Fundamentally Agile is a very flexible and effective methodology that allows teams to continuously provide a working model of their respective project. When compared to the Waterfall methodology, Agile may seem like a flawless approach to team development and management, however this comparison to Waterfall fails to capture Agile’s flaws. Ideally, by understanding Agile’s feats and flaws, teams can make the most of the methodology.

Agile works best when all members deliver their respective parts of the project on time. This creates pressure on the developers to reach that time quota, as a result they may be more inclined to ‘cut corners’ so to speak while developing their part. Creating faulty code (or a general product) may lead to future issues, which would likely lead to sprint backlog bloat, so the development methodology must balance the value of the work being created and the time being spent to create the aforementioned work.

On the topic of time management, Agile does not offer much flexibility while creating sprints. Sprint length is determined towards the beginning of development, this itself is an issue as developers lack the foresight to allocate enough time in a sprint to take on larger-scale projects. Sprints encourage segments of digestible work for the developer, as Bryar and Carr mention in the article Have We Taken Agile Too Far?, “rather than take the time and uncertainty to develop a new capability, they go with the skills they currently have” (Bryar & Carr). Due to time constraints, developers settle with what they’re most comfortable with, as opposed to seeking potentially more effective solutions. This damages the final product as it heavily depends on the developers’ current experience and does not promote research.

One solution to this issue would be shifting to the Epic-model. Here developers won’t face an imminent time constraint that sprints impose, rather they will take a task (a story) and aim to complete it before the team moves on to the next step (the epic). This type of work structuring does not intrinsically have a set time limit but can be integrated within the Agile methodology. The goal of combining these two types of work structuring is to create a process where developers can have assigned tasks that are components of a larger task, AND to have a flexible time limit before moving on to the ‘larger task’. Another solution would be to fundamentally change how Agile works within a team. Currently, there are very few exceptions to change the duration of a sprint period, so to shift to a variable duration of each sprint would change how Agile works. A downside of doing this would be removing the consistency between sprints, but the benefit of that is that developers may be able to take on more work or do more research into their respective tasks before delivering their first working model. As a development methodology Agile should benefit the developers, therefore shifting from a rigid (preset) working period may increase the quality of work.

-AG

Source:

https://hbr.org/2021/04/have-we-taken-agile-too-far

From the blog CS@Worcester – Computer Science Progression by ageorge4756 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

While attending my previous university, Becker College, I was introduced to Scrum, Agile, and Kanban with very surface-level information. As we progressed through this current semester, my knowledge of both Scrum and Agile increased, with my knowledge of Kanban tailing behind. So I seek to answer the question of ‘What is Kanban’?

Kanban, similar to Scrum, is a type of work structuring that places importance on visual responsiveness and flexibility. Scrum and Agile run on the idea of sprints, which Kanban does not naturally have, but rather it opts to focus on a time cycle. Time cycles measure how long it will take a single task to move through all stages of development. A potential flaw here would be that if the team agrees upon many stages of development, such as adding multiple testing stages, then the average time cycle will take longer. By not imposing a static time limit, such as those provided by Sprint structuring, it encourages developers to put as much effort as possible into their respective task(s). The key to an efficient team would be to optimize these time cycles and get their average down to shorter periods while maintaining the quality of work.

Within the development process, each task is represented by a card and will move through the Kanban board as it advances in the development cycle. This board helps create the visual responsiveness that Scrum lacks. If a card is stuck in one phase of development, then fellow developers may take notice and help push it to the next stage. While visual responsiveness does help to grant a sense of worth seeing tasks being completed, it best serves as a collaborative tool between developers which further increases team efficiency.

Kanban would be my preferred choice of work structuring as I find that the Kanban board is an incredibly useful tool to both track and collaborate with your team. However, one glaring issue I do have with Kanban is the lack of a direct CD (continuous delivery). Scrum will have the Sprint Review and Retrospective which gives the development team a chance to show their current working model of the project and get suggestions for it. Kanban lacks this dedicated period to show the project and communicate with their partner. This runs the risk of high-effort work being rendered useless as it’s not what their business partner had in mind. Additionally, with the lack of a Retrospective, the team will not have a dedicated period to reflect on their progress and comment on places they may optimize their work. A solution here would be to create sprint-like periods where no work is due, but at the end of the period, developers will have both a review session with their business partner and a retrospective within the team. This increase in general communication will ensure the product will be created effectively and will meet all requested specifications.

