In the world of software development, design patterns have long been touted as the foundation for writing reusable, scalable, and maintainable code. However, in his blog post “Rethinking Design Patterns,” Jeff Atwood, the founder of Stack Overflow, offers a criticizing look at the overuse and potential drawbacks of design patterns. Atwood argues that while design patterns can be incredibly helpful, they are often overused or misapplied, leading to unnecessary complexity and rigid software designs, highlighting that the key to good software design is not slavishly applying patterns but ensuring that the solution is simple, clear, and flexible

I chose this blog post because it directly relates to our course’s exploration of design patterns and software design principles. Throughout the course, we have discussed the value of design patterns as reusable solutions to common problems, but Atwood’s post reminded me that patterns should not be applied indiscriminately. The post offered a necessary counterpoint to the overwhelming focus on patterns, encouraging me to prioritize simplicity and clarity in code design. The Duck Simulator assignment in our course is a perfect example of how design patterns can either simplify or complicate a project, depending on how they’re applied. Initially, in the Duck Simulator, we began with a simple inheritance model where different types of ducks, such as MallardDuck and RubberDuck, inherited from a common Duck class. While inheritance is a useful mechanism for shared behaviors, it quickly became clear that adding new duck types with unique behaviors (like the RubberDuck that doesn’t fly) led to a rigid structure that was difficult to modify.

This is something I’ve experienced in my own coding assignments: sometimes, I’ve reached for a design pattern without fully understanding the problem or whether the pattern was the best fit. For example, I have often used the Strategy Pattern when refactoring code, but I now realize that I may have overcomplicated simple problems that could have been solved with more straightforward solutions. Going forward, I plan to apply Atwood’s advice by being more discerning in my use of design patterns. Instead of immediately opting for a design pattern, I will first evaluate whether a simpler solution exists.

You can read the full post here: Rethinking Design Patterns.

From the blog SoftwareDiary by Oanh Nguyen and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Here we are again looking at another Design Pattern for software. Again from our friend Christopher Okhravi getting into the nitty gritty of the “Factor Method Pattern” and how it works using logic and examples all from the book “Head First Design Patterns”. I picked this because the last one of these I watched I thought really worked for explaining the Strategy Pattern for me so I wanted to give another one a watch for some more complicated patterns. First Mr.Okhravi walks us through how exactly a Factory Pattern works where we have a series of classes that all implement the same superclass and we then create these products through separate classes that instantiate them called a “Factory”. But when we instantiate one of these classes we don’t actually know which class we want to instantiate, we just need some kind of logic to produce them inside the factory that decides how the classes are instantiated. So this Design Pattern was certainly more of a challenge to wrap my head around but I think with this resource it’s helped me to understand it somewhat better. This pattern at least for me when working on it in the design pattern homework was definitely a little too convoluted for me to fully parse but it did still make some sense when I put it into practice. This video though has helped me to at least better understand the underlying logic of it all and really grasp the way it can work for other things and how you can even have multiple factories to produce objects in other ways. This resource definitely gave me a better appreciation for what the factory pattern is capable of and the different ways it can used. Not to mention that it seems infinitely customizable in that it’s scalability is huge. For the future I think I can expect to be using this at least for large scale projects that will have many different objects that need to added or used. This also makes me want to see what other design patterns there are other than the ones we have explored in class. So I think next I’ll be looking into other patterns and seeing what ones interest me. Other options I’ve been considering are patterns like the Decorator pattern or the Observer pattern both which look pretty interesting and I can’t wait to try them out!

Here’s the video!

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From the blog CS@Worcester – aRomeoDev by aromeo4f978d012d4 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

The article I found today that I want to write about is titled “My 5 Biggest Screw-Ups as a Scrum Master”. I chose this article because the title of it really jumped out and resonated with me when I read it. I figured it would give me some good insight on what it’s like to be a scrum master and possibly have some good tips or tricks on how to avoid common mistakes when you’re new to it.

The article mentions his five major mistakes and how he fixed them, which I’ll get into below.

