Agile software project management

The course can be part of the following programmes:

1. Computer Science, Bachelor's Programme (N1COS)
2. Computer Science, Master's Programme (N2COS)
3. Applied Data Science Master's Programme (N2ADS)

The course is a also a single-subject course at Gothenburg University.

To be eligible for the course, the student must have completed courses in programming for at least 15 HEC, e.g., two of DIT441, DIT013, or DIT954.

Applicants must prove knowledge of English: English 6/English level 2 or the equivalent level of an internationally recognized test, for example TOEFL, IELTS.

The course provides a practical introduction to Software Engineering. Students work on an open problem that is defined by stakeholders outside of the students' team. This means that students will not be able to define the project they work on themselves. By iteratively planning and evaluating their work, they organise themselves in order to reach a joint goal with limited resources. To do this, they apply an agile software development process to structure their work. They specify and evaluate requirements and the collaboration with stakeholders to assure that what is being delivered is perceived as valuable. Students reflect on their own work and learning every week to enable a continuous improvement of their way of working. At the same time, they acquire skills and knowledge in new technologies, tools, and fitting ways to use them in order to provide value to a stakeholder based on the students' own learning strategies.

After completion of the course the student is expected to be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• describe software engineering as an engineering discipline by using relevant terminology
• describe the relationship between stakeholder, product, and process

Competence and skills

• specify, implement, and evaluate a system based on what different stakeholders perceive as valuable
• learn tools and APIs which are relevant for the project in collaboration with the other team members
• apply a structured software development process as a member of a team

Judgement and approach

• reflect on how the software development process was applied in a project
• reflect on your own and the team's learning strategies

The course is organized as a project where the students work in teams of usually six students to address a real-world software engineering task. The teams have weekly supervision meetings. The project is supplemented by lectures that provide insight into the task the students are working on and software engineering in general.

Language of instruction: English

The course is assessed continuously through a weekly report. The report contains both a joint team part and an individual part for each team member which documents the project's progress. The final grade will be based on the last version of the report according to the grading criteria below. Students thus iteratively and incrementally add
to their reflections throughout the project. The content and structure of the report is aligned with the intended learning outcomes. The teachers supply detailed questions and topics to reflect on for each course instance.

If a student who has been failed twice for the same examination element wishes to change examiner before the next examination session, such a request is to be granted unless there are specific reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6 Section 22 HF).

If a student has received a certificate of disability study support from the University of Gothenburg with a recommendation of adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment, an examiner may decide, if this is consistent with the course’s intended learning outcomes and provided that no unreasonable resources would be needed, to grant the student adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment.

If a course has been discontinued or undergone major changes, the student must be offered at least two examination sessions in addition to ordinary examination sessions. These sessions are to be spread over a period of at least one year but no more than two years after the course has been discontinued/changed. The same applies to placement and internship (VFU) except that this is restricted to only one further examination session.

If a student has been notified that they fulfil the requirements for being a student at Riksidrottsuniversitetet (RIU student), to combine elite sports activities with studies, the examiner is entitled to decide on adaptation of examinations if this is done in accordance with the Local rules regarding RIU students at the University of Gothenburg.

Sub-courses

1. Project, 7.5 credits
   Grading scale: Pass (G) and Fail (U)

The grading scale comprises: Pass (G) and Fail (U).

An individual passes the course when both the team part and the individual part are passed.

The team part consists of a final report that summarises and synthesises the weekly reflections. The reflections should clearly detail the teams' own experiences, the proposed changes to improve on the topic, how the changes were evaluated (KPIs, acceptance testing etc.) and subsequent experiences and changes. In addition, the team
needs to submit the source code, tests, a breakdown of contributions, the technical documentation, instructions on how to install and use the product, an executable if applicable (such as an apk- or jar-file) as well as the weekly reflections.

The individual part consists of weekly reflections, source code contributions, and a peer assessment. Complete weekly individual reflections have to be submitted. Students need to reflect on their own learning and how the individual themself contributed to the
process and to the team. There should be a record that shows that an individual has also contributed to the source code and the peer assessment should indicate that the individual participated in a meaningful way.

The course is evaluated through meetings both during and after the course between teachers and student representatives. Further, an anonymous questionnaire is used to ensure written information. The outcome of the evaluations serves to improve the course by indication which parts could be added, improved, changed or removed.

The course is a joint course together with Chalmers.

The course replaces the course DIT543 Software engineering project, 7.5 credits. The course cannot be included in a degree which contains DIT543. Neither can the course be included in a degree which is based on another degree in which the course DIT543 is included.