-AG

Source:

https://www.atlassian.com/agile/kanban#:~:text=What%20is%20kanban%3F,of%20work%20at%20any%20time.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Computer Science Progression by ageorge4756 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

As a beginner coder, I’m always learning new things about the software development world. This week, I read an article that made me think differently about “clean code,” something I thought was the ultimate goal for every developer.

The article, “Goodbye, Clean Code” by Dan Abramov, explained that while clean code is important, it’s not the only thing that matters. It’s like a tool we use to make code easy to understand, fix, and test. But sometimes, focusing too much on making code perfectly clean can actually slow us down.

I can totally relate to this! When I first started coding, I was obsessed with writing “perfect” code. I spent hours making sure every line was exactly right, even if it meant the code didn’t work as well. This approach didn’t really help me learn or be productive.

Instead of aiming for “cleanliness” all the time, Abramov suggests that we should focus on writing code that solves the problem we’re working on. This code should be clear, easy to understand, and easy to change if we need to. This way, we can learn more about coding and be more productive.

One of the things I really liked about the article was the idea of “incidental duplication.” This means that it’s okay for there to be some repeated code, especially when we’re first starting out. Of course, we don’t want to have a lot of repeated code, but a little bit is okay.

The article also talks about how important it is to work well with others when you’re coding. This is because we often share code with other people, and if we change someone else’s code without talking to them first, it can cause problems. This reminded me that coding is a team effort, and we need to communicate well and respect each other’s work.

Overall, “Goodbye, Clean Code” was a great read for me. It helped me understand that clean code is important, but it’s not the only thing that matters. It’s more important to write code that works and that we can understand and change easily. This is something I’ll keep in mind as I continue to learn and grow as a developer.

Link: Goodbye, Clean Code: https://overreacted.io/goodbye-clean-code/: https://overreacted.io/goodbye-clean-code/

From the blog CS@Worcester – Site Title by Iman Kondakciu and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Patterns are “imperfect” fixes that may seem like they solve a problem, but over time, can lead to more problems where using anti-patterns are more inconvenient than not. Because anti-patterns cause problems over time, teams are forced to go back and fix them which lead to higher costs and delayed release schedule.

Types of Anti-Patterns

Spaghetti Code

Spaghetti code refers to the logical structure of the code resembling a plate of spaghetti, meaning it is unorganized and confusing. Spaghetti code usually occurs when a developer starts a project without putting much thought into the organization of the code. Although the end product may work, adding functionality may increase fragility. Using the spaghetti analogy, adding more code would be like adding more spaghetti leading to an even larger tangled mess.

Golden Hammer

Golden Hammer refers to one tool being the solution to all problems. A developer may have used a well designed piece of code to solve previous problems, but relies too heavily on it by trying to use the code for problems that do not necessarily belong. Forcing code where it may not belong can lead to spaghetti code. The Golden Hammer concept can be thought of as trying to cut a piece of wood with a hammer.

Boat Anchor

The Boat Anchor anti-pattern occurs when a piece of code is left in the code base, so it can be saved for later use. Although the code may not make sense for the program, the thought process of saving the code is if the code is needed later it can be turned on and off with comments. Some may think because a piece of code is commented out, there is no harm in leaving it. However leaving unnecessary code can lead other developers confused about what the code is intended for and over time may slow down build times. Turning the code back on may also break the code if changes were made to the point where the saved code may no longer be compatible.

God Object

A God Object is an object or a class that has too much responsibility for the program. This violates the single responsibility principle, as every object and class should only be responsible for one single part of the program. For example, there is a customer ID class responsible for the customer’s first and last name, transactions, and more. Rather than the customer ID class manage all those details, better practice would be to have customer ID be responsible for the customer’s name while a separate class is created for transactions.

Reflection

This resource was chosen because it explains what anti-patterns are, why they are bad, and listed common types of anti patterns. The article was informative as I realized I am guilty of utilizing many of these anti patterns such as spaghetti code and god object. After reading this article I am now aware of these anti patterns, and will be more mindful to not use them in the future.

