Learning Agile Software Development in High School: An Investigation

Context: Empirical investigations regarding using Agile programming methodologies in high schools are scarce in the literature. Objective: This paper evaluates (i) the performance, (ii) the code quality, and (iii) the satisfaction of both students and teachers in using Agile practices in education. Method: this study includes an experiment, administered in a laboratory controlled setting to measure students' per- formances and a case study to value the code quality im- provements. Questionnaires were also used to evaluate qual- itative aspects of Agile practices. Results: groups of students with mixed skills performed significantly better than groups with the same skill level. Moreover, there was also a general increase in code quality along with satisfaction. Conclusions: Agile methodologies are useful in the High School education of young software developers.