There has been a lot that has been done throughout this sprint with my group which consists of Ryan D’Entremont, Sam Bryan and Daniel Ryder. Since this is the first sprint, there was a lot of just setting up and preparing for future sprints. One of the tasks that we did beforehand was to make a trello (https://trello.com/b/J2PqK9Tq/team-rocket) account and invite everyone that was in the group. There we had it set up like a sprint with the product backlog, sprint backlog doing and done. The group was first given a set of tasks to do that were put in the product backlog. These jobs consisted of setting up a github repository where we could fork and clone the clode and try to get the code running. A big chunk of our time was made up of us getting our code to run within the local host server. The first time I had cloned the project I had a lot of issues. This was when everyone was first figuring out how to run the code with no way of knowing what direction to turn to.

My issues consisted of not having the right packages and missing some installations. It seemed to have a lot to do with not finding the right resolver type and errors in the node modules folder. I had done some research on my own and updated as much as possible to the latest versions. It also seemed that James Blash was having the same errors as me. After playing around with it a little more, James had helped me with installing a npm check which checked which packages I was missing, the types I had and the version of them. He had noticed that after running that, he was missing a package that had been mentioned in the error. I then decided to re-clone the project and start clean. From there I followed the instructions James had given, the first link is how to install the npm check application, and the second had to do with what I needed to have installed. (https://www.npmjs.com/package/npm-check,https://www.npmjs.com/package/ng2-ion-range-slider). After I had messed around with installing that and a few more packages I thought I needed, I had done a build and I was still running into errors, which seemed to be very similar to what Harry and the rest of the class was having. He seemed to resolve that issue by looking here(https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50621043/fatal-error-call-and-retry-last-allocation-failed-javascript-heap-out-of-memo

http://localhost:3000/#/login’ . Finally it had worked.

Some side projects that the team and I worked on was re-equip ourselves with angular and typescript. Ryan also thankfully on the side set up a document with some very important information that will be needed in the future. The document talked about how to install karma and protractor which we will need when we are actually using the code. I felt like I had learned a lot throughout this sprint and really helped me be prepared for future projects I will be working on. This was the first time I had such a huge file to work with and how to get it to run. Working with others and helping each other out and testing different things to see what worked. I also was able to interact with my team easily through different platforms and help each other stay up to date on what needs to be done. Everyone in my group except Daniel has gotten their code to run and we hope that we can get his to run by the end of this sprint.

For this week’s blogpost I will be expressing my thoughts on an Apprenticeship Pattern in Chapter three. This one was titled ‘The Long Road’ and the problem that they give is when you are deciding to further your knowledge in programming and enhancing your skills, or to get further in the workforce and get a high paying salary. As someone who is in the field such as Computer Science, a lot of our work encircles around learning new languages and ways of programming everyday. Technology is something that was created that long ago, it has and will keep reinventing itself. I think that another important note to get from this reading is that I will have long journey ahead of me and If all I am thinking about is money, then I will not be happy. I will be waiting for when my retirement ends when I could be figuring out new ways to improve myself and my skills. Personally I have a hard time believing in my own abilities and where I fall in this spectrum of knowledge. I always want to try to improve myself but feel as though I am much farther away from everyone else. Reading this article help me know that if I keep putting in the work and trying to better myself, then I could catch up to those who are now world famous for their skills. Although I really appreciate this outlook and know that there are many who say that money does not matter when you are unhappy, but I do also need to think about the bills I will have to pay when I am older and out of college. I am in a lot of student depth and while I always want build up my skill, it is hard not to think about the money and what will help me out the most financially. I think like some of the past patterns I have read about, it is all about finding that balance. I shouldn’t always think about what conventional wisdom tells me, but I also don’t want to be neck deep in debt.

