For my first real blog entry, I would like to talk about Code Review. I chose this topic because we are doing in-person activities based on clean code, in my Software Process Management class. When discussing how to make code cleaner and more readable, I looked more into the topic for more information. Code Review is a process performed by a person or more to examine and improve the code. I found this blog titled “How to Review Code – Tips and Best Practices” by ‘AK DevCraft’ and noticed that some of the points and practices are the same as we learned in class.

The blog highlights three important tips to be aware of when reviewing code, the first tip being Intention. This tip explained what the dos and don’ts are when reviewing code. When you review someone’s work, it’s pivotal to be positive and respectable. Giving constructive criticism, and explaining precisely what changes need to be made to improve the code. The blog also made sure to emphasize not to leave comments where you didn’t need one. Adding multiple comments to code is unnecessary and makes the code harder to read. The summary of the first tip was to be respectful to the ones who wrote the code and make it a collaboration when reviewing the code.

The second tip the author said was important was Standards. When reviewing code, making the code easy to read while making it easy to understand is what coding is all about. This can be done by sticking to a consistent format, which can be having meaningful whitespace, removing unnecessary gaps, or breaking larger functions into smaller ones. Understanding the standards of variables by creating clear and concise names for every variable. By knowing to avoid abbreviations and add values to variables such as “gallon” or “mL” to make the variable clear on what unit it is. A good practice we learned in class is to avoid duplication, duplication of code can lead to unnecessary code or more confusing messes like bugs or error messages.

The last tip the author highlighted was to review. When finishing the code review, keeping the big picture in mind can verify if your changes were necessary. GitHub is a platform we are using in class for our in-class discussions the platform has a review system to look over the source code and can help you double-check the code.

The blog shined a light on tips I believe are important when reviewing code, when my group did discussions on reviewing code, we used the same tips listed in this blog in our discussion. The blog gave me information on taking reviewing code to the next level, informing me of the GitHub feature to review the source code and always keeping a strict format in mind when reviewing code. I would recommend this blog to someone who is new to reviewing code or just wants a different approach when reviewing code with another person.

Source: https://dev.to/akdevcraft/how-to-review-code-2gam

From the blog Mike's Byte-sized by mclark141cbd9e67b5 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

This week, I am going to provide some insights/opinions regarding the practicality of some clean code principles, along with an example of when over-optimization for the sake of readability might actually be counterproductive. The resource I will be referencing this week can be found here. This article documents many of the same clean-code principles we discussed in class, plus or minus a few. For each principle, it provides an explanation as well as a coded example to demonstrate the principle and/or the difference between good and bad code according to the principle. I chose this article because I felt it was comprehensive enough to cover the key points for clean coding, and because I tend to use many of the principles outlined in the article in my own code.

I am currently involved in a project where the Single Responsibility Principle (SRP) might actually be counterproductive to my primary objective. In general, I tend to agree with this principle, and I understand its benefits well. It makes code far easier to read and follow, and, as we discussed in class, modern compilers can optimize functions to where there is almost no difference in execution time by offloading logic into its own function.

My program runs an ultra-fast search on a set of numbers (speaking very loosely), and needs to update numbers around 250 times per second. Thus, my time to find what I am searching for and act on it is ~4ms before all the data is useless (think: cracking Enigma in The Imitation Game). Now, factor in that I need the majority of the ~4ms to actually execute based on my search result, and one arrives at the conclusion that the search needs to take <1ms (or as little time as possible). Now to my point: sometimes, to accomplish this, I found that I had to violate the SRP. This means that I call search(), and search() immediately calls execute() if it finds what it’s looking for, eliminating the time it would have taken to return the value to main() and then pass the value back to execute(). This is obviously a miniscule difference, but in my testing and gathering data, I found that when multiplied out to larger and larger numbers, this little hack shaved off a noticeable amount of time.
This might all be more related to Command-Query Separation or the “No Side Effects Principle” than it is to the SRP, but my points still stand. What I am getting at in the big picture is that these principles, while applicable and preferable a massive portion of the time, are not always the right way to go. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice one or more in pursuit of your primary objective. All this said, my largest takeaway going forward is that I should remember and implement clean code principles whenever/wherever possible, but I will always try to remember that they are not law, and sometimes variance is necessary.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Mr. Lancer 987&#039;s Blog by Mr. Lancer 987 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

This week, I am going to discuss the importance of licensing your code – something that I did not know was important until this week. The blog post I will be referencing can be found here. I chose it because it provides both a simple explanation of the importance of licensing and it explicitly describes the fallacy that causes most developers (myself included) to not license their code. The blog also references some of the same specific licenses we discussed in class, which (along with some research) indicated to me that there is a small set of very popular licenses that can serve a variety of purposes and target a variety of different intents and audiences.

