Fostering Agile IT Project Management and Interpersonal Skills Using AI-Enhanced Game-Based Learning

Fostering Agile IT Project Management and Interpersonal Skills Using AI-Enhanced Game-Based Learning

Abstract

This research-to-practice full paper presents current results of an approach to include AI-enhanced game-based learning into a student-centered course on IT project management aiming to foster students' agile project management skills. Evidently, the 21st century is shaped by digitization, which has had a lasting impact on the skills demanded from professionals - especially in the IT sector. Future skills, including digital, personal, and interpersonal skills, are more relevant than ever and should be considered and managed in every IT project. This aligns with the principles of agile project management, which values people and interactions over rigid processes. This paper presents the results of a qualitative content analysis of students' reflections on their teamwork experiences within the scope of a learner-centered IT project management course as well as an analysis of the standardized course feedback. This mandatory course is part of the undergraduate program of a large mid-European university and introduces students into the basics of IT project management with a focus on future skills, thus covering complementary topics such as giving and receiving feedback, active listening, and presentation techniques. Students work in teams of 5-7 on self-selected topics and develop them up to a coarse prototype. Based on the analysis of the 48 teamwork reflection sheets, we defined the requirements for an interactive AI-enhanced game-based project simulation platform designed to foster students' agile project management skills and developed a first prototype as a web application. Results show that the most mentioned success factors in the teamwork reflection sheets were "effective communication," "division of work," "regular meetings," and "high motivation," highlighting the importance of personal and interpersonal skills to a project's success. Identified barriers included "bad time management," "unproductive meetings," "obligations outside university," and "absence." The standardized course feedback revealed a mean rating score of 1.6 on a scale from 1 (very good) to 5 (very bad), showing students' appreciation of the course. Positive feedback revolved around the nature of the course, the constructive atmosphere, and the lecturer, while suggestions for improvement focused on reducing the workload of the course. Since the identified success factors aligned with the principles of agile project management, we designed a prototype of a gamified AI-enhanced project simulation platform to immersively teach agile project management. We conclude that personal, interpersonal, and digital skills play an essential role in modern teamwork and should therefore be explicitly addressed and reflected in project management education, while AI opens up new possibilities in the field of project management. The course as well as the prototype should serve as inspiration for researchers, instructors, and curriculum designers. Future work includes the evaluation of the developed prototype with students and exploring additional ways of utilizing AI in projects.

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Authors
  • Dolezal, Dominik
  • Velaj, Yllka
  • Spreitzer, Lukas
  • Plant, Claudia
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Shortfacts
Category
Paper in Conference Proceedings or in Workshop Proceedings (Paper)
Event Title
2024 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)
Divisions
Education, Didactics and Entertainment Computing
Subjects
Ausbildung, Beruf, Organisationen
Kuenstliche Intelligenz
Angewandte Informatik
Informatik in Beziehung zu Mensch und Gesellschaft
Event Location
Washington, DC, USA
Event Type
Conference
Event Dates
13-16 Oct. 2023
Date
16 October 2024
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