Mr. Brian Connell and Mr. David Musgrave of the Combat Capabilities Development Center Armaments Center (CCDC AC) at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, have adapted a Gamification approach to Software Safety Instruction from a technique previously used to teach the Agile Development Philosophy. The Gamification approach employs the use of gaming dice and fictional safety features as a means of keeping students engaged while they learn the process of assigning Severity, Control and ultimately Criticality Indices per MIL-STD-882E. Students are given a budget as they compete via round-by-round scoring in which they incur fiscal penalties for overly conservative Criticality ratings and risk stiffer penalties (dictated by gaming dice) for liberal/unsafe assessments. The approach leverages the competitive nature of individuals and the strengths of active learning to maximize retention of critical software safety concepts. It has the added dividend of incorporating programmatic concerns such as budgetary constraints and risk management. The tutorial was received a Best Tutorial Award at the 35th ISSC in Albuquerque and has maintained ISSS interest as a prospective tool for bringing software safety instruction to institutions of higher learning. This year, at the invitation of the society, Mr. Connell returns with an improved tutorial designed to minimize past controversies over Severity assignment, address delays in scoring and maintain a focus on learning objectives.?
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