After reading this blog post, reading others, looking at different open source projects on GitHub, and having discussions in class, the conclusion I’ve come to is this: the top reason people don’t license their code is because they don’t understand that licensing actually gives people more rights, not less. Many (again, my prior self included) likely think that if you just code something and throw it onto GitHub, that anybody can use it as open-source. This is not the case; that is actually incredibly restrictive, because you own the copyright to that work, and nobody can use that code without running into some legal barriers. Whether those barriers will ever be realized is another question, but not including a license may be enough to deter people from expanding on your work. A well-chosen license clearly communicates how others can use, modify, and distribute your work. This not only protects the rights of the original creator, but also allows others to expand on the work without the constant worry of stepping on legal toes. Licensing is better thought of as a way to invite others to engage with your code, rather than a barrier that restricts access.

The MIT License, to give an example, is concise and straightforward, allowing users to do almost anything with the code, as long as they include the original license and copyright notice. This simplicity has made it a favorite in the open-source community, encouraging collaboration and making it easier for developers to share their projects without too many legal constraints.

Understanding code licensing not only protects your work but also leads to a more collaborative and innovative development environment. Whether you want to encourage broad usage with an MIT license or ensure that your project remains open-source with a GPL, the right license can significantly impact how your code is shared and utilized. Moving forward, I plan to include licenses in any open source code I write. Though I never thought it was important before, I’ve learned now that it actually is critical if I want my code to actually be usable by others.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Mr. Lancer 987&#039;s Blog by Mr. Lancer 987 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week’s blog post, I will be focusing on Version control. Version control is a software tool  that helps software teams and programmers keep track  of updates when working on a project. In a software team, there are multiple people in a group and there are multiple changes made  in a project. Multiple users in a team are working on different files under the same project folder, and  through version control  each team mate’s work progress is saved. For software teams and programmers, through version control, updates and changes in a project folder can be traced, and a user can view what lines in a file have been modified, deleted, added. During times when dealing with errors, with  version control  users can track back to where exactly in their code an error is occurring.

When I was choosing a topic for this week, this topic was important to me because I wanted to build upon what I know about git. I am glad that in this course we are going to spend time on git. Over the summer, I worked on a few different software projects. When I was first starting off, I didn’t know much about version control. As time went on, I became familiar with how  version control works. I had used a version control called Git. With git, I was able to use version control in visual studio code. When I was doing these projects, I wished that I had used version control to fix or prevent errors. In  Introduction to programming and in unix programming, we are taught   to test or run code in small bits,  and not build a whole program and run it at once. When I was doing these projects, I was building a whole program and running it, but as time went on, I realized that I should work with simple parts of code at a time. 

Moving forward, I want to double check my code, and I can do that through version control, and make that when working with code to apply the techniques taught to me in previous classes. For software teams, there  is a branch where software teams work independently on parts of a project,  and can merge their parts together. 

Branch can be effective as teammates can work on their parts  of code, make sure there are no errors, and bring together their error free parts of a  program. 

Blog url:  What is version control | Atlassian Git Tutorial

From the blog CS@Worcester – jonathan&#039;s computer journey by Jonathan Mujjumbi and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

This week, I will discuss the subject that was recently discussed in class. The topic is “Scrum”, understanding its purpose, application, and limitations compared to Agile. Understanding the specifics of Scrum can enhance teamwork within projects, particularly in software development, where it is a widely utilized project management approach.

