Content uploaded by Marek Medrek
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Marek Medrek on Aug 18, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
USE OF AGILE METHODS IN E-BUSINESS AND E-COMMERCE
EDUCATION
Marek Mędrek
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (POLAND)
Abstract
Agile development methods are becoming such an integral part of requirements and software
engineering. Increasingly, agile methodologies are also used in teaching process, especially in higher
education.
The purpose of this article is to describe the introduction of agile methods in the master’s course in
economics and management at the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin (Poland). We prepare
the complete IT environment for teaching e-commerce and e-business technology non-technical
students according to Scrum framework. During the course students are introduced into basics of Scrum
framework, rapid web design techniques and analytical tools for measuring user experience. In our
approach we integrate web analytics tools, agile management applications, content management
systems and e-commerce platforms to develop a complete course scenario and provide a set of software
tools supporting the design, implementation and evaluation process of an e-commerce solution. It is
designed to allow students to gain practical experience in using Agile and Scrum frameworks to develop
e-commerce systems prototypes in collaboration with potential customers.
The implications of the results are discussed and avenues for future research are suggested. Our
findings encourage agile techniques as support of learning e-business solutions in dynamic and
interactive environment and presented solution may address many of requirements of learning
environments for e-business specialists.
Keywords: agile, scrum, cms, analytics, e-commerce, e-business
1 INTRODUCTION
The first definition of e-business was provided by IBM in 1997 as the transformation of key business
processes through the use of Internet technologies. Electronic business (e-business) is aimed at
enhancing the competitiveness of an organization by deploying innovative information and
communication technology throughout an organization and beyond, through existing connections to
partners and customers [1].
E-commerce is the exchange of information across electronic networks, at any stage in the supply chain,
whether within an organization, between businesses, between businesses and consumers, or between
the public and private sector, whether paid or unpaid [2]. Kalakota and Whinston refer to a range of
different viewpoints of e-commerce, which became especially important with the development of the
Internet: electronic trading of physical goods and intangibles, on-line marketing, ordering, payment and
delivery, after sales support, and online collaboration [3, 4]. These definitions show that electronic
commerce is not solely restricted to the actual buying and selling of products, but also includes pre-sale
and post-sale activities across the supply chain. E-commerce is facilitated by a range of digital
technologies that enable electronic communications and should be considered as all electronically
mediated transactions between an organization and any third party it deals with.
As organizations integrate e-business in their existing businesses, they migrate from traditional physical
business models which increases the role of information technology (IT) because of the importance of
transaction processing. At the same time, students of business and technology should gain awareness
of e-business knowledge for their future careers.
The teaching objectives of our e-commerce course are to develop the students’ knowledge and skills,
such as use of e-commerce and analytical platforms, critical thinking, communication skills, teamwork,
and entrepreneurship. We focus on the practical implications of the project-based teamwork approach
in the teaching and learning of introductory e-commerce from a business context perspective. The
results of an evaluation indicate that the project-based teamwork approach to teaching e-commerce
performs to expectations.
This paper is organized as follows: section 2 describes the typical models and frameworks used for IT
projects management. Section 3 presents the case study of the implementation of Agile frameworks in
the academic course of e-business at the Faculty of Economics of Maria Curie Sklodowska University
in Lublin. The final section summarizes the research outcomes of the paper and suggests future
professional development of our e-business teaching environment.
2 SOFTWARE LIFECYCLE – POPULAR MODELS AND FRAMEWORKS
Due to its complexity information systems are not being built with the same degree of reliability, integrity
and predictability as other engineering disciplines. IT and especially software projects are notoriously
difficult to manage and too many of them end in failure. The analysis of Gartner shows that the main
reason of projects failure in IT is the refusal of the organization to address complexity in the IT business
process. Complex projects with unrealistic goals, unproven teams and almost no accountability at all
levels of the management and governance structure, means no one is responsible for failure [5]. The
main risk factors of IT projects identified by software managers are [6]:
1. lack of management commitment to the project,
2. failure to gain user commitment during the whole software lifecycle,
3. misunderstanding the requirements,
4. lack of adequate user involvement,
5. changing the scope of the project.
The traditional software lifecycle model in software engineering is the waterfall model. In this model the
software development is realized in cascading, incremental steps which do not overlap. In waterfall
model, each phase must be completed before the next phase can begin. At the end of each phase, a
review takes place to determine if the project is on the right path. In this model software testing starts
only after the development is complete. Main disadvantages of this model are high costs of errors
committed at an early phase of the project and the fact, that working software is produced in the final
stages of the project.
Figure 1. Waterfall model of software lifecycle.
Figure 1 shows the waterfall model of software development as a function of time. The number of phases
and their order may change in individual projects, however, each phase always follows the previous one
(they do not overlap) and working software is ready for testing and possibly for use at the end of the
whole project. If the cost or time of completion of individual phases increases, the final or even a partial
version of the product may be outside the budget of the project - using waterfall model in complex and
object-oriented projects is very risky.
