: Positive by Ömer Demirsoy from NounProject.com
- 9. Positives of Remote Collab. 9 Stable communication structures ■ Teams' communication & organizational structures did not drastically change from in-person to remote setup ■ Inter-team communication was overwhelmingly digital in previous in-person projects ■ Instant messaging is heavily present in modern life, sending a chat message even in co-located teams is not unusual Extract of observed positives of a remote agile SE course Image: Smartphone by IconMark from NounProject.com
- 10. Positives of Remote Collab. 10 Deeper connection to teaching team ■ Tutors spontaneously asked to join team video calls when questions or issues arose ■ Not possible in in-person meetings, which might not even take place in a shared space that can be easily reached ■ Course tutors reported improved connections to the teams through instant messaging in the remote setup Extract of observed positives of a remote agile SE course Image: Video Call by Vectors Point from NounProject.com
- 11. Positives of Remote Collab. 11 Easier organization of team building activities ■ Organizing team-building activities, finding common time & place, reported as more straightforward in remote teams ■ Efficient virtual communication setup already present, virtual collaborative team activities were quick to set up ■ Mentioned examples included Scribble.io, Among Us, or virtual Settlers of Catan Extract of observed positives of a remote agile SE course Image: Game by Lukasz M. Pogoda from NounProject.com
- 12. Positives of Remote Collab. 12 Documentation by default ■ Digital collaboration tools lead to interactions and team decisions being documented by default ■ Especially reported for Retrospective meetings □ Team issues & solutions persisted in digital spaces □ Readily available in next meeting ■ In in-person course iterations, progress on improvement actions often not tracked because they were forgotten Extract of observed positives of a remote agile SE course Image: Whiteboard by Amiryshakiel from NounProject.com
- 13. Positives of Remote Collab. 13 Increased Pair Programming ■ Remote course featured more Pair Programming ■ Extensive use of code collaboration tools, e.g. LiveShare ■ Virtual setup does not require physical co-location in front of a shared computer ■ Both “driver” and “navigator” can use their customized computing setups, which is more comfortable Extract of observed positives of a remote agile SE course [4] VisualStudio Code Liveshare https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/de/services/live-share/ Image: Pair Programming by Creative Stall from NounProject.com
- 14. ■ Study of student and educator perceptions of emergency remote agile software engineering project course ■ Present 10 challenges of remote collaboration in student teams and offer countermeasures based on our teaching experience ■ Identify 13 positives of remote collaboration and action items Ongoing discussion on how to maintain positives in future courses Conclusions 14 Summarized study results and information on full paper Image: Conclusion by Eko Purnomo from NounProject.com
- 15. Summary 15 christoph.matthies@hpi.de @chrisma0 HPI, University of Potsdam, Germany