Designing a serious game for Scrum learning: boundary objects as a medium for knowledge transfer

Scrum approach is now an important component of project management courses in universities. Experiential learning approaches as serious games seem to be more effective for Scrum learning since they have the advantage of providing students with an opportunity of encountering complex, realistic project situations. However, these educational games often lack clear specifications as to how they are to be incorporated within an experiential learning approach following a systematic instructional design. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework that shapes serious games design, providing guidelines that allow integrating mechanisms of transfer aligned with the nature of knowledge. These transfer mechanisms rely on a "boundary perspective" with the use of boundary objects and boundary actors as a means to fostering social exchange during the game. Our framework is tested through the design of a LEGO serious game, MindScrum, to strengthen Scrum learning. We present the design principles of the game and discuss its effectiveness in the learning process relying on a mixed evaluation approach (qualitative and quantitative) performed with 92 graduate MIS students.