As part of the University’s Digital Transformation programme, four pilot projects are underway to test and implement Agile methodology to improve key systems within the Education Portfolio, starting with TMS (Teaching Management System).
The team (referred to as a squad in the Agile context) improving TMS have reached an important milestone in the pilot and have begun the sprinting phase. This means they are now planning, collaborating, executing and evaluating in two-week sprints to deliver continuous improvements to TMS. A sprint is a time-boxed period - in our case two weeks - when a squad works to complete a set amount of work.
The TMS squad is made up of colleagues from existing teams and expert consultants supporting the implementation of Agile. They are trialling new ways of working with a focus on user feedback around what is needed from the system.
What is TMS?
TMS is a digital application used by academic and administrative staff involved in undergraduate teaching at colleges and departments across the University of Oxford. Its primary purpose is to administer tutorial reports and payments related to undergraduate tutorial teaching provided by or on behalf of colleges. The system was designed to streamline teaching-related processes and make it easier for educators to manage their teaching responsibilities.
TMS is used across the collegiate University meaning users have a wide range of needs. It was built internally in 2020/21 and launched during the pandemic, and was then handed over to be supported, rather than developed further. As TMS has been used, issues have been identified around user interface and user experience, but there has been no team available to make major improvements to the system over and above standard support issues.
What is the TMS squad working on?
As part of Oxford’s digital transformation programme, a decision was made to prioritise TMS and ensure it was one of the first systems being continuously improved with new investment and resources. Following a successful mobilisation and discovery phase, the squad will focus on making ongoing improvements to TMS which will be implemented, tested and launched in regular two-week sprints into the live environment. This means users will start to experience improved user experience on a regular basis during the next few months.
The TMS squad are working closely with student and staff colleagues throughout the project to ensure the views and needs of end-users are reflected in the service improvements. Ongoing updates within the Agile methodology means the team can continuously test improvements and get feedback from users to refine and implement further changes.
User interface and user experience have been identified as key priorities for TMS during the discovery phase. The team have already made background updates to the technical architecture of the system and implemented a “select all” button to improve user experience. Previously, users had to manually select relevant options from a long list, but the new “select all” function allows them to quickly select a large number of options from the filter menu. These changes will be released to the live system in the next few weeks.
All product squads need the help of a Product Owner who knows the users’ needs and can help the team deliver the features that will best benefit them. If you are a TMS user with an interest in developing your stakeholder management and problem-solving skills and are keen to help improve TMS for its users, please consider applying for the new TMS Product Owner role.
The wider pilot programme
Alongside TMS, pilot programmes are also taking place with SITS (Student Information System), ADSS (Undergraduate Admissions) and Canvas (Virtual Learning Environment). The SITS and ADSS squads are currently in the discovery phase, while Canvas will mobilise in June, with all teams working closely with relevant user groups to identify key priorities for the teams. All pilot team members are receiving Agile training as part of their induction into the pilot before they start sprinting, TMS and SITS have completed theirs with ADSS and Canvas happening soon, to ensure they have recent agile knowledge and to help develop their agile awareness.
