Assignment 1: scrum vs. plan-based software development strategies

You are the lead software engineer at a large educational institution consisting of twenty three (23) campuses located across the Midwestern United States. Your team has been asked to spearhead an effort to implement a new software program that will serve as a centralized student information center for all of your online students. This system is being designed to reduce the cost of managing students’ information and to automate the processes associated with this information. The total online enrollment currently stands at 10,000 students. As the project manager you will need to decide whether to utilize the Scrum approach to project management or a more conventional, plan-based approach.

Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:

1. Describe your approach in managing this project through both a Scrum-based approach and a plan-based software engineering approach.
2. Identify how to address the most challenging aspects of this software development project under both approaches and describe how to address such challenges to ensure a successful outcome.
3. Develop a visual rendering of each approach using Microsoft Visio or its open source alternative, Dia. Note: The graphically depicted solution is not included in the required page length.
4. Evaluate the effectiveness of a Scrum approach compared to a plan-based approach based on the following factors:
   1. Planning the allocation of people to projects
   2. Estimating the cost of projects
   3. Maintaining team cohesion
   4. Managing changes in project team membership

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
• Include charts or diagrams created in Visio or an equivalent such as Dia. The completed diagrams / charts must be imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Summarize the competitive advantages software engineering presents to organizations.
• Evaluate the issues and challenges associated with software engineering.
• Describe the role of Agile methods in software engineering projects.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in software engineering.
• Write clearly and concisely about software engineering using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.