This week’s blogpost will be about another Apprenticeship Pattern. I will be discussing the importance of Exposing your Ignorance. The problem that is given for this excerpt relates very much with me, even while I am at school. I had mentioned in past blogs that when I first started Computer Science I was a noive at it. I have worked extremely hard to get where I am and I have tried to put as much effort as I can into everything I have done thus far. What I struggled with then and now is showing that incompetence and ignorance toward this subject as a whole. When I first started out there was no other way than to show my true colors, but now that I have gained some skills and knowledge and I am in my senior year, I have become more and more afraid to show when I do not understand something. Whether this be with my father, my professors, classmates and friends. Even in the future I know I will run into this problem, and when reading this pattern it definitely eased my worries. Some of the advice they give is that you should reassure with my ability to want to learn with those that I am working with. I think that is extremely important especially for someone like me. I am always willing to learn and ask questions and I need to learn to do more of them instead of pretending I know exactly everything that is going on at all times. It is also important to note that the less time I spend pretending what I know and BS’ing my way through everything, the more time can be spent me really trying to understand what is going on. To put things together and can have an in depth understanding of everything. Personally I believe that Computer Scientists, especially, need to read more excerpts and readings like this. There are so many in this field that feel like they need have enough knowledge on the subject matter and will not need any help at all. They feel entitled, and that can really affect them as they get to new jobs and in areas they really don’t know much about. These types of readings help people become better employees and better yet humans.

My blog post will be a bit different from the usual for this week. I recently just listened to the audible of an article titled, “Why Doctors Hate Their Computers” by Atul Gawande. Throughout the whole entire time of listening to this article, a number of thoughts went through my head. The first was how amazed I was by the number of issues from the software that made it harder for the doctors. One of the first examples Gawande used was from his colleague, Sadoughi. Sadoughi is a primary care physician who hoped that with the new changes with the technology would in the long run help her, not hurt her. Sadly, with this new technology, she was spending multiple hours on the computer, even after scheduled work time. Another issue she had was that when she would look a patient’s problem list, it used to be easy to see what was there, for her to change things, whether that be getting rid of something or updating it. Now it had become a hoarding stash where everyone across the organization could edit it, and change it and had now become completely useless. One of the biggest problems and themes that was mentioned throughout this article was the amount of time just spent on the computer compared to before. Before many of the doctors, nurses, clinicians, etc. could spend all of their time on the patient. Now a days man of them spend time writing in useless information that before was not necessary. They have to take more time clicking things, and inputting data that is not useful. This in hand spends less time with the patient and their needs. As it can be seen from the article, the real customers for this new software was not the doctors, and nurses, but the patients. This was discussed heavily with Gregg Meyers. While the doctors may be having trouble figuring out how to use everything, he emphasizes that this new technology is for the patients. This is something that had me thinking a lot, and something I struggle with, especially as I have gotten older. This new software has helped patients in a number of ways, from keeping track of their medicine to their next appointment. Gawande states that it is honestly always been the case, with anything that a new system is always in favor of those receiving it, to better them, while making it even more miserable for those providing it. While it is extremely true that this can help thousands of patients, it is also true what Gawande stated. It is always the case, and in the end makes the one supplying miserable.While this is good, is it morally right? Everything that is decided for a company, is to help the customer, but in a lot of ways ends up hurting the employee. These tasks that are to be expected from colleagues and employees can be strenuous and demanding.While this article focused on doctors, nurses, clinicians, etc., the implementation of this system does not only apply to the Electronic Medical Record systems. Like Gawande mentioned in his article, this happens to scientists, police, sales people and even people like Cameron, who is a construction site supervisor. THe overall topic of this article was something I had never thought about before. What really interested me was the ending of this article. With Gawande’s personal experience with a patient, Cameron. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to his interaction with Cameron. He wanted to help him, but he had spent so much time on the computer, that when there should have been time for questions, all that was left was stress for Gawande to finish his report and not make his next appointment late. He emphasized the inability to find a equal middle when it comes to technology and human contact. It will never be possible to find that middle, but it is important to acknowledge it and to take steps to better it. Overall, I loved this article, and even shared it with my family members, who I both think would benefit greatly from.