Resources:

https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/what-are-software-anti-patterns

From the blog CS@Worcester – Zack's CS Blog by ztram1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

During this last week of class, I have been learning about clean code and how to write it as well as edit my previously written code in order to follow these guidelines. Clean code is exactly what it sounds like. It is code that is easy to read and understand, and isn’t too complicated or formatted poorly. Learning how to write clean code is going to be vital in working in the computer science industry. Everyone in this industry works with another programmer at some point in time, so having clean code will make their life and your life easier. While researching more about how to write clean code, I found a website called freecodecamp that does a great job explaining attributes of clean code while also giving examples. On top of explaining how to do it, it also has a section explaining why you should care about writing clean code. Personally, this really helped me understand why clean code is needed and why it is very important to understand.

The three main aspects of clean code are effectiveness, efficiency, and simplicity. Effectiveness is pretty self-explanatory. It means that the program should be able to solve the problem that it was designed to solve, otherwise it isn’t helpful. Once the program is considered to be effective, we need to also make sure that it is efficient. If a program solves a simple addition problem, but takes 36 hours to run, the program isn’t efficient as there are much faster and more simple solutions. If your program is post effective and efficient, then you also need to make sure that it has simplicity. While most sites will have different qualifications for simplicity, I think freecodecamp has most of them. Freecodecamp wants everyone that is trying to write clean code to ask themselves these questions about the code:

1. “Can you easily understand what the program does at each line?
2. Do functions and variables have names that clearly represent their responsibilities?
3. Is the code indented correctly and spaced with the same format all along the codebase?
4. Is there any documentation available for the code? Are comments used to explain complex parts of the program?
5. How quick can you identify in which part of the codebase are certain features of the program? Can you delete/add new features without the need of modifying many other parts of the code?
6. Does the code follow a modular approach, with different features separated in components?
7. Is code reused when possible?
8. Are the same architecture, design, and implementation decisions followed equally all along the codebase?”

While there are a ton of other ways that you can improve your code, these are the 3 main factors. Without these 3 foundational factors, you wouldn’t be able to write clean code which would make life harder for you and for everyone that reads your code.

Synopsis: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-write-clean-code/#what-does-it-mean-to-write-clean-code-and-why-should-i-care

From the blog CS@Worcester – One pixel at a time by gizmo10203 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

The Roots of Today’s Modern Backend Engineering Practices: https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/the-roots-of-modern-backend-engineering-practices/

Summary:
In this blog post, we explore the evolution of modern backend practices through the lens of Joshua Burgin, an industry veteran with a rich background in backend development. The journey begins with his early days at Amazon, where accidental outages led to valuable lessons in observability and robust systems. We then travel back to 1969, witnessing the birth of ARPANET, a pioneering project that laid the groundwork for today’s distributed networks. The narrative continues into the 1980s, marking the rise of the internet and web-based computing, crucial milestones that shaped the challenges and solutions of backend development.

Reason for Selection:
This resource was chosen for its deep exploration of the historical roots of modern backend engineering practices. Joshua Burgin’s firsthand experiences, coupled with insights into the development of ARPANET and the internet, provide a holistic view of the challenges, innovations, and pivotal moments that have shaped the backend landscape.

Comments on Content:
Joshua’s recounting of the early days at Amazon offers a vivid picture of the challenges faced by developers in the late ’90s. The simplicity of tools like shell scripting and Perl, coupled with the manual deployment processes, highlights the stark contrast to today’s sophisticated backend practices. The emphasis on observability and the significance of monitoring, learned through real-world incidents, resonates with the importance of these aspects in contemporary development.

The exploration of ARPANET’s birth showcases the pioneering spirit of the engineers who laid the foundation for distributed networks. The introduction of packet switching and its impact on fault tolerance and high availability provides valuable context for current backend practices. Understanding these early challenges fosters an appreciation for the sophisticated tools available today.

As the narrative transitions to the internet’s rise in the 1980s, the challenges faced by businesses like Amazon in scaling infrastructure and serving international audiences become apparent. The change from text-based interfaces to graphical browsers reflects the transformative power of user-friendly technologies, a lesson relevant in today’s user-centric development approaches.