Figure 2. The scheme of Agile software development.
In contrast to waterfall model, Agile is a time boxed, iterative approach to software delivery that builds
software incrementally from the start of the project, instead of trying to deliver it all at once near the end
of the project [7] - Figure 2.
Agile development is a term that was derived from the Agile Manifesto, which was written in 2001 [8].
The Agile Manifesto is comprised of four foundational values and 12 supporting principles which lead
the Agile approach to software development – Figure 3. Each Agile methodology applies the four values
in different ways, but all of them rely on them to guide the development and delivery of high-quality,
working software.
Figure 3. Values and (chosen) principles of Agile Software Development.
Generally Agile software development refers to a group of software development methods based on
iterative development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-
organizing cross-functional teams. One of the most popular Agile methods is SCRUM framework -
Figure 4 (left panel) presents the popularity of Agile frameworks. Over 89% respondents report that
Scrum is the Agile approach used in their organization. Scrum and Agile practices are also finding
acceptance in industries beyond IT technology and are taking hold in diverse industries – Figure 4 (right
panel) shows the percentage of Scrum driven projects according to Scrum Alliance survey. The report
shows also that 21% Scrum projects are run by departments outside of IT and the primary non-IT Scrum
organization department is Product development(45%), followed by Research and development (39%),
Sales and marketing (31%), Finance/accounting (20%) and Human resources (20%) [9].
Figure 4. Left panel - popularity of various agile approaches. Right panel – percentage of Scrum
projects as a function of the organizations number (in %) [9].
Since the advantage of Scrum over waterfall becomes more significant not only in IT, we decided to
include the Scrum framework to our e-commerce course program in order to better organize student
work and familiarize students with the project implementation environment as close as possible to the
production environment and market trends.
3 THE COURSE DESCRIPTION
3.1 Outline of the course
An E-business course is offered to third-year business students enrolled in the master’s program in
Management, and is delivered to approximately 60 students (per year) at the Faculty of Economics of
the Maria Curie Sklodowska University in Lublin. The classes are 2 hours per week and the course
includes 15 meetings. All of the students had already taken “IT for Business” as their first IT course and
most of them had no prior experience in programming
3.2 Software components of the course
Figure 5 presents in the form of a class diagram (UML) the possible software components which can
realize the typical e-commerce functions. Our system consists of 3 layers: e-commerce layer, agile layer
and analytical layer. We decided to add the analytical layer to our environment because accurate
measurement of customer profile and behavior is extremely important in e-commerce. We are also
focusing on free software since we analyzed systems dedicated to academic purposes and there are
many open solutions on the market, which have functionalities that are comparable to commercial
products. Sections 3.2.1 – 3.2.3 contain short description of used software tools.
1%
1%
2%
3%
3%
6%
9%
9%
16%
17%
19%
23%
43%
89%
0% 50% 100%
DSDM
Team Software Process…
Unified Process (e.g., RUP,…
Prince2® traditional
Other
Feature-driven development
PMI® (traditional)
Extreme Programming (XP)
Bimodal (traditional…
Lean
Traditional Waterfall
Hybrid (traditional…
Kanban
Scrum
Recognition of agile models
0% 5% 10% 15%
1-10%
11-20%
21-30%
31-40%
41-50%
51-60%
61-70%
71-80%
81-90%
91-100%
Number of organizations
Percentage of Scrum projects
Figure 5. Software components of the course.
3.2.1 E-commerce tools
The main e-commerce platform in our teaching environment is Wordpress – content management
system with WooCommerce as e-commerce plugin [10]. Both, the selected crm and the sales platform
are among the most popular solutions on the market – Wordpress and WooComerce powers about 28%
of all online stores. Moreover, WooCommerce is built to integrate seamlessly with WordPress, which is
the world's most popular method for creating a website. The functionalities and graphic design offered
by WooComerce can be easy extended and personalized through plugins, which can be installed in the
system without programming (coding).
Our course is focused on business, not technology, and therefore the maximum technical simplification
is very important. Chosen solution allows quick implementation of typical sales platform and its basic
personalization.
3.2.2 Agile tools
As a groupware tool we use Redmine – the web-based project management and issue tracking tool. It
allows users to manage multiple projects and it offers wikis, forums, time tracking and calendar with
Gantt charts to aid visual representation of projects. To extend the platform we use free version of Agile
plugin [11] which enables use of best Agile and Scrum practices like:
- Kanban boards,
- Agile charts: Burndown and Velocity,
- sprint planning,
- story points estimation,
- backlog management.
The basic assumption was to provide students with a user-friendly solution, which allows to apply the
best Agile practices in real projects.
3.2.3 Analytical tools
Digital Analytics is a set of measurements that help understand the website (online shop) performance.
