Last week, my team completed our second Sprint. Like the first Sprint, we did a good job. Each of us stuck to the parts we left off after the first Sprint, so with me, that meant continuing with the CheckInventory frontend. The issue I wanted to get done by the end of the first Sprint was connecting the backend to frontend, so that instead of displaying a hardcoded value, it would pull from the backend. By doing so, the frontend would have its full functionality. However, that was easier said than done, as I spent almost two weeks trying to figure it out, only for my teammate to figure it out before me. They had created a shared network for their frontend that connected to the backend. I ended up using the same shared network with no problems. I created a method that called ‘GET’ from the backend in order to display the value. The next issue was figuring out how to call this method upon mounting the page. I spent a week trying to solve this, until it was suggested that I try calling it through a button press, as that had success with my teammate’s frontend. I tried that, but the button simply refreshed the page. Later, I tried a different button, which ultimately worked. However, I was not satisfied with that, so I did some more research and found a ‘beforeMount’ method, which solved the problem. I committed, and made a merge request for both the shared network, method and mount issue. With a week left of the Sprint, I spent time playing around with the design of the frontend, as there was discussion in the visual identity team. I refactored the frontend in order to call the header, CheckInventory, and footer components in the App.vue file, instead of using a router, like it was originally. I then fixed the footer to sit properly, and used the appropriate colors and fonts, according to the school’s guidelines. I completely overhauled the header, using the ‘Thea’s Pantry’ logo, adding a navigation bar, and adding a yellow strip to the bottom. Additionally, I used the correct colors and fonts, once again complying with the school’s guidelines. I was able to commit and merge those changes before the end of the Sprint, and present them to the client.
What worked well was still communication. We all communicate really well, and when we need something from someone, or someone to review something, it’s done fairly quickly. Our chemistry has also become more friendly, we’re more open and joke around with each other, while also being strict with our work. Speaking of work, something else that worked well was solidifying our roles in a way. Since we all stayed working with stuff we worked on during the first Sprint, we knew what we were doing from the beginning, instead of figuring out everything from scratch. Personally, what worked well for me was being proactive, especially with the design part of the frontend. I felt motivated to make it look good, and it felt less like work. However, something that did not work for me was again the expectation of doing enough. Towards the end, I felt like I was, but I felt most of the time I wasted a lot of time researching. It is not exactly my fault, but it also is.
As a team, there’s not much we can improve on, as communication is good, chemistry is great, and we have done a lot of work and progress. Something I suggested in the last blog post was clarifying what we are working on, like a stand up at the start of class. We had done this one time. Although I do not think it’s necessary, it could be a way to clear up confusion if there is any. Personally, what I want to improve on myself is using my time better. I feel I spend too much time researching, and although I cannot just speed that up, I could do it more efficiently.
The Apprenticeship pattern I chose for this Sprint was “Retreat into Competence,” in layman’s terms means I am overwhelmed by how dumb I am. This is referring to the fact that I have to spend time researching in order to fix my issues. There is nothing wrong with doing that, it is just that I spend too much time doing that. If I had read that before the Sprint, it probably wouldn’t have changed anything.
From the blog CS@Worcester – Cao's Thoughts by antcao and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.