Day 13: Collaborative Program Development - Day 1

Learning Objectives

• CRD-1.A: Explain how computing innovations are improved through collaboration.
• CRD-1.B: Explain how computing innovations are developed by groups of people.
• CRD-1.C: Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills during collaboration.
• CRD-2.E: Develop a program using a development process.
• CRD-2.F: Design a program and its user interface.

Essential Questions

• How can we apply collaborative development processes to create effective programs?
• How do we translate requirements into a program design?

Materials Needed

• Project guidelines handout
• Team formation cards/process
• Requirements gathering templates
• Project plan templates
• Design document templates

Vocabulary

• Collaborative development
• Project plan
• Requirements specification
• Team roles
• Minimum viable product (MVP)

Procedure (50 minutes)

Opening (10 minutes)

1. Introduction to Final Project (7 minutes)

   • Explain the collaborative program development project:
     • Teams will design and plan a program that solves a problem
     • Project will incorporate concepts from entire unit
     • Emphasis on collaboration, design, and documentation
     • Final deliverables will include design documents, prototype, and presentation
   • Share project rubric and expectations

2. Project Brainstorming (3 minutes)

   • Individual brainstorming of potential project ideas
   • Students write down 2-3 ideas for programs that solve problems

Main Activities (30 minutes)

3. Team Formation (5 minutes)

   • Form teams of 3-4 students
   • Consider balancing skills and interests
   • Teams establish communication protocols

4. Initial Planning (10 minutes)

   • Teams discuss project ideas from individual brainstorming
   • Teams select a project focus using consensus building
   • Teams identify the problem their program will solve
   • Teams define the purpose and target users of their program

5. Requirements Gathering and Specification (15 minutes)

   • Teams develop detailed requirements for their program:
     • Functional requirements (what the program must do)
     • Non-functional requirements (performance, usability)
     • Constraints and limitations
   • Teams create user personas and scenarios
   • Teams define the scope of their minimum viable product (MVP)
   • Teams document requirements in a specification document

Closing (10 minutes)

6. Project Plan Development (7 minutes)

   • Teams create initial project plans including:
     • Team roles and responsibilities
     • Timeline for design, development, and testing
     • Communication plan
     • Risk assessment and mitigation strategies

7. Preview Next Session (3 minutes)

   • Explain that next class will focus on design and prototyping
   • Ask teams to refine requirements before next class
   • Remind students to document their collaboration process

Assessment

• Formative: Quality of team interactions and decision-making
• Project Plan: Completeness and feasibility of project plan
• Requirements Document: Clarity and comprehensiveness of requirements

Differentiation

For Advanced Teams

• Encourage more complex program features
• Suggest consideration of extensibility and scalability
• Challenge them to incorporate advanced UI elements

For Struggling Teams

• Provide more structured project templates
• Offer simplified project scope suggestions
• Give additional guidance on requirements gathering

Homework/Extension

• Refine project requirements based on team feedback
• Research similar programs for inspiration
• Prepare initial ideas for program design and user interface

Teacher Notes

• Monitor team dynamics to ensure equitable participation
• Provide guidance on scope management (avoiding overly ambitious projects)
• Remind students to apply collaboration techniques from Week 1
• Emphasize documentation of both the product and the process
• Circulate among teams to provide feedback and guidance