Personal Reflection:
This resource has deepened my understanding of the roots of backend engineering, emphasizing the iterative nature of progress in technology. The anecdotes from Joshua’s career underscore the importance of learning from failures and adapting to the evolving landscape. The historical context provided by ARPANET and the internet’s emergence serves as a reminder of the continuous innovation that defines backend development.

Moving forward, I plan to apply the lessons on observability and robust system design in my own projects. The historical insights have reinforced the idea that every complex system today stands on the lessons from earlier times, encouraging a forward-looking approach that considers the evolution of technology.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Site Title by rkaranja1002 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

What is documentation in computer science? So, documentation in computer science is the information that helps describe the product to the people who deploy, develop, and use it. This includes technical manuals and online materials, documentation sometimes refers to source information about the product discussed in code comments, design documentation, and session notes. Documentation is a way for programmers to describe their products and the process they use to create them in formal writing. Usually with early programmers, they would use notes and comments, but as programming got more complicated technical writers took over the documentation process. Documentation shows what software developers did when making the software and what users and IT staff must do when deploying and using it. Documentation is usually included in the software user interface as comments and helps the process of documentation. The information is usually divided into categories that include Evaluating, planning, using, maintaining, and installing.

So why is documentation so important? The reason why it’s important is because it provides information about a software program for everyone involved in the process of making it, developing it, and using it. Documentation records the development process and assists in basic tasks like troubleshooting and installation. With good documentation, it helps get the users familiar with the software and its features. Documentation can have a significant role in driving user acceptance. It also can reduce the burden of support teams, because it gives users the power to troubleshoot issues. Software documentation can be a living document that is updated over the software development life. The use and communication of documentation encourage users to provide developers with information on problems users have with the software and what other features they need. Developers can respond with software updates, improving their customer satisfaction and the user’s experience. 

There are two types of software documentation, internal and external. Internal documentation is used inside the company, it usually includes administrative documentation and developer documentation. Administrative documentation is a high-level administrative guideline, roadmaps, and product requirements for the software development team and project managers. Development documentation provides instructions to developers for building the software and guides them through the development process. It needs the required documents, which describe how the software should perform when tested. External software documentation helps provide IT managers and end users with information on how to deploy and use the software, It usually includes end-user documentation, enterprise user documentation, and just-in-time documentation. End-user documentation gives users basic instructions on how to use, install, and troubleshoot the software. Enterprise documentation usually has documentation for IT staff who deploy the software across the enterprise. Just-in-time documentation provides end users with support documentation at the exact time they will need it. Documentation is important because it helps keep track of all the work that was done with the software and gets updated when any changes are made. It helps developers and users get to know the software better and have a clear understanding of the code.

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/overview-software-documentation/

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsoftwarequality/definition/documentation#:~:text=In%20the%20software%20development%20process,of%20manuals%20and%20help%20capabilities.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Kaylene Noel's Blog by Kaylene Noel and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Software Process Model

A software process model is an abstract framework that gives steps on ways to plan software development processes and how they can be organized and executed. There are different types of software process models but all include some form of:

• Specification – Defining what the system should do
• Design – Defining the structure of the system
• Implementation – Implementing the system
• Validation – Ensuring the system works as intended and that the system is what the customer wants
• Maintenance – Changing, modifying, updating to keep up with the customer needs/fixing bugs

Types of software process models

There are many different types of models that are available to be used by organizations. Some allow organizations to use the model directly while others are more flexible, allowing organizations to create custom steps that are more specific towards their needs.

Software processes are typically specified using Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) models. These models specify the different steps of the software development process and the order they are executed. 

Waterfall Model

The waterfall model breaks down software process activities into sequential phases. Each phase depends on the outcomes of the phases before and cannot be started until all phases prior have been completed. Each phase corresponds to a software process. For example, the first phase would be specification/requirements analysis because developers cannot create a system without knowing its intended function. Once that step is completed, then the next phase can be started and so on.

V Model

The V model is similar to the waterfall model where steps are followed in a sequential order. Initially after each step, the model progresses downwards to move onto the next step. Once the the coding/developing stage is complete, the model then bends upwards to create a V shape. This model highlights the relationships between each phase of the development life cycle and its corresponding phase of testing. The downward process is called the Verification Phase, while the upward process of the model is called the Validation Phase which are completed by developers and testers, respectively.

