A Lightweight Scrum Sprint Simulation to Help Learners Traverse the Empirical Process Control Threshold Concept

2026-05-02

AI Summary

This study addresses the pedagogical challenge of teaching the threshold concept of “empirical process control” in Scrum by designing a lightweight, free, customizable, and scalable sprint simulation activity. Integrating the threshold concepts framework with active learning, the approach guides students through a single instructional session in which they practice visualizing work status, selecting tasks, and allocating resources, thereby directly experiencing decision-making grounded in empirical feedback. The method combines direct instruction with interactive simulation and employs abductive analysis to evaluate its effectiveness. Implementation across master’s-level courses at two universities and a teaching assistant training program at another institution demonstrates that the simulation significantly enhances students’ understanding of empirical process control, confirming its viability and efficacy as a cross-institutional tool for teaching agile development.

Abstract

Empirical process control, a way of managing work based on the observation of the successes or misfortunes of earlier activities, is a key process in Scrum and other agile development frameworks. In this experience report, we present a lightweight, scalable, free and customizable sprint simulation activity designed to teach students how to empirically control a Scrum project by engaging in the presentation and interpretation of work status information, task selection and resource allocations in a single teaching session. We reflect on our experience using the simulation as an active learning complement to direct instruction in two master level courses at two different universities and in the training of teaching assistants at a third institution, and abductively establish its effectiveness by mapping student comments to the teaching practices in the threshold concepts framework.

Problem

• empirical process control
• Scrum
• threshold concept
• agile development
• sprint simulation

Innovation

• lightweight simulation
• empirical process control
• Scrum sprint
• threshold concept
• active learning