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Putting People in the Picture: Building Requirements Gathering, Design Specification and Communication Skills with Video Scenarios

Students entering the corporate sphere, particularly in client-facing positions, find themselves in a world of ambiguity that needs to be analyzed, clarified, and effectively described and communicated in order to transform real-world problems into real-world computing solutions. Navigating this world involves skills ranging from requirements gathering and creative thinking through high-level design and communication. Academic programming experience is frequently based on assignments that are pre-defined in specific, unambiguous language. This approach leaves a skills gap in translating amorphous, ambiguous problem scenarios into specifications. Video scenarios are a flexible, ready-to-use tool to aid in developing the skills needed to fill this gap. The short videos show individuals discussing or experiencing situations for which they need computing assistance. However, the situations are presented in ways that are ambiguous, open-ended, and sometimes contradictory. Students must utilize critical listening, observation, and thinking skills to define the problem the characters are experiencing and design potential solutions. Video scenarios can be easily used to develop requirements gathering, design specification, and communication skills in classes ranging from general education through capstone seminars. They are particularly well suited for software engineering and design courses, including those in certificate programs. By putting a face on a problem, video scenarios highlight the role of the user and provide a setting for developing user stories, use cases, and interaction skills integral to agile development. Student feedback from using video scenarios in a software engineering course is also presented. Videos and materials are available at http://youtube.com/virt-university.