For the first mistake, he mentioned how when he heard differing viewpoints than his own, he would be upset. He fixed this by putting himself in the other people’s shoes, and trying to understand why they were seeing it how they were. For his second mistake, as it sort of ties into the first one, any feedback he got was very tough to swallow. To fix this, he actively sorted out as much feedback as he could in order to get used to it and learn from it. For the third mistake, he pretty much just simply allowed his group to “self-manage” on their own, but it led to a lot more confusion than anything. To fix this, he set goals and clear responsibilities for all members of the group but still allowed for the sense of freedom that self-management implies. As he says “it gives a sense of direction and vision for the state they want to achieve”. The fourth issue was missing out on signs of lack of trust; meaning not realizing the group members may have issues with each other. For his solution here, it really seems he doesn’t really have one. He tried everything he could but, at the end of the day, the two group members were never going to get along. I guess the takeaway here is to just recognize this and either reconstruct the group or direct your energy elsewhere. The fifth issue, working beyond his experience, was simply just that. He thought it would be a piece of cake to be a scrum master, but it was far from it. He learned you must expand your comfort zone by going into uncomfortable situations with the intent to learn, and that honesty is extremely crucial.

Although we learned about Scrum in class, this article did a good job summarizing and explaining the issues you may experience within it, especially as a first time scrum master. It’s honestly probably something I would have never thought of and I probably would’ve made the same mistake as the writer by thinking it would be a piece of cake. Because of this article, I now know a little bit more as to what to expect whenever I have my first big project as a scrum master and HOPEFULLY I can avoid some, if not all, of the mistakes made by the person here.

Link: https://medium.com/serious-scrum/my-5-biggest-screw-ups-as-a-scrum-master-f912be2ed2d4

From the blog CS@Worcester – RBradleyBlog by Ryan Bradley and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

This week, I found a study on adopting design patterns in an IT organization. The study was conducted by the University of Oregon, and a link to the study can be found at the end of the blog. I selected this study due to the fact that it dove a lot into software design patterns and why, if they are implemented correctly, they can be extremely beneficial for a company to use.

The overall purpose of this study was to, as stated in the study, provide a scholarly annotated bibliography that examines software design patterns. It wants to provide IT leaders with proof that the implementation of design patterns can achieve increased operational efficiency or the delivery of strategic benefits.

By the end of this study, you can see some clear benefits of using a good design pattern. Operationally, there is a reduced development time as well as as a reduction of errors. This is due to the development process being streamlined, as well as being reusable with tested solutions. Strategically, patterns can contribute to a system that scales over time without a lot of rework, which is huge for organizations with rapidly evolving needs. Patterns also must create a shared language which inherently allows for better collaboration between different teams working on a project.

The study also goes over how it can be implemented using phased adoption; implementing patterns gradually allowing for people to adjust. On top of this, it mentions periodic review and sharing of documentation/knowledge, two very important ideas in terms of efficiently and affectively using design patterns.

Having read this study, it certainly reinforces a lot of the ideas we mentioned when discussing design patterns. I wouldn’t necessarily say everything I read was new, and the new sounding information may have just been worded in a different way, but the study certainly did a good job as sort of drilling the benefits of why a good design pattern can be highly beneficial.

This study also opened my eyes in the sense that I feel as though in my career I may keep an eye out for how different design patterns could be implemented into any projects that I’m working on. Being able to cut back on time, while still completing different jobs in an effective manner is something that will be very important and possibly put you above other people. If I demonstrate a knowledge of design patterns and can implement them well, or at least suggest them, it may at the very minimum open my companies eyes to different possibilities.

Link to study: https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/b5d95a74-77d6-454b-9ed5-1f2af2633f8a/content

From the blog CS@Worcester – RBradleyBlog by Ryan Bradley and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week’s blog, I decided to discuss the pattern from Chapter 2 called “Unleash Your Enthusiasm”. This pattern discusses the enthusiasm for learning that many software engineering apprentices experience and how you should show it because, at this point in your career, you can provide unique qualities. This section discusses the situation where you may find yourself holding back because you may find that you have more enthusiasm than your colleagues. This is because there may be pressure to conform to the norm whenever you work on a team. In addition to this, many teams mainly focus on delivering the next product or improving on the aspects of the development life cycle. It also explains the risk of exposing your enthusiasm to an established team. In this situation, the text explains if the morale of the team is low or if they are not very welcoming to newcomers, you might make a poor impression. In this case, the text mentions that the advice in the section should not be applied blindly because you need to consider team dynamics.

