Learning individual group skills for software analysis and design in Africa

Software development projects are usually carried out in teams with analysts and designers having to work together towards a common solution. In order to succeed in this environment graduates need to be able to listen to users and to each other, to express their ideas to users and colleagues, to defend their designs, debate design decisions and reach agreement on design compromises and trade-offs.Monash includes the learning of team skills in their graduate attributes. However, teaching of these skills is not explicitly addressed in the teaching program. In many of the units taught in the School of IT at Monash, students are expected to work in groups on projects. However there is no attempt to ensure that they work effectively in these groups and no evaluation of these specific skills in the course of the program.This paper examines the experiences of students in a 2nd year analysis unit and a 3rd year design unit. Students were asked to discuss in an open-ended questionnaire their experiences of working in groups and to evaluate their own skills and those of their colleagues. Of particular interest is the diverse profile of the students who come from across Africa and whether this affected their group skills and what they learned in group work.Students felt that they did learn explicit group skills from the group experience, and they felt that there was a gradual improvement in their group skills over the course of their studies. They felt that being aware of the skills required would increase their learning. Students also reported several negative elements to the experience. The results have implications for how the units are run and ways in which this can be improved will be examined.