The information I researched offered a detailed explanation of the factors that could lead to the failure of Scrum. An essential realization was that following Scrum rules without adapting them to a team’s specific needs could result in too much inflexibility. This really affected me because I have seen situations where teams got stuck in processes and forgot the main objective: delivering value to customers. It caused me to think about past projects in which team members prioritized adhering to protocols over achieving the end goal of creating a useful, practical product. The resource I examined offered a detailed explanation of the factors contributing to the possible downfall of Scrum. One crucial finding was that adhering strictly to Scrum guidelines without adapting them to suit a team’s specific needs could result in too much rigidity. This had a significant effect on me as I have seen situations where teams got stuck in processes, ignoring the main objective of delivering value to customers. It led me to think about past projects where team members prioritized following procedures over delivering a successful, useful end product.

I found out that Scrum offers a structured way of working, but its success depends on teams embracing Agile principles, not just following a set of tasks. The article pointed out that even the best-designed Scrum plans may fail if team members lack commitment or the necessary skills. This has emphasized the significance of establishing a solid team environment in which every member is valued and motivated to take part. The article also delved into how focusing too much on Scrum practices could result in unnecessary bureaucracy, hindering efficiency and restricting innovation.

I chose this blog because I plan to incorporate these lessons by promoting a culture of flexibility in my team. I intend to prioritize the Agile principles of collaboration, customer focus, and adaptability over strictly adhering to Scrum methodologies in our process. Regularly meeting with the team to evaluate our advancement and adaptability will be of utmost importance. Effective communication will allow us to adapt our strategies according to the project’s objectives and the team’s abilities.

Reflecting on the Scrum blog, I discovered its thoughts on the restrictions of the framework to be very informative. It highlighted how sticking strictly to Scrum may impede success, underscoring the need for flexibility. This mirrored my own experiences, as a lack of flexibility frequently resulted in difficulties. I discovered that emphasizing teamwork and transparent communication is essential for providing value. In the future, I intend to foster a flexible culture among my team, consistently communicating to ensure our practices are in line with our goals. This research has enhanced my comprehension of Agile methods and emphasized the importance of flexibility and dedication in project management.

Blog URL: https://medium.com/better-programming/why-scrum-fails-ac92cab05c6a

From the blog CS@Worcester – Matchaman10 by tam nguyen and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Blog Title: Aligning Product-Driven Organizations with Customer Experience: Key Insights

This week, I listened to a podcast titled “How to Align Your Product-Driven Organization to the Customer Experience.”  The episode goes into and explores the challenges that product-driven companies face in ensuring their offerings truly meet customer needs. It explains in detail how organizations can align internal processes and product development strategies in concert with the overall customer experience and emphasizes the importance of both understanding and responding to customer feedback throughout the product life cycle.

The host starts off by discussing the gap that often exists between a company’s internal product focus and what customers actually want. They explain how organizations can get caught up in their own innovations, losing sight of customer pain points. The podcast stresses the need for continuous customer engagement, using both qualitative feedback and quantitative data to drive product decisions. They also highlight the role of cross-functional collaboration, urging teams across departments to work together to create products that not only function well but also deliver real value to users.

I chose this podcast because it directly relates to our course discussions on systems thinking and customer-centric design, both of which are crucial in software development. This points to a greater and broad development process: aligning internal systems with customer’s needs externally. More particularly, I felt that the guest speaker has done a very good job in bridging the gap between product innovations and customer satisfaction, a very crucial gap in most of the tech-driven industries today, including software development.

The one important thing I took from the episode has to do with how significant it is to assess products from a customer’s perspective. This is something that up until this point I had considered in terms of features against functionality. In this podcast, it helped me understand how important it would be to always reassess if those features actually impact the user experience. I also liked the talk about cross functional teams because it helped me confirm that successful collaboration among different departments brings much better results for any product. 

With my understanding now, using what I’ve learned can be used to integrate  into my approach to project work. Whether it’s in software development or product management, understanding the customer’s journey will be key to delivering value. I now see the importance of continuous feedback loops and how integrating customer experience into every phase of development can lead to better, more successful products. This episode has given me a fresh perspective on how to bridge the gap between product design and customer satisfaction, and I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned in future team projects.

Link to Podcast: How to Align Your Product-Driven Organization to the Customer Experience

From the blog CS@Worcester – Harley Philippe&#039;s Tech Journal by Harley Philippe and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.