From the previous week’s we have been covering the different types of software copyright licenses and their differing purposes in the field. The blog post I chose to cover is “Understanding Software Licensing” by Fernando Galano. The goal of the blog post was to help simplify the legalities of differing software copyright licenses as well as expressing the importance of understanding copyright licenses and why you should know when to use the different kinds. From what we learned in class, from the videos as well as our in class activities, the blog post worked hand in hand in reinforcing the pros and cons of the different copyright licenses to give a better grasp on the topic.

The blog post started with what a software copyright license exactly is. Galano described the concept of a software license is the establishment of a contract between the creators of the software and the individuals who would be using it. The contract would lay out the terms and conditions that the user must follow when it comes to use of the code as well as the rights and liabilities of the user and creator. As explained in the post, the license will protect both parties and make sure that the use of the software is as intended from both the creator and user. After Galano described the preemptive information about what a license is he explained the different types and their pros and cons. He described Public Domain Licenses, Copyleft Licenses, Lesser General Public Licenses, Permissive Licenses and Proprietary Software Licenses. Each license had a almost like tldr description that allowed the reader to easily understand what each license is meant for. He ended the blog post stating that every license has a purpose and it is up to you as the creator to decide what your purpose is for the software and what you want it to be used for.

The reason I chose this blog post was due to the fact that while we have been covering copyright licenses I feel like I still didn’t fully grasp the differences and when you should use each kind of license. This blog post was perfect in using simple terms to allow me to easily understand the different kinds of software licenses and their differing uses. From this I will now be able to one hundred percent understand why I am choosing a certain license when it comes to protecting my work. I feel like reinforcing my knowledge on items like this is very important as copyright licenses are a huge part of developing software.

https://www.bairesdev.com/blog/understanding-software-licensing/

From the blog CS@Worcester – Giovanni Casiano – Software Development by Giovanni Casiano and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

The podcast episode, “Scrum vs Agile & Keys to Success with Mike Cohn,” discusses the ways to succeed using the Agile methodology and how to work with the Scrum Guide to create an efficient plan for your team. I selected this episode because I believe that one of the major aspects of creating an efficient team is the steps you take to complete your work. To do that, you must follow a methodology to create a plan to complete your goal. In class, we learned about Agile and the advantages it had over waterfall, so listening to a podcast about Agile was very intriguing. The episode emphasizes that you don’t have to adhere to the Scrum Guide as if it were a rule book, and that you have to work with your team to find out what aspects of the guide work best within the team to allow for maximum efficiency. This is a big mistake that many people make because they are scared of “breaking the rules.” However, this is something that one must be able to do if they want to elevate their work to the next level. From this, I thought the podcast was very interesting since we recently learned about these methods in class. In class, we discussed the steps of Agile and the benefits it has compared to the waterfall methodology that we learned about prior. In addition, we also learned about the Scrum Guide, where we were taught the aspects as well as the elements that the Scrum Guide highlights to help users understand Scrum. From our work, we were shown that you are allowed to deviate from the Scrum Guide; it is just a basic framework to help users put the steps in an effective order. After the episode, I believe that it gave valuable insights on how these methods work in real company settings, highlighting how you don’t have to follow the guide to a tee and you must find out what works best for your team to allow for the most efficient work. Plus, through the discussion of real-world examples, it promoted further thinking about what we learned in class as well as how to connect the ideas we were taught to work experiences. Once it comes time for me to apply this to my work, it will be helpful to understand that the Scrum Guide is not a rule book but a guide to take aspects from to assist in efficient teamwork.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Giovanni Casiano – Software Development by Giovanni Casiano and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.