The work-reflection-learning cycle - Department of Computer and ...

The work-reflection-learning cycle in SE student projects: Use of collaboration tools
to properly clarifying expectations for the collaborative work activity. In the thesis, the
variation in team members‟ objectives for their project work is also illustrated in the
reflection workshops described in P6. The individual satisfaction curves along with the
explanations provided by their creators illustrate how the „ups and downs‟ of project
work relate to the team members‟ goals and expectations and also those of other
stakeholders (e.g. when the curves of all team members drop at a point where negative
feedback was provided by the supervisor, or when a team member explains that she was
unhappy with her task over a long period because she would have liked to learn new
technology in the project rather than just applying a technology she knew in advance).
Apart from being a source of insight for the project teams about such issues in their
projects, data from the reflection workshops of all the projects in a course can be used
by course staff or researchers to gain insights about the effect of the current course
design, e.g. in terms of stakeholder collaboration in the projects.
Participants in SE student teams generally have a clear conception of the usage of
different collaboration tools in their project. The choice of tool for a particular instance
of collaboration appears to depend on whether the collaboration is within the team or
between team and stakeholders, and whether it is formal or informal. A similar
categorization can be used by the researcher (e.g. project course staff) investigating the
usage of particular tools in project teams with the ultimate objective of providing
guidance about the appropriateness of particular tools for different purposes. Exploring
the use of instant messaging in the student teams (P3), it is shown that team-stakeholder
collaboration by use of instant messaging poses particular challenges. More generally, it
is suggested that the appropriateness of a tool for team-stakeholder collaboration be a
question of negotiation between the stakeholders. Even with agreement between
stakeholders, using a tool in a setting for which it is not generally considered
appropriate (e.g. instant messaging for formal meetings) should be done with great
caution.
By looking at cross-community collaboration as achieved through brokering (P2), the
thesis provides an understanding of how the dynamics of cross-community
collaboration is closely related to the role and competence of the individual team
member. Not only the team as a community, but the individual‟s role in the team and
competence in adapting to the practice of both communities must be considered to
understand how cross-community collaboration takes place through brokering and how
it might be supported.
Contribution 1 can be a resource for practitioners and researchers within SE Education,
providing rationale and guidelines for developing project courses in the direction of
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