JADE: a board game to teach software ergonomics

TL;DR

JADE is an educational board game designed to teach software ergonomics concepts to beginners, successfully used in university courses with over 850 learners, and enhanced with QR codes and videos for improved engagement.

Contribution

This paper introduces the design, implementation, and evaluation of JADE, a novel educational game for software ergonomics, including hybrid digital-physical versions and extensive classroom testing.

Findings

Effective in teaching software ergonomics to beginners

Engaged over 850 students across multiple sessions

Provided insights for future game improvements

Abstract

JADE is an educational game we have imagined, designed, built, and used successfully in various contexts. This board game enables learning and practicing software ergonomics concepts. It is intended for beginners. We use it every year during several hours with our second-year computer science students at Lyon 1 University. In this paper, we present the classical version of the game, as well as the design and evaluation process that we applied. We also present the hybrid version of JADE, which relies on the use of QR codes and videos. We also present its use in our teaching (with about 850 learners for a total duration of 54 hours, which totals more than 2500 student-hours). We then discuss the results obtained and present the considered evolutions.