Abstract:

The objective of this article is to present a process of applying the SCRUM methodology to practical lab classes in the Operations and Technology Strategy subject of the University Master Degree in Business Administration (MBA) at the Higher Polytechnic School of Alcoy of the Universitat Politécnica de València. To do so, the MBA Degree was globally analysed. Next the teaching programme was proposed for the corresponding subject. This contextualised the subject in the syllabus underway by focusing on skills, and on coordinating and organising the subject and teaching-learning methodologies. Next the syllabus, the teaching programme of theoretical/practical classes, the recommended bibliography, the evaluation system, etc., were proposed. The SCRUM methodology was selected here as a framework within which students can tackle complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value (Schwaber & Sutherland, 2016). This framework has been used to manage the development of complex products since the beginning of the 1990s. It is not a process or technique to build products but is, instead, a framework within which several processes and techniques can be used.

SCRUM is particularly indicated for projects run in complex environments, where quickly obtaining results, requirements that either change or are poorly defined, and innovation, competitiveness, flexibility and productivity are fundamental (Proyectos Ágiles, 2017). In SCRUM a project can be run in short and set time blocks (iterations that normally last 2 weeks, but can last 3 and up to 4 weeks in some teams, which is the maximum feedback and reflection limit). Each iteration has to provide a complete result, an increase in the end product that is susceptible to being delivered to the customer when required by investing the minimum effort.

The teaching methods used mainly in the teaching programme for the Operations and Technology Strategy subject are: inverse class, case study, discussion groups, simultaneous dialogues, oral exposures and practical lab classes based on the SCRUM methodology. The planned tutorials, which students attend voluntarily, complement the combination of the teaching methods used in this teaching programme. The SCRUM methodology has been applied to encourage the relative efficiency of practical lab classes, whose ultimate objective is to develop a collaborative project to create the operations strategy of a new business idea. By applying SCRUM, three partial and normal deliveries from the final project are made: the decision-making area of capacity, locating capacity and selecting suppliers, and the direct and indirect selection of process technology. These deliveries are complemented with an initial part to define the business idea and performance objectives, and with a final organisation and development part.

Acknowledgements:
This work has been developed as part of an educational innovation project funded by the Universitat Politècnica de València (PIME/2017/B/008) “Application of an agile and collaborative work methodology (SCRUM) in the Master in Business Administration (MBA) to improve transversal skills”.

References:
[1] Proyectos Ágiles (2017): https://proyectosagiles.org/que-es-scrum/ (consultada el 27/04/2017).
[2] Schwaber, K., Sutherland, J. (2016) La guía de ScrumTM. La guía definitiva de Scrum: las reglas del juego.

Keywords:

SCRUM, operations strategy, Business Management, collaborative work.