Common phenomena exhibited by students in their individual design processes: A multi-scenario case study on software design education

Abstract

Cultivating students' software design capabilities through effective training has always been a challenge in software education. This paper is aimed at addressing this issue by adopting a multi-scenario case study approach to examine the independent design processes of 23 undergraduate students on an online teaching system. The selected case scenario models include transaction flow diagrams (TFDs), activity diagrams, sequence diagrams, and entity-relationship (ER) diagrams. By analyzing students' behavioral performances and design outcomes, a series of common phenomena are identified. These phenomena encompass common errors, such as overlooking key steps, struggling to distinguish similar data objects, and omitting critical entities or attributes. Common behaviors include offering various solutions, facing challenges in achieving specific design goals due to a lack of prior experience, and experiencing difficulties meeting requirements using prescribed syntax. Common approaches to assist students include providing reference software, adopting teamwork for idea generation, and allowing iterative modifications to improve outcomes. Based on these common phenomena exhibited by students, several recommendations are provided for software educators to enhance the development of students' software design capabilities, which mainly include considering students' prior experience in assignments, providing design references for unfamiliar software, encouraging peer discussions and multiple iterations, and guiding students towards continuous improvement rather than disregarding unconventional outcomes. The common phenomena identified in this paper seamlessly integrate with software design education, reflecting its distinct characteristics. Those common phenomena will help researchers understand student needs and challenges. Additionally, the research design, which analyzes student behaviors based on their software design outcomes, provides a fresh perspective in the field. Furthermore, the conclusions drawn in this paper offer valuable insights for educators who aim to enhance classroom experiences in software design courses.