Evaluating a Software Project Management Course Collaboration Framework at a Second Institution

Previous work has described and evaluated a collaboration between a software project management (SPM) course and an introductory software development course. That collaboration has successfully supported the experiential learning of SPM skills as well as skills to effectively interact with a project manager. This paper further evaluates that collaboration framework by reporting its application at a second institution for two semesters. Overall, the learning outcomes and student experiences achieved at the second institution were similarly positive to those achieved at the first institution. The major components of the framework were fully implemented at the second institution with specific aspects customized to meet the institution's educational outcomes and setting. In that customization, three factors were identified for consideration when adapting the collaboration framework: the existence of a course structure to support such collaboration, the ratio between the students in the two courses, and the ability to schedule regular interactions between these students.