Supporting Real Demands in Software Engineering with a Four Steps Project-Based Learning Approach

Abstract

Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered and learn-by-doing approach that organizes learning around projects. While entrepreneurship and PBL in SE education are thrilling research topics, there seems to be very little work focusing on the pros and cons of involving external stakeholders to support real demands in software engineering education. Working on real projects also supports students to acquire leadership skills, such as communication, project management, and teamwork. This paper describes a case study integrating students from different Software Engineering programs and involving external stakeholders, underpinned by PBL concepts. We present how this study was designed and implemented in a large institution, in four steps, summarized as follows: (I) requirements gathering and design; (II) information system development and implementation; (III) integration tests and deployment process; (IV) support and maintenance activities.The study had the participation of 59 students from a professional technical course in step one, working in teams, and 10 undergraduate students from a Bachelor's program in Information Systems in the following steps, working in pairs. Overall, the feedback from stakeholders and students exceeded expectations, although it increased the workload of teachers. We were able to distill a new set of lessons learned, and we expect that at least some of them will be useful for anyone implementing a similar course. As a consequence of this study, we plan to institutionally formalize the PBL course improvement process by defining specific outcomes and measurements.

An Integrated Software Engineering Curriculum Through Project-Based Learning (PBL)

“…Through their process, students' problem solving skills increased while they faced challenges in their social skills like negotiation and people-handling skills. To help students learn theory and practical aspects of courses in parallel, Silva, Castro, and Guimaraes [28] defined CS1 and CS2 course projects in an industry setting so that students could better learn concepts from the beginning. However, hiring staff from industry to monitor students and give constructive feedback was difficult since the industry partners' capacity and availability were limited.…”

“…However, hiring staff from industry to monitor students and give constructive feedback was difficult since the industry partners' capacity and availability were limited. While PBL is designed in favor of real industry processes and projects, this approach poses a lot of pressure on instructors in academia [28]. Moshirpour, Paul, and Hemmanti [29] implemented a PBL approach through giving students one final term project in a first year programming class to provide students with the experience of an industry-inspired project.…”