CST300 - Week 2

Part 0: The CST300 Module 2 Lectures

    The Peter Diamandis presentation "The future is faster than you think" provided the insight on how fast the world is operating, but at the same time, more people are gaining an education and are enabled by the internet to achieve more. I find that the talk was a bit self-serving, in that this talk was given at Brightline Initiative in the Silicon Valley, and not given in a country that is still underserved to this day. Searching the Singularity University up on Google did not give me a good impression of their current deeds either, with embezzlement, SA, and discrimination given to me first, then my actual question after (the location of the university, in Silicon Valley).

    The article "The Future of Software Engineering: Key Emerging Trends in 2024" begins as a discussion about the current downward trend of software engineer openings. Much of the future of software engineering involves AI in some way, with future methodologies moving away from Agile and towards AI ethics standards, and finding ways to make AI more energy efficient. According to the article, one of the biggest hurdles that the future of software engineering will face is a talent shortage - which is something that I believe is a spiral downward if all companies want to hire is senior developers. The talent shortage is self-fulfilling if there isn't opportunity for junior developers to become senior developers in the first place.

    The video "Introduction to Project Management" highlights that projects are different than business operations in three ways: projects are temporary, projects each have a unique scope, and projects have dedicated resource costs attributed to them. Together, these are referred to as the project management triple constraint, where the three components are affected by each other. Projects are created by businesses to achieve a goal or to fulfill a specific need.

Part 1: Review and Reflect Learning Strategy

    The top 3 items I am good at or am able to do are creating an outline for an essay, finding a quiet place to do work in, and technical problem solving. Creating lists is one of the things I like to do, so an outline is similar in that fashion. I am fortunate to have a quiet place (my room) to study and work in, so I can focus easily here. For technical problem solving, I am able to work out alternatives in the case that I cannot work on my laptop, like for example, using my phone's cell data to submit an essay instead in case of a power outage. I am also able to find most information that I seek online, unless it is very obscure.

    3 areas of learning I am weak in is studying, asking questions, and making assumptions before fully completing a reading. I have not developed a good study habit, which is something this course is steadily moving me towards. Asking questions has always been difficult for me, so I will make it a habit to be more open to asking them. I have a bad habit of creating assumptions without fully reading for the entire context. This is a habit that I have to catch myself doing in order to stop it.

Part 2: Preview Time Management Skills

    Currently, I have been adhering to the plan I previously made with Lecture: Weekly Study Time and Methods Commitment. I have changed a few times to better reflect my schedule now, since Tuesdays are the only consistent days I do not have work. Time not spent on schoolwork or work is usually time spent relaxing.

Part 3: Project Management Basics

    The "Introduction to Project Management" video has already been summarized in the last paragraph of Part 0 above.

    To create a work breakdown structure, create an outline of the overall project and break it down into specific workstreams, at level 1. Then, each workstream is broken down into major deliverables at level 2, which are some project goals. Then, some major deliverables are broken down into sub-deliverables at level 3 like prototypes and test scripts. Project management would be considered a specific workstream at level 1. Some sub-deliverables need to be broken down further to level 4 deliverables, and so on, depending on the project's needs.

    The Gantt chart is an x-y axis chart to show the progress of a list of activities. The x-axis represents time (in the video, days are used, but an hourly Gantt chart can be used), and the y-axis representing the listed activities. There are symbols to list milestones, like a specific day/hour and projected activity completion.

Part 4: Check Out Previous Capstones

    I watched three capstone presentations: DriveDiary by Christopher McMichael & Jeremiah McGrath, Out of Mana by Nathan Simpson, and Vault JS by Nicholas Anderson.

    The DriveDiary presentation illustrates a web app that helps users keep up with car maintenance. The presentation is easy to follow for the general audience. Each tool's use was described in detail. There is a demonstration of the web app that provides what it does. One issue I may not is that adding a license plate to a web app may pose as a security risk to users, regardless of the added security the developers decide to use, so their move to using a car's make and model would be a better move.

    The Out of Mana presentation is something I was interested in watching, as someone who is thinking about using the Godot engine for software development. I have played all of the games this project is based on, which gives me an idea for what the project's goals and constraints are. The challenges listed are also relevant to me (time limitations, solo development, mechanical implementation, and user interface). The presentation did a good job detailing the process of game development, with a number of demos showcased to see how far the game has developed. The biggest issue with this presentation was that the audio mixing made the speaker hard to hear.

    The Vault JS presentation provided a good idea of what a malicious injection looks like. This presentation had many technical terms used that, while appeared professional, did not give me a whole understanding of the project. I believe dedicating some time to explain some of the tools used will help the general audience better understand what is happening under the hood.

Part 5: Weekly Summary

This week I didn't have much trouble with the homework, which was a relief. Starting the work early in the week helped immensely. There were a few points in the homework that I was confused about (or assumed wrongly), but I know now what to do for it. Through the lecture and study materials, I am more conscious of what I should be doing better when it comes to studying habits.

Isopod Update: the Jupiters' soil was too wet, so some were lost. However, I did see a new baby, so not all is lost. I plan on visiting the reptile expo in Daly City this weekend to see more!