Dear Software Engineering
10 May 2024Looking Back
Without a doubt, ICS 314 is one of those classes where you would think back about and say, “Man, I really did learn a lot.” With the semester ending, I believe I am a better person, socially and as a programmer. I learned new concepts and techniques with a chance to apply them all in my final project for ICS 314.
Coding Standards
Coding Standards is a concept that I learned and thought about throughout the semester. Coding standards impose rules on the way you write code. These rules focus on clarity and formatting. ESLint was a helpful tool that kept my coding standards in check. If I accidentally added an extra space, indent, or newline in my code, ESLint would scold me and prompt me to fix it. This practice of code format perfectionism is a good way of creating a baseline for me. This norm or baseline of making sure that my code looks good can be used further down in my career. Having coding standards is essential when working with other programmers in the industry. As a practice, I made sure that my code was well formatted while having variable name clarity when working with my group members on our final project.
Agile Project Management
Agile Project Management is a method of handling software engineering projects with other members. This management consists of defining the goals of the project, analyzing these goals to create a direction, executing our ideas, reviewing and adapting our work, and finalizing. In ICS 314, my group and I applied Agile Project Management for our final project. We divided our work through issues. These issues represented our ideas for the project. Furthermore, our project progression would be separated by milestones. Once we hit a milestone, we will analyze our work so far. We see what works and what doesn’t, create new ideas, or expand existing ones. This whole experience dipped my toes into how working with other programmers in the industry would feel like. Agile Project Management was able to help me with my teamwork and communication skills. There were times when my problem-solving skills were challenged, but I was able to pull through. This method in project management can be used outside of web development, even software engineering. I am currently creating my own game with a few other people and I believe I can do a way better job at project management now thanks to APM.
Last Words
ICS 314 is a class that I think is essential to my career and life. It brought me new skills, concepts to think about, and some confidence to keep in my pocket. The person I was before taking this class would be amazed at the tools and knowledge I carry now. There are many other concepts and skills that I want to talk about, but as of now, Coding Standards and Agile Project Management will be the tools carried in my toolbox.