Author Archives: Tristan Coomey

Blog post Quarter 4

For this quarters self-directed professional development blog, I chose to watch the YouTube video “Clean Code: Learn to write clean, maintainable and robust code.” It is an older video but I wanted a resource that explained Clean Code principles in a way that connects directly to real programming habits, especially since we’ve been focusing on refactoring and reducing complexity in CS-348. Instead of reading another article, I thought watching a different creator explain the ideas visually would help reinforce the concepts from class in a new way.

This video introduces Clean Code by framing it as both a technical and professional skill. The speaker explains that messy code slows down teams, increases bugs, and creates long-term maintenance problems, while clean code allows developers to move faster and collaborate more effectively. He breaks down major Clean Code principles, including meaningful naming, small functions, consistent formatting, avoiding duplication, reducing side effects, and writing code that communicates its intent clearly without relying on extra comments. He also emphasizes the value of refactoring regularly instead of waiting until the system becomes too large to comfortably improve.

I chose this video because it feels practical and grounded. This video also focuses on habits that any developer can adopt, whether they’re building side projects or working on large software teams. The examples were simple but effective, especially when he showed how shortening functions, renaming variables, or removing unnecessary logic instantly improved readability.

What stood out to me the most was his point that code should be written for humans first and machines second. This video made it click for me that good code is for humans first and computers second because he showed how unclear naming or tightly coupled functions force the reader to do mental gymnastics. When I look back at my older project, I can see exactly where I created those kinds of problems. This video made me more aware of how quickly messy patterns can spread if they aren’t addressed early.

This resource affected how I approach our CS-348 refactoring assignment. Instead of waiting until the end to fix everything, I’m improving readability each time I revisit a section. The video explained, clean code is about developing consistent habits that make software easier to understand, maintain, and extend.

Moving forward, I expect these practices to influence my future professional development. Whether I’m collaborating on a team or working independently.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Tristan CS by Tristan Coomey and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Blog post 2

Over the past few weeks in CM-348, we’ve been learning about Scrum and how it’s used in team-based environments. Before this class, I had heard the word tossed around in tech spaces and job descriptions, but I didn’t fully understand what it meant. Now that we’ve gone through some of its core ideas in class, it’s starting to make more sense. Scrum is a framework that helps teams stay organized, break up big projects into smaller pieces, and work together efficiently, even when plans or priorities change.

To learn more outside of class, I watched a video on YouTube titled “Scrum in Under 10 Minutes” by The Agile Coach. It’s a short breakdown of how Scrum works, why it’s useful, and the key roles and events involved, like the Product Owner, Scrum Master, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives. It gave me a clearer picture of how teams actually use Scrum in real-life software projects and how those short sprint cycles keep things moving forward without getting stuck in too much planning.

I picked this video because it connects directly to what we’ve been doing in CM-348 and helped me visualize how everything fits together. The video was quick but packed with helpful context, and it explained the same terms we’ve been using in class. I wanted to find something that would reinforce what we’re learning while also giving me a glimpse of how this works in practice outside of school.

What I liked most about the resource and about Scrum in general is the focus on communication and reflection. It’s more than checking off tasks, it’s about talking with your team regularly, making adjustments, and working in cycles. That really connects with our work using Git and GitHub. Every commit tells a story of progress, and every pull request is a small review. Scrum brings that same kind of accountability and structure to the whole project process.

Watching this video helped me see how important soft skills are in tech roles. Communication, time management, and teamwork are just as important as technical skills. It also reminded me that being flexible is key; you have to be ready to pivot and adapt when things don’t go as planned. As I move closer to graduating and start looking at jobs, I want to take what I’ve learned about Scrum and apply it in myroles. Even personal projects could benefit from this kind of organization. I could plan out sprints, reflect on progress, and stay focused on what matters.

Scrum is helping me connect the dots between managing code and managing people and tasks. Between that and what we’re doing in Git, CM-348 is giving me tools to work better and smarter, both on my own and in teams.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Tristan CS by Tristan Coomey and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Blog post 1

The first quarter of the semester has come to a close. In CM-348 we have gone through a number of Git and GitHub features. Learning about pushing and pulling data, as well as doing some data cleaning was a great learning opportunity. As I finish my last year of school, I am trying to look at these processes in an analytical sense because that’s what I want to do moving forward.

In my free time over the past few weeks I have watched a lot of Alex The Analyst videos on YouTube. He has provided free knowledge on what it takes to become a data analyst. From interviews, to Git, to data visualization he provides a lot on his channel for people who want to learn. This week I watched his “2 Hour Data Analyst Masterclass” video. In this video, Alex breaks down what a data analyst interview process looks like from start to finish. He discusses what kinds of technical questions to expect, the importance of storytelling with data, and how to demonstrate value through projects or case studies. He also covers common interview mistakes, like not being able to explain one’s own projects clearly or failing to connect technical skills to business outcomes. This video was very insightful, he showed his viewers what skills you really need to get into the field, and it personally showed me some things I might need to work on.

I chose this resource because it’s directly relevant to where I am in my career path, as well as in my learning. I’m starting to build my portfolio and think seriously about interviews and job readiness. Alex’s advice helped me see how important communication is in data roles, it is more than being technically skilled, also being able to explain how your work impacts decisions. This connects to CM-348 because version control, documentation, and communication are key parts of the Git workflow. I am doing a bit of projecting here, but I look forward to watching more of his videos.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Tristan CS by Tristan Coomey and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

First post for CS-348

Hello all, this is my first post. I look forward to a great semester

From the blog CS@Worcester – Tristan CS by Tristan Coomey and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.