Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

PlaySAFe: Results from a Virtual Reality Study Using Digital Game-Based Learning for SAFe Agile Software Development

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Systems, Software and Services Process Improvement (EuroSPI 2021)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1442))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 3750 Accesses

Abstract

A common strategy to train software practitioners in agile frameworks is to have employees undertake classroom-based training. However, due to its nature, participants are lectured for a scheduled time-line with little necessity to interact. In particular, classroom-based training often might not provide substantial trainee interaction, which could result in apathy. To tackle this issue, we conducted empirical research to investigate the role of digital game-based learning (GBL) in employees’ training on the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). To figure out whether gameplay was a preferable training method, PlaySAFe (i.e., a 3D game) was developed within the study’s scope and tested with nine active SAFe practitioners from an industrial setting. Restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced many to seek alternative means of teaching and learning. In particular, the findings obtained from the tests illustrate that PlaySAFe can be effectively used as a complementary tool that supports SAFe classroom-based training. This study has highlighted numerous benefits of GBL, such as allowing newcomers a quick and efficient means to learn and understand the practical groundwork of SAFe in advance of learning more theoretical concepts in conventional training.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Holgeid, K.K., Jørgensen, M.: Practices connected to perceived client benefits of software projects. IET Softw. 14, 677–683 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Christopher, L., de Vries, M.: Selecting a scaled agile approach for a fin-tech company. S. Afr. J. Ind. Eng. 31, 196–208 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Leffingwell, D.: SAFe 4.5 Reference Guide: Scaled Agile Framework for Lean Enterprises. Addison-Wesley Professional (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Dingsøyr, T., Moe, N.B., Fægri, T.E., Seim, E.A.: Exploring software development at the very large-scale: a revelatory case study and research agenda for agile method adaptation. Empir. Softw. Eng. 23, 490–520 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Anastasiadis, T., Lampropoulos, G., Siakas, K.: Digital game-based learning and serious games in education. Int. J. Adv. Sci. Res. Eng. 4, 139–144 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Hwa, S.P.: Pedagogical change in mathematics learning: harnessing the power of digital game-based learning. J. Educ. Technol. Soc. 21, 259–276 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Yilmaz, M., Atasoy, B., O’Connor, R.V., Martens, J.-B., Clarke, P.: Software developer’s journey. In: Kreiner, C., O’Connor, R.V., Poth, A., Messnarz, R. (eds.) EuroSPI 2016. CCIS, vol. 633, pp. 203–211. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44817-6_16

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Yilmaz, M., O’Connor, R.V.: A Scrumban integrated gamification approach to guide software process improvement: a Turkish case study. Tehnički vjesnik 23, 237–245 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Schwab-Reese, L.M., Drury, I., Allan, H., Matz, K.: “Oh, this is actually okay’’: understanding how one state child welfare training system adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Child Abuse Negl. 110, 104697 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Leffingwell, D.: Scaling Software Agility: Best Practices for Large Enterprises. Pearson Education (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Turetken, O., Stojanov, I., Trienekens, J.J.: Assessing the adoption level of scaled agile development: a maturity model for scaled agile framework. J. Softw. Evol. Process 29, e1796 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Putta, A., Paasivaara, M., Lassenius, C.: Benefits and challenges of adopting the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe): preliminary results from a multivocal literature review. In: Kuhrmann, M., et al. (eds.) PROFES 2018. LNCS, vol. 11271, pp. 334–351. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03673-7_24

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  13. Akarsu, Z., Metin, Ö.O., Gungor, D., Yilmaz, M.: Towards a role playing game for exploring the roles in scrum to improve collaboration problems. In: Larrucea, X., Santamaria, I., O’Connor, R.V., Messnarz, R. (eds.) EuroSPI 2018. CCIS, vol. 896, pp. 254–264. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97925-0_21

