Abstract
Background. Global Software Engineering (GSE) education is an established practice in academia. Several methods and tools support communication and programming activities, but earlier development stages, such as software design and modeling practices, are less explored. Aim. The goal of this work is to analyze the learners’ perspective during an online Software Engineering course. In particular, we focus on planning/organization activities and socio-technical challenges during the software design and modeling process. Method. We used a mixed-method approach to collect data from 30 undergraduate students enrolled in an online Software Engineering course. We combined questionnaires and interviews to analyze four GSE elements (i.e., communication practices, team collaboration, task allocation and distribution, and usage of collaboration tools). Moreover, we analyzed the socio-technical challenges faced by the teams. Results. Brainstorming is the most common practice used for planning so (...).