The reason that I decided to pick this pattern is that I have never thought of concealing or holding back my enthusiasm for my craft. Every team that I have gotten the pleasure of joining in some way really valued my enthusiasm and the skills that they could learn from me. I have always been on a team where we all encouraged each other to learn from someone else on the team. Needless to say, I have never thought about the possibility of making a bad impression because of my enthusiasm for the task. In hindsight, I can see how exposing your ignorance of a topic can upset a team that values competence over enthusiasm for learning. I do think this quote from the text holds truth to it because of my own experience: “it is actually healthier for a team to consist of people with varying levels of experience”. Tech is a fast-paced industry so everyone is forced to keep up with new trends. A team that has a diverse set of skills at different levels is bound to create a healthy environment. With that being said, I can’t say that I disagree with anything from this section but I will be more aware of unleashing my enthusiasm on certain teams.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Live Laugh Code by Shamarah Ramirez and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

The draw-your-own-map pattern talks about how people should take control of their career paths and not rely on others to define their path. This pattern talks about identifying the next logical steps, visualizing how to achieve those steps, and continuing to evaluate their goals and values. Draw-your-own-map pattern suggests that getting help from like-minded people and being open to adjusting one’s map to any changes that came up. This pattern shows stories about people who go into programming despite challenges from employers and orginizational limits. Draw-your-own-map encourages people to set a specific goal rather than setting a goal that isnt reachable. That step not only helps provide feedback but it also makes you seek guidance from like-minded people, those people can give you resources and support when trying to achieve your goals. One of the key ideas of this pattern is flexibility, it supports the idea of one’s mind to keep reassuring themselves that it’s okay to make changes. This pattern promotes an approach to career development and make sure to empower people to find their way through there careers with a purpose.

I thought this pattern was interesting because it encourages people to be creative and not rely on other people to define our paths, it should be our decision. I also thought the steps that the pattern talks about was very helpful, it’s important to set realistic goals so that you don’t overwork yourself to reach that goal. Visualizing the steps to achieving those goals also help make sure you don’t rush through the process and able to have a set plan. Evaluating your goal and values are also important as you go on to make sure that you can still reach your goal and be okay with any changes that come. This pattern has changed the way I think about achieving my goals, I know now to set a more realistic goal for myself and not be scared to get help from people who think like me. I don’t disagree with this pattern because I feel like this will help a lot of people with reaching their goals and make them think more realistically while getting support from others.

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.

The “Be the Worst” pattern encourages you to surround yourself with individuals who excel in their craft, even if it means being the least skilled person in the group. By doing this, you engage yourself in an environment that fosters continuous learning and growth, as it exposes individuals to new perspectives, challenges, and techniques that may not occur otherwise.

I find this pattern both interesting and thought-provoking because it challenges the traditional notion of seeking out environments where one is the most skilled or experienced. Instead, it encourages the embracement of discomfort and for individuals to seek out opportunities for improvement, even if it means initially feeling inadequate or out of place.

Embracing this pattern has caused me to reconsider how I approach my career and professional development. I have been inclined to seek out roles or teams where I felt confident in my abilities in the past, always fearing the possibility of struggling or being overshadowed by more experienced peers. However, I can see the value in seeking out environments where I am the weakest member after my reflection on this pattern. This will give me the chance to push myself to learn and grow at a faster pace, ultimately becoming a stronger and more versatile developer.

While I generally agree with the principles outlined in this pattern, I do acknowledge that it may not be suitable for everyone or in every situation. Some individuals may thrive in environments where they are the most skilled, finding comfort and confidence in their expertise. Additionally, constantly being the least skilled member of a team can be emotionally challenging and may require a certain level of resilience and self-confidence to navigate successfully.

Overall, the “Be the Worst” pattern serves as a reminder of the importance of humility, curiosity, and continuous learning in one’s professional journey. By seeking out opportunities to surround oneself with individuals who are better than them, individuals can unlock their full potential and achieve greater success in their chosen field.

4. Accurate Self-Assessment | Apprenticeship Patterns (oreilly.com)

From the blog CS@Worcester – Jason Lee Computer Science Blog by jlee3811 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.