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  14. Gómez-Carrasco, C.J., Monteagudo-Fernández, J., Moreno-Vera, J.R., Sainz-Gómez, M.: Effects of a gamification and flipped-classroom program for teachers in training on motivation and learning perception. Educ. Sci. 9, 299 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Chen, Y.L., Hsu, C.C.: Self-regulated mobile game-based English learning in a virtual reality environment. Comput. Educ. 154, 103910 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Nazligul, M.D., et al.: Interactive three-dimensional virtual environment to reduce the public speaking anxiety levels of novice software engineers. IET Softw. 13, 152–158 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. DeFalco, J.A., et al.: Detecting and addressing frustration in a serious game for military training. Int. J. Artif. Intell. Educ. 28, 152–193 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Gulec, U., Yilmaz, M., Yalcin, A.D., O’Connor, R.V., Clarke, P.M.: CENGO: a web-based serious game to increase the programming knowledge levels of computer engineering students. In: Walker, A., O’Connor, R.V., Messnarz, R. (eds.) EuroSPI 2019. CCIS, vol. 1060, pp. 237–248. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28005-5_18

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  19. Gulec, U., Yilmaz, M., Isler, V., O’Connor, R.V., Clarke, P.M.: A 3D virtual environment for training soccer referees. Comput. Standards Interfaces 64, 1–10 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Üsfekes, Ç., Tüzün, E., Yılmaz, M., Macit, Y., Clarke, P.: Auction-based serious game for bug tracking. IET Softw. 13, 386–392 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Fauziyah, U., Kaburuan, E.R., Wang, G., et al.: Gamification for employee training platform in banking industries. In: 2019 International Conference on Information Management and Technology (ICIMTech), vol. 1, pp. 503–508. IEEE (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Aydan, U., Yilmaz, M., Clarke, P.M., O’Connor, R.V.: Teaching ISO/IEC 12207 software lifecycle processes: a serious game approach. Comput. Standards Interfaces 54, 129–138 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. De Souza, A.D., Seabra, R.D., Ribeiro, J.M., Rodrigues, L.E.D.S.: SCRUMI: a board serious virtual game for teaching the scrum framework. In: 2017 IEEE/ACM 39th International Conference on Software Engineering Companion (ICSE-C), pp. 319–321. IEEE (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Fernandes, J.M., Sousa, S.M.: PlayScrum-a card game to learn the scrum agile method. In: 2010 Second International Conference on Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications, pp. 52–59. IEEE (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Naik, N., Jenkins, P.: Relax, it’s a game: utilising gamification in learning agile scrum software development. In: 2019 IEEE Conference on Games (CoG), pp. 1–4. IEEE (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Dybå, T., Prikladnicki, R., Rönkkö, K., Seaman, C., Sillito, J.: Qualitative research in software engineering. Empir. Softw. Eng. 16, 425–429 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Braun, V., Clarke, V.: Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual. Res. Psychol. 3, 77–101 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Knaster, R., Leffingwell, D.: SAFe 4.5 Distilled: Applying the Scaled Agile Framework for Lean Enterprises. Addison-Wesley Professional (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Yilmaz, M., O’Connor, R.: Social capital as a determinant factor of software development productivity: an empirical study using structural equation modeling. Int. J. Hum. Capital Inf. Technol. Prof. (IJHCITP) 3, 40–62 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  30. O’Connor, R.V., Yilmaz, M.: Exploring the belief systems of software development professionals. Cybern. Syst. 46, 528–542 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported with the financial support of the Science Foundation Ireland grant \(13/RC/2094\_P2\) and co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund through the Southern & Eastern Regional Operational Programme to Lero - the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software (www.lero.ie).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computing, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Emer O’Farrell & Paul Clarke

  2. Lero, the Irish Software Engineering Research Center, Limerick, Ireland

    Murat Yilmaz & Paul Clarke

  3. Department of Software Engineering, TED University, Ankara, Turkey

    Ulas Gulec

  4. Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

    Murat Yilmaz

Authors
  1. Emer O’Farrell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Murat Yilmaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ulas Gulec
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Paul Clarke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Murat Yilmaz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

    Murat Yilmaz

  2. Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Paul Clarke

  3. I.S.C.N. GesmbH, Graz, Austria

    Richard Messnarz

  4. IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Krems, Austria

    Michael Reiner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

O’Farrell, E., Yilmaz, M., Gulec, U., Clarke, P. (2021). PlaySAFe: Results from a Virtual Reality Study Using Digital Game-Based Learning for SAFe Agile Software Development. In: Yilmaz, M., Clarke, P., Messnarz, R., Reiner, M. (eds) Systems, Software and Services Process Improvement. EuroSPI 2021. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1442. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85521-5_47

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85521-5_47

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-85520-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-85521-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics