Abstract:

Prototyping is an important part of the software development process which contributes to the quality of the final product. Accordingly, software engineering students should be taught prototype development and testing, in order to become familiar with users’ needs and also to better understand the application development process. In the process of prototype testing, it is crucial that students evaluate their own work, as well as the work of their peers. Self-evaluation and peer-evaluation of prototypes help students to better understand potential improvements to the application prototype and to implement those improvements in the development of the final product.

This paper presents the usability testing of high fidelity prototypes using videos and Moodle workshops in the undergraduate course IT Services Management, and analyzes results of student self-assessment and peer-assessment (N=445). An innovative way of prototype testing/evaluation is presented along with the results of teacher evaluation of the prototype; moreover, student self-assessment and peer-assessment are discussed.

The results indicate that the student and peer assessments differed from those of the teacher, but the assessments from students and peers are more similar. Student- and peer- assessments are too high when considering teacher grading as a reference framework.

Keywords:

Workshop, peer-assessment, prototype testing, self-assessment.