Students sprint to success in IT 355, spring 2019 edition
Software development instructors at Green River College put an Agile spin on project-based learning by teaching Scrum, a set of principles and practices that help teams deliver products in short cycles, enabling fast feedback, continual improvement, and rapid adaptation to change.
IT 355 Agile Development Methods is one course within our bachelor’s program that captures this distinct focus on Agile Scrum project-based learning. During this 12-week learning experience, students work in self-directed teams to build working software for a real-world client.
This week’s 355 project showcase at Green River’s Auburn Center campus did not disappoint. Below, find a roundup of products that emerged from our spring 2019 offering of the course, taught by Tina Ostrander.
SKCAC Industries & Employment Services
Student team: Adolfo, Alec, Bo, Keith
From the team: “SKCAC Industries & Employment Services wanted to move from a paper-based to an online client information collection system. We worked with Executive Director Debbie Meyer to develop a mobile-friendly website: https://awesome4.greenriverdev.com/SKCAC. SKCAC can now simply email their clients a reminder to update their information and their clients can go to the new client portal to update their information. Upon submitting their forms SKCAC will receive an email with the updated information and it will also be saved to the SKCAC database.”
Lean Six Sigma Client
Student team: Jake, Marcus, Tony
From the team: “Our client is a consultant and trainer of Lean Six Sigma methodologies. They came to us looking for a web app to assist those seeking guidance when laying out their project and its points of conflict. Our app, Lean For The Masses, is designed to lead users through the Lean Six Sigma process so they can better define and measure their problems. Offering guidance for each step in the process, it helps users organize problems they encounter in a project. A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved. The project is currently in production at www.leanforthemasses.com.”
Rock Steady Boxing
Student team: Sam, Celine, Jordan, Brooks
From the team: “Rock Steady Boxing is a non-profit organization that uses non-contact boxing as physical therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative movement disorder which causes deterioration of motor skills, balance, speech, and sensory function. The trainers at Rock Steady use their app, created by our clients, to keep track of progression and medical history for each boxer. Our goal is to make this information accessible to researchers to benefit the study of Parkinson’s disease and to be a step towards healthier living.”
Green River Foreign Language Department
Student team: Mike, Ean, Phil, Amanda
From the team: “Our client is Erin Fernandez-Mommer and she is a part of Green River College’s Foreign Language department. She has requested we provide her with a place to save and analyze data collected by the Foreign Language department to determine the effectiveness of the language lab. Erin hopes to use the data from our tool to receive funding and further support for the language lab. Our web app will provide the department a way to answer that question. The app allows qualified faculty members to view, sort, and update official data. The app has also been styled to match official Green River College branding. In the future, we hope this app can be generalized to help all departments better evaluate their effectiveness.”
Light to the World
Student team: Nic, Brandon, Yafim, David
From the team: “The Sunday school coordinator at Light to the World Church requested an attendance tracker so that the instructors could keep track of their students. We first created login profiles for teachers that allows them to save attendance on the dates they teach. Then we gave them a place for their PDF files. They can just log in and pull it up onto their profiles. Since students and teachers will change over time, we created an admin page that can make these changes. Not only can an admin add and remove students and teachers; they can also create schedules for teachers, add and remove course material (files), and update teachers’ certifications. We set out to make a website that managed everything for Sunday school teachers and after we completed that task we went further. We made it mobile friendly and visually stimulating, too.”
If you have a software project in mind and would be interested in collaborating with IT 355 students at Green River College to make your idea a reality, we’d love to hear from you. Startups, non-profits, or established companies are welcome to inquire. Clients should plan on spending one hour every two weeks with their student team, and there is no cost to participate. To learn more about becoming a project client, please send an email to Tina Ostrander at: tostrander at greenriver dot edu.
