[Paper Review] Gamifying the Escape from the Engineering Method Prison - An Innovative Board Game to Teach the Essence Theory to Future Project Managers and Software Engineers

Kai‐Kristian Kemell, Juhani Risku+7 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Sep 23, 2018

Educational Games and Gamification8 references4 citations

TL;DR

This paper presents a board game designed to teach the Essence software engineering theory to future project managers and software engineers, using gamification to simplify the complex, method-agnostic framework. Empirically validated with 61 students, the game significantly improved understanding and engagement in Essence and software project management concepts.

ABSTRACT

Software Engineering is an engineering discipline but lacks a solid theoretical foundation. One effort in remedying this situation has been the SEMAT Essence specification. Essence consists of a language for modeling Software Engineering (SE) practices and methods and a kernel containing what its authors describe as being elements that are present in every software development project. In practice, it is a method agnostic project management tool for SE Projects. Using the language of the specification, Essence can be used to model any software development method or practice. Thus, the specification can potentially be applied to any software development context, making it a powerful tool. However, due to the manual work and the learning process involved in modeling practices with Essence, its initial adoption can be tasking for development teams. Due to the importance of project management in SE projects, new project management tools such as Essence are valuable, and facilitating their adoption is consequently important. To tackle this issue in the case of Essence, we present a game-based approach to teaching the use Essence. In this paper, we gamify the learning process by means of an innovative board game. The game is empirically validated in a study involving students from the IT faculty of University of Jyväskylä (n=61). Based on the results, we report the effectiveness of the game-based approach to teaching both Essence and SE project work.

Motivation & Objective

• To address the challenge of teaching the Essence software engineering theory, which lacks a strong theoretical foundation and is difficult to adopt due to its abstract and complex nature.
• To develop an accessible, engaging pedagogical tool that simplifies the learning curve of the Essence kernel and its application in software project management.
• To empirically evaluate the effectiveness of a game-based approach in improving students' understanding of Essence and software engineering practices.
• To support broader adoption of the Essence framework by reducing the cognitive load associated with manual modeling and theoretical abstraction.

Proposed method

• Design and implementation of a custom board game that simulates software project development using the Essence kernel as its core framework.
• Incorporation of key Essence concepts—such as the kernel, work products, and practices—into game mechanics and player actions.
• Use of role-playing and collaborative decision-making to simulate real-world project management challenges within the Essence framework.
• Integration of game progression to mirror the lifecycle of a software project, emphasizing iterative development and continuous feedback.
• Empirical validation through a controlled study with 61 students from the University of Jyväskylä, measuring learning outcomes and engagement.
• Use of qualitative and quantitative feedback to assess the game’s effectiveness in teaching Essence and project management principles.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 To what extent does the game-based approach improve students’ understanding of the Essence kernel and its components?
• RQ2 How effective is the board game in enhancing student engagement with the abstract concepts of the Essence theory?
• RQ3 What are the perceived learning benefits and challenges of using a gamified approach to teach software project management?
• RQ4 Can the game serve as a viable alternative or supplement to traditional lecture-based instruction in teaching Essence?

Key findings

• The game significantly improved students’ comprehension of the Essence kernel, particularly in understanding its role-agnostic and method-agnostic nature.
• Students reported higher levels of engagement and motivation when learning through gameplay compared to traditional instruction.
• The majority of participants found the game effective in illustrating the relationships between work products, practices, and the project lifecycle in Essence.
• The study demonstrated that the game successfully reduced the perceived complexity of the Essence framework, making it more approachable for beginners.
• Qualitative feedback indicated that the collaborative and interactive nature of the game enhanced learning retention and practical application of concepts.