Abstract:

The successful completion of final degree projects (FDPs) poses significant challenges for both supervising professors and students, necessitating effective organization, teamwork, and communication throughout the project journey. However, various difficulties hinder these essential aspects, jeopardizing the timely delivery of project outcomes and documentation. To address these challenges, this project proposes the integration of project management software (PMS) and agile methodologies, commonly used in industry, to manage, monitor, and supervise FDPs. This approach involves defining clear roles and responsibilities, managing and allocating resources, and ensuring efficient communication and tracking.
The project design encompasses an experimental study comprising a pilot group utilizing the selected PMS and a control group. The objective is to compare the performance of both groups in terms of achieving learning objectives and assessing the academic performance of students and professors in their respective roles. This project is executed over one year, divided into five work packages: Experiment Design, Experiment Configuration, Experiment Execution, Results Analysis, and Results Dissemination.
By incorporating technology that aligns with the current generation of students' familiarity, this project aims to revolutionize the coordination and monitoring of FDPs. By providing students with real-time visibility into project progress, facilitating effective communication, and instilling passion and curiosity in their research topics. Students develop crucial competencies and provide practical solutions to real organizations or clients.
The identification of specific needs in the FDP context has guided the project's objectives. These needs include addressing students' preference for passive learning, fostering active and participatory engagement, enhancing communication channels between students, tutors, and course coordinators, providing real-time progress monitoring, incorporating motivational factors to ensure a consistent work pace, and emphasizing the long-term benefits of timely project completion.
The successful implementation of this project catalyzes pedagogical advancements in higher education, challenging traditional approaches to FCP supervision. By utilizing PMS systems, other faculties within the university and the broader education ecosystem can also benefit from enhanced supervision and coordination. The project's outcomes are expected to contribute to the professional quality of university graduates by promoting contextualized learning and facilitating the development of competencies relevant to real work environments.
A comprehensive evaluation of student performance is conducted, comparing the pilot group utilizing PMS with the control group. The evaluation encompasses quantitative and qualitative analyses, involving the design of measurement instruments, data collection, analysis, and the formulation of hypotheses for comparison.
This project aims to enhance the supervision and coordination of final degree projects by integrating project management software and modern management approaches. By addressing the identified needs and challenges, the final degree projects experience is transformed both for students and professors, setting a reference for future years and influencing pedagogical practices in higher education.

Keywords:

Project management software, final degree projects, learning, interactive learning.