Introducing empirical software engineering methods in education

Empirical methods are important in software engineering. It is important to be able to evaluate new techniques and methods in a structured way before they are introduced in the software process. This paper presents how empirical methods may be taught by letting students take part in the execution and analysis of empirical investigations in projects. The projects that the students carry out include a role-play where teachers play the roles of managers for the students and responsible for ordering the work of the students. It is found that the project is well received and that it is probable that the students reach the related learning objectives of the course.