It is very important to see what visitors are doing on the shop site, how they interact with it, and how to
help them accomplish their tasks. Analytics is an indispensable element of e-commerce.
In the course we use Google Analytics which is the most popular on-line analytics software. Missing
functionalities we complete with new Google product – Data Studio (in the fields of interactive reports)
and hotjar service (in the fields of visitor monitoring) [12].
3.3 The course procedure
The main course part in our scenario is the Agile development of the e-commerce solution realized by
specialized teams which are working together in order to achieve the optimal design solution in the given
time frame (30 hours).
Figure 6. Diagram of the time distribution of the course.
Figure 6 presents the time distribution between 5 phases of the course. All parts of the course are shortly
described in section 3.3.1 – 3.3.5.
3.3.1 Introduction to Scrum and e-commerce
In the first phase of the course we introduce students to basic issues related to e-business and
Agile/Scrum framework. Table 1 describes the scope of course introduction phase in the field of Agile
and e-commerce.
Table 1 Overview of the introduction phase topics in the field of Agile and e-commerce.
e-commerce topics
Agile/Scrum topics
• E-business and e-commerce fundamentals
• Business models for e-commerce
• Focus on Internet start-up examples
• E-business infrastructure - Internet-access
software applications
• Strategy process models for e-business
• Customer relationship management
• Supporting tools:
online shop platforms, CMS, CRM
• Definition of Scrum
• Scrum concepts:
Product Owner, Development Team, Scrum
Master
• Scrum events:
Daily Scrum, Sprint, Sprint Review, Sprint
Retrospective
• Scrum Artifacts:
Product and Sprint Backlog, Increment
• Supporting techniques and tools:
Kanban board, user story, burndown chart
3.3.2 Teams formulating
During the second phase students are assigned to one of three groups, that will perform other projects
tasks. Teams is an essential ingredient for building a successful business, so we focus to match students
skills to the tasks of the project and identify personalities which feel complement one another. We would
like to work with self-organizing teams which consists of motivated individuals, who work together toward
a goal and have the ability to take decisions and adapt to changing demands.
1 Introduction to
Scrum and e-
commerce
20%
2 Teams
formulating
5%
3 Initial planning
20%
4 Agile
development
50%
5 Project
summary
5%
Students are divided into three groups that perform the following roles in the project:
• Product Owner (PO) – according to Scrum Guide [13] this role is responsible for maximizing the
value of the product resulting from work of the Development Team. In practice PO manages the
Product Backlog, describes the Product Backlog items and ensures that Product Backlog is
transparent and shows what the Scrum Team will work on next.
• Development Team – according to Scrum Guide, members of the Development Team create
the releasable Product Increment at the end of each sprint. In our scenario we run two
Development Teams:
o Development Team I (DTI) – which will work on e-commerce in CMS and
WooCommerce to implement functionalities related to the sales process in the online
store,
o Development Team II (DTII) – which will implement metrics and reports in analytical
tools described in section 3.2.3.
PO works on whole project while DTI and DTII deal with respective project parts. All teams have
approximately equal number of participants - there are up to 20 students in the group, so in practice
each team has about 6-7 members. Except listed roles, the tutor participates in the project as Scrum
Master and helps everyone understand Scrum theory, practices and rules. Our Scrum Master is also
technical support for all stakeholders and he manages all IT systems used during the project realization.
3.3.3 Initial planning
In the planning phase teams are working on the initial tasks specific to each group – Table 2 contains
lists of typical activities for this part of the course. After initial planning phase the teams should have a
complete project and sprint backlogs and the first sprint should be prepared.
Table 2 Overview of the introduction phase topics in the field of Agile and e-commerce.
Product Owner
Development Team I
Development Team II
• Product Backlog preparation.
• Product Backlog Item
description (using the User
Story method and “MoSCoW”
prioritization).
• Ordering the Product Backlog
Items.
• CMS and sales platform
configuration.
• Plugin installation.
• Estimation the complexity of
Backlog Items.
• Analytics platforms
configuration.
• Sample reports preparation.
• Estimation the complexity of
Backlog Items.
• Agile/Scrum software training and customization.
3.3.4 Agile development
Agile development in the course scenario consists of three short sprints – each about 2-3 weeks. After
each sprint Development Teams should release products increments which value is checked by the
Product Owner. Solutions evolve through collaboration between teams utilizing the appropriate practices
for their context. The software lifecycle in Agile development phase presents Figure 7.
Figure 7. The scheme of Agile development project phase.
During this phase Scrum Master (the tutor) supports students in several ways, including [13]:
• Product Owner team:
o Finding techniques for effective Product Backlog management.
o Understanding product planning in an empirical environment.
o Ensuring the Product Owner knows how to arrange the Product Backlog to maximize
value;
• Development Teams:
o Removing impediments to the Development Team’s progress.
o Coaching the Development Team in self-organization.
o Helping the Development Team to create high-value products.
o Solving technical problems.
