The TDL software development team began its second consecutive sprint this fall devoted to improvements in the Vireo electronic thesis and dissertation management system.
The team met for a sprint planning session on Monday, September 27, with Laura Hammons, chair of the Vireo Users Group (VUG). Hammons will serve as “product owner” for the sprint as a representative of the VUG. As product owner, Hammons worked with the team to determine what new functionality should take priority during the sprint’s two-week time frame. At the sprint’s close, she will also determine whether the team met established “acceptance criteria” for completing the work successfully.
The term “sprint” refers to a short development iteration, which is a key component of the “scrum” development methodology used by the TDL team. At the end of each sprint, the team delivers a workable product that includes the fixes or enhancements (defined as “user stories”) agreed on at the sprint’s start.
The current sprint is focused on several user stories related to ETD embargoes, or publication delays. The new enhancements will add flexibility to the existing embargo features in Vireo, including the ability for administrators to create customized embargo types.
A previous Vireo sprint, concluded September 17, resulted in several fixes to known issues in Vireo.