Abstract:

One of the current challenges in technological education—particularly in intensive short-term programmes—is the implementation of teaching methodologies that promote active, applied learning focused on the acquisition of practical competencies within reduced timeframes. Although agile methodologies have gained relevance in broader educational contexts, their incorporation into condensed courses remains limited, with traditional models relying on guided exercises and immediate submissions that do not allow students to apply content to real projects or experience iterative improvement cycles. This often results in inconsistent project quality and fragmented learning, especially in game development, where creativity, iteration and early product validation are essential.

This study presents the implementation of agile principles and practices—specifically, Scrum and the Lean Startup methodology—in two intensive 20-hour courses on video game development with Unity: one introducing C# programming and the other focusing on 2D games. Both programmes follow short work cycles (‘sprints’) in which the teacher first presents the basic content and defines the requirements, and then the students develop their final project. The Lean Startup Create-Measure-Learn cycle is applied to produce a minimum viable product (MVP), and students receive ongoing guidance to refine the mechanics, structure, and scope within the established constraints. This approach simulates a real production environment and exposes students early on to practices commonly used in professional video game studios, fostering autonomy, time management, and self-organisation.

A mixed-methods approach was employed to analyse the results, combining quantitative and qualitative data through a voluntary and anonymous Likert-scale survey. The objective was to evaluate the impact of the approach on the final project submission, determine whether the feedback helped students identify strengths and areas for improvement, and examine whether they had previously experienced similar methodologies. The survey consisted of five multiple-choice questions plus comments for both courses, with an additional item in the Unity 2D course to identify whether non-submission of the final project was due to reasons unrelated to the training.

Finally, the results show a participation rate of 92% in Introduction to Programming in C# (12/13 students) and 53% in Unity 2D (10/19 students). Students reported that the agile methodology supported project organisation, clarified objectives and improved the quality of their final submission, with “strongly agree” and “partially agree” as the predominant responses. In Unity 2D, non-submissions were due to external causes. Furthermore, 50% of students in the C# course and 40% in Unity 2D had previously completed similar training. Overall, the findings demonstrate that agile methodologies can be effectively integrated into very short training programmes, strengthening learning quality, increasing student motivation, and encouraging the adoption of these practices in other intensive technical courses.

Keywords:

Agile Methodologies, Scrum and Lean Startup, Technology-Enhanced Learning, Unity Game Development, Short-Term Technical Training.