To improve communication in Development Teams the Daily Scrums are organized. During the Scrum
developers answer three typical Scrum questions [13]:
1. What did I do that helped the Development Team meet the Sprint Goal?
2. What will I do today to help the Development Team meet the Sprint Goal?
3. Do I see any impediment that prevents me or the Development Team from meeting the Sprint
Goal?
All project progress is monitored on the Kanban board which is accessible in Redmine for all project
stakeholders.
3.3.5 Project summary
At the end of the project all groups of students summarize the project. PO identifies the product quality
and its compliance with the requirements. Development Teams present their comments to the work and
discuss the main problems encountered during development. Scrum Master presents a short
presentation summarizing the project from his point of view, with a special focus to realized e-commerce
and analytical functionalities and compliance with Scrum framework.
4 RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
Our experiences indicate that students like the practical components of the course and are interested in
an Agile approach to learning. Interviews with students confirm hypothesis that students prefer learning
through practical projects than formal lectures. In order to provide students with an real environment
we use most popular software solutions (selected according to the survey among companies) which met
with a positive reception among the audience. Projects realized during the course had a large
implementation rate of backlog issues – average ratio was about 80% correctly implemented issues.
Theoretical part of the course consists of a few formal lectures needed to introduce Scrum and e-
commerce concepts. Main part of the of the course is the Scrum development of e-commerce market
solution phase, during which students work according to Scrum framework. Another conclusion resulting
from the course show that the balance between coaching and self-organization of teams is very
important, extremely in educational environment. Scrum self-organization provides experimental
learning through discovery and participation, while direct training remains important to achieve
acceptable quality of the final product. Presented course scenario aims to promote the concept of
“learning by doing” [14], which success is proven by number of real systems implemented in commercial
environment.
The topic of e-commerce is changing fast and it is considered difficult and challenging. In this type of
subjects traditional face-to-face approach may not be useful and it should relate to practice and
supporting solutions like Agile/Scrum to stimulate the interests of students and maximize the chance for
learning process success.
In the future we plan to involve real e-business companies in classes and to extend the training part with
the e-learning system with on-line examples showing various selling platform and interactive, on-line
analytical reports.
REFERENCES
[1]
D. Chaffey , E-Business and E-Commerce Management, Pearson Education Limited, 2006.
[2]
Cabinet Ofiice, "A Performance and Innovation Unit report – September.," UK Cabinet Office.,
1997.
[3]
R. Kalakota and A. Whinston, Electronic Commerce: A Manager's Guide, Addison-Wesley
Professional, 1997.
[4]
R. Tassabehji, Understanding E-Commerce for Business, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2003.
[5]
S. Moore, "IT Projects Need Less Complexity, Not More Governance," Gartner Inc., 2015. [Online].
Available: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/it-projects-need-less-complexity-not-
more-governance/. [Accessed 30 12 2017].
[6]
M. Keil, P. Cule, K. Lyytinen and R. Schmidt, "A Framework for indentyfying software projects
risks," Communications of the ACM, vol. 41, no. 11, 1998.
[7]
J. Rasmusson, "Agile In a Nutshell," [Online]. Available: http://www.agilenutshell.com/. [Accessed
11 12 2017].
[8]
B. Mike, A. van Bennekun, A. Cockburn, W. Cunningham, M. Fowler, J. Highsmith, A. Hunt, R.
Jeffries, J. Kern, B. Marick, R. Martin, K. Schwaber, J. Suherland and D. Thomas, "Manifesto for
Agile Software Development," 2001. [Online]. Available: http://agilemanifesto.org/. [Accessed 11
12 2017].
[9]
Scrum Alliance, "The State of Scrum Report - 2017 Edition," Scrum Alliance, 2017.
[10]
Automattic Inc., "WooCommerce - the best Wordpress eCommerce platform," [Online]. Available:
https://woocommerce.com/. [Accessed 8 12 2017].
[11]
RedmineUp, "Redmine Agile Plugin," [Online]. Available:
https://www.redmineup.com/pages/plugins/agile. [Accessed 11 12 2017].
[12]
Hotjar Ltd., "Hotjar - Heatmaps, Visitor Ratings, Conversion Funnels," [Online]. Available:
https://www.hotjar.com/. [Accessed 10 12 2017].
[13]
K. Schwaber and J. Sutherland, The Scrum Guide, 2001.
[14]
E. Ngai, "Learning in Introductory E-Commerce: A Project-Based Teamwork Approach,"
Computers & Education, vol. 48, no. 1, 2007.
[15]
V. Mahnic, "Teaching Scrum through Team-Project Work: Students’ Perceptions and Teacher’s
Observations," International Journal of Engineering Education, 2010.