Use cases and eXtreme programming concepts applied to research training

Our group is now in the process of putting together a research training program that will combine local and distance education components. The program uses an innovative combination of concepts, including a problem-based approach, full-integration with applied Research on Research, and simultaneous dissemination to multiple countries. While each of these approaches is not new per se, putting them all together turned out to be a challenge. After all, while there is no way to reach perfection with the first class (or is there ever perfection??), we want to predict and preemptively address as many problems as possible.

Consulting traditional educational texts on educational planning sure helps, but there was still something missing. It was only when our interdisciplinary group got "virtually together" that the missing piece became apparent: When our programmers heard us talk about the uncertainty with the first class, their reaction was to suggest the creation of use cases and also make use of the eXtreme programming approach. That surely came naturally to programmers who are, by trade, constantly dealing with very complex scenarios where users frequently have a bare knowledge of what they want, but they surely want their problems fixed.

We could go on and on about the how these two approaches can be used in a educational setting, but here are a few ideas that we are currently implementing:

• Design use cases from the perspective of the student and the instructor, following each of their steps from the start to end of the course. We are currently not using UML, but that could surely be a next step.
  
• In line with the idea of constant and small releases from eXtreme Programming, we are conducting training short sessions covering all topics with students that are novice, but not completely new to the field. Because these trials are quick in comparison with the full course (three weeks vs. one year), we can "debug" the course from its major flaws while also getting some rich input from students since some of them have gone through previous training.