Training students to be agile information systems developers: A pedagogical approach

Abstract

This article reports four consecutive semesters of continuous effort to refine an Information Systems (IS) development course in a public university. The course seeks to impart IS undergraduates, future Information Technology (IT) professionals, on the importance of agility, flexibility and adaptability in enterprise-level software development. Several unique characteristics of the course include (1) the emphasis on team-based guidance rather than traditional lecture-based teaching, (2) the stress on providing working, integrated software solution, (3) the value of adopting progressive and flexible method of software development, and, most notably, (4) the importance of being adaptive to changes in system requirements. A hybrid agile methodology developed for conducting the course is also discussed. Copyright 2008 ACM.