Towards a serious game to teach ISO/IEC 12207 software lifecycle process: An interactive learning approach

Abstract

ISO/IEC 12207 training is a key element to provide an ability to software development organizations for selecting a set of required processes, measuring the performance of these processes, and continuously improving them. Traditionally, such training is either performed by an expert individual to the software quality management personnel most likely in form of a seminar in a classroom environment. This may also be given by a qualified professional, such as a registered auditor. However, software requirements are usually subject to change, and there­fore such training is not enough to teach the substantial details of the entire standard. This has led to increased reports of complications, which demotivates organization to use this standard. To improve the quality of traditional training, a 3D serious game was proposed. The preliminary idea here is that the training is utilized as a game that employs 3D office landscape to provide a realistic virtual environment for ensuring that the training will be based in a real-world-like environment. Before building a prototype for our serious game, we consulted five industrial experts whose works are related with ISO standards. To give these practitioners an opportunity to explore the conceptual design and raise some potential problems, the semi-structured interview method was used. Based on the suggestions of experts, proposed model of the serious game were revised. Taken together, initial results suggest that a serious game for teaching ISO/IEC 12207 should be useful for individuals who are interested in learning more about the standard.