Exploring which agile principles students internalize when using a kanban process methodology

This paper reports on a case study of the Agile Kanban project methodology, which while growing in popularity, has had far less analysis on its usefulness in the classroom as compared to other frameworks such as Agile Scrum. Our study provides insight into why the Kanban methodology is useful by mapping student comments about the methodology to the twelve principles laid down in the Agile Manifesto. Our analysis identified two key agile principles that help to explain the value of Kanban. Specifically, we found that the students focused on self-organizing teams and reflection at regular intervals, and that these two principles led to improved team communication and coordination. Our findings are useful for those looking to use or define a process management methodology for student teams as well as others exploring the more general challenge of incorporating agile into the classroom.