MSES602 DevOps is an introductory class at Regis as part of its Enterprise Systems Engineering Program designed to immerse students in the collaborative environment of rapidly and reliably building, testing, and releasing software. However, just as information technology systems must rapidly evolve in order to survive, so too must the educational institutions responsible for delivery the foundational knowledge of information technology. Therefore, can MSES602 evolve to better suit the needs of its students, instructors, and Regis administration? The Situation and the Stakeholders One of the key components of the class is the labs which reinforce the concepts taught such as code automation and continuous delivery of code. Currently, there …show more content…
Arguably, for most students this is Windows, but many will wish to use Apple or even Linux systems. While the labs should be compatible with any and all of these systems, having multiple systems only increases the probability that a lab will have a discrepancy that can cause issues for students. Facilitator’s Perspective The student’s problems are the facilitator’s problems, and the MSES602 labs are no exception. Obviously, a certain amount of time is going to be spent by the facilitators in helping struggling students. However, when those struggles go beyond the difficulties in learning the material and stretch into areas that should just be simple execution, then the work load for the facilitator increases dramatically. This not only adds stress to the facilitator, but also hampers their ability to respond to students in a timely manner. Additionally, the current lab structure requires facilitators to constantly monitor software releases to ensure seamless integration. With only eight weeks between classes, however, it becomes impossible for facilitators to confirm software changes, update the course literature, and integrate the changes in time for the new class. Even timing were not prohibitive, this is still a substantial amount of work for a …show more content…
If students struggle, a good facilitator wants to know. With the current lab setup for MSES602, however, the facilitator only knows when the student struggles if the student directly provides that feedback. That can be a problematic scenario for multiple reasons. First, many students assume the lab can be completed per the instructions. As previously note, this could be erroneous. Second, the only method for students to communicate their issues is via posts or emails, which can be limiting and often result in delayed responses. Clearly, neither of these scenarios are adequate for facilitator’s to meet the needs of their