Student Team Formation Using SCRUM
Asad Azemi, Xiaoguang Ma · 2023
SCRUM (Scrum) is a popular framework for developing and sustaining complex products. It is designed to be an agile methodology that emphasizes collaboration, flexibility, and customer satisfaction. At its core, Scrum is built around the concept of a small, self-organizing team of people, known as a Scrum Team. This team works together to achieve a common goal, each member taking on a specific role and responsibility. In this paper, we propose a modified Scrum Team structure as a model for student teams in academic project environments. Our modification involves identifying specific roles within the team to provide more structure and align with industry practices. By doing this, we hope to help students better understand the importance of roles and responsibilities in project management and improve their project outcomes. The proposed approach involves providing a Scrum mapping for student teams of three and four members, with each member taking on a specific role based on Scrum principles. In our proposed approach, roles will rotate after each new assignment or a set number of times, giving students the opportunity to experience different roles and responsibilities within the team. We believe this approach will provide further exposure to the popular agile design approach and help students develop critical project management skills. We implemented our modified approach in a computer engineering course with lab components focused on microcontrollers to test our modified approach. Our experience using this approach was positive, with students reporting a greater understanding of project management concepts and improved project outcomes. Finally, we believe that our modified Scrum Team structure will also aid in the assessment of ABET's student outcome 5, which focuses on teamwork, communication, and project management. By providing a clear framework for project management and emphasizing the importance of roles and responsibilities within the team, we hope to help students develop the skills they need to succeed in their future careers.