Marcello Missiroli
Paolo Ciancarini
ABSTRACT
Context: Empirical investigations regarding using Agile programming methodologies in high schools are scarce in the literature.
Objective: This paper evaluates (i) the performance, (ii) the code quality, and (iii) the satisfaction of both students and teachers in using Agile practices in education.
Method: this study includes an experiment, administered in a laboratory controlled setting to measure students' performances and a case study to value the code quality improvements. Questionnaires were also used to evaluate qualitative aspects of Agile practices.
Results: groups of students with mixed skills performed significantly better than groups with the same skill level. Moreover, there was also a general increase in code quality along with satisfaction.
Conclusions: Agile methodologies are useful in the High School education of young software developers.
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Index Terms
- Learning Agile software development in high school: an investigation
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