For this week’s blogpost I will be talking about Unleashing your enthusiasm, a apprenticeship pattern written about in the Apprenticeship Pattern Book. Like the previous blogpost that I had written about, I felt that this was a really informational and useful one to read for when I will be working in the future. When it comes to working on new projects and getting things started I tend to get really excited about what we will be able to do and achieve. Thinking about the new environments I will be in when I start working is very scary and having an idea of what I should be prepared is very useful. The last thing that I really want to do is hold back on the type of person I am too. When I read that I will need to find other ways to nurture my passion, I found it unfair at first for me to find others means or outlets to express my excitement. Just because I like to be excited and everyone else doesn’t, shouldn’t mean that I need to change who I am. After giving it some thought though, I did realize that a lot of my work will consist of projects and working with a wide range of personalities. This means that there will just have to be times where I will need to sit down and consider the team dynamic. There will be groups and projects that I will be involved in that will welcome my enthusiasm and unique thoughts and those will be the ones I know I will really shine. I think that this post is also important for further down the road in my career. When I am on the other end of the spectrum. When the group I am in will be receiving a new apprentice with enthusiasm and unique qualities that I had. It will help me to understand and help the other apprentices feel like they can express themselves in the way they want to. This article was very thought provoking for me and was very helpful for when I start working. It is very insightful and get me to think of things at a more mature and level headed stance.

For this weeks blog I will expressing my thoughts on an apprenticeship pattern. The one that I have chosen for this week is called ‘The White Belt’. This specific topic was discussed in length on one of my previous blog posts. This section intrigued me because although this may not be something I have to worry about right away, it is something that I will have to worry about in the near future. Especially after I have mastered my first language. What caught my attention about this excerpt what how they mentioned Dave again and his experience with being a family therapist. Since he was a therapist and dealing with families that had a wide range of issues or problems, it is explained that he had to take a not knowing stance whenever he had hear about what these families were going through. If Dave had gone in with acting like he was an expert with everything that these families were going through then he would actually have been seen as more disrespectful. When you go in not knowing and with curiosity, it opens others up to a number of opportunities that may not have been available before. The same can definitely be said about languages. When you keep in mind what you have been taught about past languages, it can cloud your ability to reach your full potential when learning another one. Another part of this reading that I really liked was what George Leonard had to say. He mentioned that when someone local that we may know says something out there we may look down on them but when someone famous like Einstein may say the same thing, we look up to them and praise them. This piece of insight really stuck with me because I believe as humans we all seem to make that mistake many times. Even when it comes to a number of other subjects. Someone that we may view as weird may be thinking similarly or the exact same way as someone well known and popular. When keeping an open mind and unlearning previous experiences can really help you out I believe and that is including places outside of the workforce.

The first individual Apprenticeship Patterns that I decided to write about was the first one mentioned in chapter two. The title of this pattern was called ‘Your First Language’. There was a lot of really important information and tips that was included in this apprenticeship pattern. What I really liked was that one of their first pieces of advice was to learn a language and become a pro at it. I also really liked that one of the best ways to improve your first language skills was to find an actual problem to solve. I personally feel that while I am in these classes learning different kinds of languages and solving problems, it is really hard for me to be motivated and do my utmost best when I know that it will just be a teacher grading my work. So far everything that I have done is not actually solving any real world problems or helping people in need. The other problem I have is that when taking these classes I am learning a bunch of different languages so it has become very difficult to retain and understand in depth how one language works. Another point that they brought up was to find someone who is an expert in the specified language that you would like to learn. While working with people who are so-so in a new language you would like to learn, it is hard to get really far with it knowledge wise. THe person I thought of immediately was my dad when I first started learning Java. I had learned a lot while working with my friends but when I was working with my father, it was a whole new experience. There were specific areas of Java and ways to code that I would have never thought with my colleagues. He also helped a bunch with my structure of coding when it came to java and focus on small details like wording. The last piece of advice I really liked was that they mentioned when running into a specific problem, find the actual source. Don’t go looking at summaries that are very similar to each other, try to track down where these problems were originally solved. Overall I felt that this specific apprenticeship pattern was a great way to get started in reading this book.

