Course Description
This course provides a systematic approach towards planning, developing, implementing and maintaining a system. It builds the skills that students need to develop software projects. During the course, students work in groups on implementing an end-to-end project. Work involves developing a software prototype, documenting the software and deploying the result. The ICT-INOV design thinking software platform has been introduced in this course since 2022.
Description of the participants
The course is offered in the 3rd year of studies of Bachelor in Computer Engineering program in the Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Institute of Energy, Tribhuvan University. The ICT-INOV platform was deployed in the 2022 academic year. A total of 96 undergraduate students in their 3rd year of studies in the Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering were engaged in the course. ICT-INOV will be further deployed in the following academic years.
Description of gamified design thinking activities
A specific activity named Software Engineering Project was developed in the ICT-INOV platform for direct use in this course, although it can also be used in other similar courses. The activity was used in the Software Engineering course. Students were divided in 26 teams of 3 – 4 individuals. Each team had its own workspace on the ICT-INOV platform. Teams consisted by 3 – 4 individuals for 26 groups of students each of size 3-4 people per project.
The activity consisted of the following 3 levels.
Step 1. Team formation and project inception.
Students were asked to form teams and to decide on a team logo. They were asked to select a project for implementation from a list pre-prepared by the instructor. Students were asked to post on the ICT-INOV platform their team name and project title.
Step 2. Prototype development and documentation.
Students were challenged to develop a complete software prototype. They were asked to post characteristic screenshots of their work on the ICT-INOV platform. In addition, students were asked to develop documentation for their software and to share it on-line through the ICT-INOV platform.
Step 3. Deployment and testing.
Students were asked to deploy and test the developed prototype. The software was deployed on the servers or computers provided by the department or as instructed by the course instructor. Students were asked to publish the deployment details and URLs needed on the ICT-INOV platform. After the deployment, students were asked to test the final outcome of their project and to post the testing details along with the list of known issues and bugs on the ICT-INOV platform.