Agile

Unlike the two previous models, Agile is not a model with specific steps to follow. Rather Agile is a broader term for a set of methods and practices that encompasses values from the Agile Manifesto. These values helps teams to react quickly to any unforeseen changes, while reducing risk. The software development approach to Agile is usually rapid and small cycles. Doing this results in more frequent releases with each building upon the previous releases. Agile can be implemented by using frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban.

Reflection

I chose this resource because before simply listing different types of models, it clearly defined what the software processes are. This ensures a foundation is established. Although only three of the models in the article are listed above, there are several more models which I found interesting as I was unfamiliar with some of them. Because organizations use different models, being aware of the more popular ones will be beneficial in the future.

Resources:

https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/software-development-process/what-is-a-software-process-model/

From the blog CS@Worcester – Zack's CS Blog by ztram1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

In the realm of software development, the challenge of deciphering convoluted and tangled code, often referred to as “spaghetti code,” has persisted. This final blog explores the significance of writing clean code—a practice that not only caters to machines but, crucially, facilitates human collaboration, ensuring project success.

I selected this resource since it delves into the importance of clean code in software development. i feel as though it emphasizes readability, consistency, and meaningful naming conventions, addressing the challenges posed by complex and unclear code structures. The text advocates for clean coding practices that enhance collaboration and ease of understanding among developers.

i picked this since it stood out due to its comprehensive coverage of clean coding principles, ranging from intuitive code structure to the strategic use of comments and robust error handling. Its relevance lies in providing practical insights into writing code that is not just functional but also maintainable and adaptable, aligning with the collaborative nature of software development.

The content underscores the pivotal role of developers in the software industry and how clean code is indispensable for creating software with easy usability. Consistency, meaningful names, simplicity, strategic comments, and robust error handling are identified as key components of clean programming. The emphasis on collaborative practices, such as code reviews and refactoring, highlights the continuous learning and improvement inherent in writing clean code.

The use of AI in code reviews and automated testing aligns with current technological trends, enhancing the efficiency of maintaining clean codebases. The resource effectively communicates that writing clean code is not just a good practice but a fundamental aspect of sustainable software development.

This material reinforces the profound impact of clean coding on the collaborative and productive aspects of software development. It has heightened my awareness of the long-term benefits of investing time and effort in writing clean code. I understand that clean code is not just about pleasing aesthetics; it’s a strategic approach that ensures maintainability, efficiency, and scalability throughout the software development lifecycle.

https://reflectoring.io/clean-code/

From the blog CS@Worcester – CSTips by Jamaal Gedeon and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this blog post I will be discussing the Practice, Practice, Practice pattern. This pattern essentially says that you should practice, obviously. The goal is to get better and better and to build concrete skills in new areas. Looking back on all that I have learned I noticed that there was one thing that I nearly could have always done more of and that was practice. The initial blurb in this pattern says ” The people we know as masters don’t devote themselves to their particular skill just to get better at it. The truth is, they love to practice—and because of this they do get better. And then to complete the circle, the better they get the more they enjoy performing the basic moves over and over again.”(Apprenticeship Patterns) From this valuable quote I have learned that those that are truly skilled have put in a lot of time devoted to practicing. Within this year if I want to do anything, that is practice everything that I have learned at WSU. From basic java skills to git workflows. I see that with open-source software this may be a good opportunity to do such things. WSU has provided the resources and has made becoming a master in computers that much more of a reality and a valuable one at that. By practicing on my own I can learn from my mistakes and give myself the comfort to save space and observe my own mistakes. Then, by looking to the provided resources I can look where to emulate a more masterful understanding of computers in whatever specific area that I may wish to practice in. I can even look back on where I can specifically improve based on grades and the hindsight of completing a course. In the context of this specific course, it is working on a large scale project that are maintained by large groups of people. I understand that the traditional way of getting a position at some type software developer job is a good way to get in that practice but with where I am at now and where I want to be I don’t think that would be an optimal environment for me, at least not yet. If I have learned anything, its that I can get by on a set structure that school provides, but where I find the most growth and improvement is in the setting in which I put myself in.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Sovibol's Glass Case by Sovibol Keo and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.