Orit Hazzan

The Agile Manifesto

This chapter introduces the main ideas that form the basis for the agile approach. Originally, the agile approach offers a professional approach for software development that encompasseshuman, organizational, and technological aspects of software development processes. The main ideas of agile software development processes were first introduced by the Agile Manifesto and second by presenting specific agile practices that enable agile teams to accomplish their development task on high quality. In the chapter, we present the Agile Manifesto as was published for software development and shows how it can be implemented for any projects.

The reflective practitioner perspective in software engineering education

This paper focuses on the application of the reflective practitioner (RP) perspective to the profession of software engineering (SE). The RP perspective guides professional people to rethink their professional creations during and after the accomplishment of the creation process. Analysis of the field of SE supports the adoption of the RP perspective to SE in general and to SE education in particular. The RP perspective emphasizes the studio--the basic training method in architecture schools--as the educational environment for design studies. In such studios students develop projects with a close guidance of a tutor. Analysis of the kind of tasks that architecture students are working on and a comparison of these tasks to the problems that SE students are facing, suggest that the studio may be an appropriate teaching method in SE as well. The paper presents the main ideas of the RP perspective and examines its fitness to SE in general and to SE education in particular. The discussion is based on analysis of the RP perspective and of the SE profession, visits to architecture studios, and conversations with tutors in architecture studios and with computing science practitioners.

Agile software testing in a large-scale project

Agile software development in general and Extreme Programming (XP) in particular, promote radical changes in how software development organizations traditionally work. We present and analyze new data from a real, large-scale agile project to develop a business-critical enterprise information system for the Israeli Air Force (IAF). Our results offer new evidence that agile testing practices actually work, dramatically improving development quality and productivity. We describe the organizations successful practices and guidelines in four key areas: test design and activity execution, working with professional testers, planning, and defect management

Teaching a software development methodology: the case of extreme programming

This article focuses on the teaching of software development methodologies. It presents ten principles of teaching such a topic, while examining each from both a pedagogical and an organizational viewpoint. The teaching principles are demonstrated using the methodology of extreme programming (XP).

Agile Software Engineering

This concise easy-to-follow textbook presents the crucial issues in software engineering using the agile approach to software development - one of the mainstream paradigms for the management of software projects and one that is being applied more and more extensively. Global principles are presented with detailed practices that can be easily implemented by readers, providing a comprehensive understanding of the important elements of agile software development methods. The authors highlight and integrate technical, social, cognitive and managerial aspects of software development processes in this unique book based on their refreshingly updated software engineering methods course. Features: Contains many learning tools such as: chapter overviews, objectives and summaries, study questions, chapter-end reflective exercises, a solid introductory chapter, etc. Discusses the delivery of software projects on time and within budgets by using the agile software development environment Considers the customer, as well as the other roles, in agile software development environments Looks at measures to control and monitor the software development process Investigates the impact of agility on the organization level Examines software development processes and environments from a managerial perspective Emphasizes the wider context of each topic to software engineering This complete textbook offers a reader-friendly approach to the topic. Written primarily for advanced undergraduates, this clear foundation course will also be useful for instructors and practitioners looking for a thorough grounding on the subject. Both authors teach different courses at the Technion Israel Institute for Technology in which they inspire and apply the agile approach. In addition, both authors coach agile teams in the software industry.

A model for high school computer science education: the four key elements that make it!

This paper presents a model program for high school computer science education. It is based on an analysis of the structure of the Israeli high school computer science curriculum considered to be one of the leading curricula worldwide. The model consists of four key elements as well as interconnections between these elements. It is proposed that such a model be considered and/or adapted when a country wishes to implement a nation-wide program for high school computer science education.

Interviewing in mathematics education research: Choosing the questions

Abstract With the development of qualitative methodologies, interviewing has become one of the main tools in mathematics education research. As the first step in analyzing interviewing in mathematics education we focus here on the stage of planning, specifically, on designing the interview questions. We attempt to outline several features of interview questions and understand what guides researchers in choosing the interview questions. Our observations and conclusions are based on examining research in mathematics education that uses interviews as a data-collection tool and on interviews with practicing researchers reflecting on their practice.

A framework for teaching software development methods

This article presents a study that aims at constructing a teaching framework for software development methods in higher education. The research field is a capstone project-based course, offered by the Technions Department of Computer Science, in which Extreme Programming is introduced. The research paradigm is an Action Research that involves cycles of data collection, examination, evaluation, and application of results. The research uses several research tools for data gathering, as well as several research methods for data interpretation. The article describes in detail the research background, the research method, and the gradual emergence process of a framework for teaching software development methods. As part of the comprehensive teaching framework, a set of measures is developed to assess, monitor, and improve the teaching and the actual process of software development projects.

Agile metrics at the Israeli Air Force

It is a significant challenge to implement and research agile software development methods in organizations such as the army. Since it differs from organizations in the industry and the academia, data gathered in the army and its continuous analysis may enrich the community knowledge abut agile methods. This work describes a research, conducted during an entire release, about one development team at the Israeli Air Force that works according to Extreme Programming. The establishment of this team and the investigation of the first release is part of a long-term process, started last year, aiming to reduce delivery time while raising communication and customer collaboration. Among several themes this research is concerned with, we focus on agile metrics and provide a metrics mechanism that was established and refined along the release development.

Prospective High School Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes toward Integrating Computers in Their Future Teaching

Abstract This article presents the findings of a study on the attitudes of prospective high school mathematics teachers toward integrating computers into their future classroom teaching. Ninety-four prospective teachers in four classes that focused on didactic and cognitive aspects of learning mathematics with computers were asked to present pro and con arguments that would influence their use of computers in their future mathematics teaching. A two-dimensional framework is used to present an analysis of the prospective teachers’ arguments, which were collected through written questionnaires and class discussions. One dimension relates to the class components of a lesson: learner, teacher, mathematical content, learning environment, and class atmosphere. The second dimension is made up of the psychological aspects: cognitive, affective, and social.