Recently I started reading Apprenticeship Patterns by Adewale Oshineye & Dave Hoover. The main focus of this book focuses on the three stages of becoming a software Craftsman which includes the Apprentice, Journeyman and Master. While this may be the overall summary, there was much more to it. The first thing I noticed when it came to reading the introduction and the first couple of chapters was that this book was not just spitting a bunch of software information back at me while I try to retain it. It focused on preparing for and what I should expect, and be ready to do when it comes to joining the workforce. When speaking about the different topics, they go back to one man’s story and his relationship with apprenticeship patterns. His story focuses on how he had to go back to the basics and how to mentally prepare for that. While he had been a master in one language, he had to start back to the beginning when learning another. He had to make the conscious decision and decide to wear the ‘white belt’ again. What this meant was that he had to strip away all of what he had been taught and known about his previous language and start from scratch again. What first intrigued me was Dave’s story. It in some way relieved me to hear that Dave had to go back to wearing the white belt, even though he had been really skilled in another. I also feel that Daves story really goes in hand with what Chapter two was focused on. When I first started Computer Science I knew absolutely zero about it. I didn’t even know what my field had consisted of and what I would be doing with that major. Although I knew nothing, and where in classes with students (mostly men) who had a better understanding of what was going on, I am really happy that I had started that way. There was nothing that was going to affect my thoughts and ideas about the various languages I was learning. What I especially loved aout all of these chapters in general was that they gave various scenarios of work environments and what the problem & solution were and how to take action. Multiple of these scenarios have to do with an employee(yourself) who feels very out of place whether it be your excitement towards a new project, a new job, how to deal with not knowing as much as others in your group, and many more. Overall I believe that chapter two was the most relevant to me. Although this reading was very long it was extremely helpful and made me feel more at ease for the future. It also made me realize that although this field can make a lot of money, it is because it is a constantly changing field, and you always have to be updated on what is going on, that you are making this money. Languages are always changing, improving themselves and technology is always shooting for the future.

Hello,

My name is Mia and this my first blog for the new year. Here you will find articles, blogs, book and/or podcasts that I have found interesting and my point of view on them. More is to come in the near future, Thank you for reading! Mia

Podcast: https://joecolantonio.com/testtalks/223-testing-dream-journaling-smashing-sand-castles-with-noemi-ferrera/

For my last podcast I will be doing a podcast from Joe Colantonio. This week he talks with Noemi Ferrera who is a computer Scientist passionate about technology and testing. She has worked in popular companies like IBM, DELL and microsoft and most recently she is working in China for Netease Games. The tool that Noemi is working on right now is called AirTest. AirTest is a solution for automating applications and games. It is an IDE that allows you to use visual testing or tools that use the DOM or object model abstractions which can be used to create your automation correctly. AirTest works on a number of systems including Windows, coco, unity etc. It is open source and partnered with google. The next thing Noemi brings up how she does VR testing. Her approach is that many of the steps would be similar to any application in general, including tools. Other steps might be a little different and it is important to take into account steps and tools that are specifically need for virtual reality testing. She also mentions some of the problems that programmers and testers forget to take into account like the amount of space or how close VR users are. There are certain safety precautions that need to be handled amd better taken care of. One of them being VR motion sickness. This is caused because your eyes are seeing the movement but your body is not feeling it. So you are physically not moving but your eyes are seeing it. She also talks about things that she has been able to add to VR. For example she has added VR capabilities for card board for google. The big difference between VR and any other application is that in VR you have objects that may be behind you. In order for you to see the object and to de certain actions you need to move the camera which is kind of an issue. She was able to rotate the camera on demand either to an object and instead of clicking on the object, you can click on the screen which in hand clicks on the object. This also allows you to check things like location and position and to verify information. Overall for my last blog I found it very interesting. What I really liked what how she mentioned actual problems that she has seen gamers deal with in VR. She is taking into consideration those problems and finding solutions as a tester to fix them. I also found it interesting how much she talked about VR since it is such big upcoming technology that will only get bigger. VR is a very important area to know about and might even be something that I will be working on in my job.