This was the first sprint of the semester, Sprint 1, and the major goal of this sprint was to dynamically load the backend base url when running the frontend server.
These are the links to the two tickets I completed during this sprint:
The first of the two tickets was the one I spent the most time on. As mentioned above, the purpose of this ticket was to fetch the backend base url when the frontend server was run. The second ticket was created after the first ticket was completed because there seemed to be a delay when loading the guest information on the Verify page. After looking around the codebase and inspecting the webpage, we found a function that was slowing down the process. This function took the timestamp created when a guest is first put into the database and was attempting to make the timestamp readable by cutting some of the characters out. We realized that since this timestamp wasn’t front facing, there was no real purpose for this function both because the timestamp did not need to be readable and especially because the use of this function came at the expense of a speedy and efficient system.
Being the first sprint, the process was a bit slower, learning how the GitLab layout was and creating the issue board, as well as figuring out what an efficient and successful working style is to make progress on the Theas pantry system. This was the major thing that I would say didn’t work well and it is something that I am improving on as I continue to work and learn the system.
The pattern I chose for this sprint from the Apprenticeship Patterns book is “Expose your Ignorance”. This pattern emphasizes the importance of knowing what you are doing but also knowing what you don’t know. By putting an emphasis on the learning process, this pattern shows that even when you don’t know something, being transparent and sharing that is important. I selected this pattern because I felt a little bit in over my head when I first started the sprint. There were a lot of topics I was not familiar with and I was working with the frontend server which I was much less comfortable with than the backend. I think that at first I let it get into my head a little bit, but eventually I recognized that I needed a bit more guidance around the specific task as well as the general layout of both the codebase and how the frontend generally works. Once I communicated this and got some more clarity, which allowed for my learning to progress and understanding to be more complete, I found that the tasks became more straightforward. The reason why this was particularly relevant during this sprint is because before I acknowledged what I didn’t know, I kept hitting the same struggles and the same problems head on and not making very much progress. The only way I was able to truly move forward and make progress in the tasks I had for this sprint was once I “exposed my ignorance”. If I had read this pattern prior to the sprint, I would have had a better sense of the fact that it is okay to ask questions, to ask for clarification, and to ask for help. It is important to communicate what I don’t know and it is only at the detriment of myself when I do not communicate that I am still learning and need a bit of extra guidance. The pattern really emphasizes to get comfortable and familiar with the learning process and to learn to sit with the discomfort of not knowing how to do something, but pushing through it because it needs to get done.
From the blog CS@Worcester – The Struggle of Being a Female Student in CS by Noam Horn and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.
