Breakable Toys was an interesting pattern to read about. The premise is that in order to develop your skills, you should spend some time single-handedly developing small software projects. The example the text gave was maintaining a Wiki, which over time develops many skills in different areas. Ideally you will be able to find enjoyment in your toy so you can continue to grow from it. This toy is also something you can take with you, and something you can continue to learn from.

The idea of Breakable Toys was one I’d never really thought of before, but after reading it I can say that I’ve probably used the pattern to some extent. I can recall a time where I was learning HTML and CSS just to customize a web-page on an online game. At first, I had no idea what I was doing, but after some research and a lot of experimentation and trial and error, I began to have a much better concept on designing a web page. Meanwhile, I was enjoying the learning experience and the progress towards building something of my own. The ability to find enjoyment in what you learn is what eventually lead me to where I am in the first place.

After having read the chapter on Breakable Toys, I think I will try to be more intentional with my use of interesting and fun things that simultaneously develop my programming skills. One idea would be to develop a game in a new language, that way I can learn a new programming language and do something I enjoy.  Eventually, I can also develop the same game for any new programming language I wish to learn, as an interesting way to see some of the differences and similarities between them.

Something I’m learning about a lot of these patterns is that they are all sort of things that people just tend to do naturally to try and aid their own development. I guess that’s the whole point of the patterns, but it is really insightful to have some of these ideas put into words.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Let's Get TechNICKal by technickal4 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this weeks blog post I will be looking at the pattern called “The Deep End”. The context behind this one is that taking small safe steps leaves you unsatisfied and you are beginning to fear that you may be in a rut. Instead of diligence that could attain the next level you are in a rut where bland competence eventually will decay into mediocrity. The problem with this is that you need to grow your skills, confidence and portfolio of successful work. Challenging yourself with bigger things like bigger projects, larger teams and more difficult and complex tasks, new workplaces and more. This will again help you grow as a developer instead of settling for a rut. The solution to this is to jump in at the deep end, taking it head on almost. Waiting until you are “ready” can turn into a disaster or a pattern of never doing anything. When offered a higher profile role or a more difficult problem grab onto it with both hands take it head on. Personal growth will only occur if you are doing something out of your comfort zone and doing things that stretch your boundaries. This of course will have its risks without a doubt. If you get it wrong and way in over your head you could drown. But thankfully in the business there are many places where you can take risks without destroying your career if you were to fail. These risks are opportunities that will help you grow. It means taking a foreign assignment when its offered, even if the possibility of failure is staring in your face. Acting on this will be extremely beneficial to you when in a rut. Thinking of the biggest projects you have worked on and then writing down the answers to these questions pertaining to the difficulty of other projects is a good way to start. Using metrics to measure every project, in a sense, of your own projects. I find this pattern to be very on par with the be the worst mentality. In a sense you are putting yourself in an environment that may or may not cause you to fail miserably but if you succeed you will grow immensely.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Matt's Blog by mattyd99 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For the ninth week’s reading, I chose to read the pattern, Record What You Learn. The problem this pattern addresses is keeping a journal or history of what you learned but not casting it aside. It suggests that a journal, personal wiki, or blog of lessons can help you in the future. This can be either for mentoring purposes, or a source of information for yourself and others. However, the biggest trap stated is that you will write down the lesson and forgetting them. The next step of writing them down is to revisit them regularly and review what you have written down. Eventually, the outcome is that you will achieve an accurate self-assessment of what you actually know. An example of a successful journal is about a guy named Dave who kept quotes that shaped his learning and eventually totaled over 500 quotes. With this he was able to share it with others and was helpful when he started writing articles and this book in particular!

What I found useful about this article is that it made me do a self-assessment on the spot about how I’m currently retaining information from school. Notes, projects, presentations, and papers are all evidence that I have been actively involved in my learning. However, once the course has finished, all those notes, papers, projects, and presentations are forever locked away in my drive, closet, or thrown away. Valuable information that could be useful in the future is now stacking up somewhere that can’t be maintained in a practical way.

What I found interesting about this article is the portion of the personal wiki. I did not know that you could create a personal wiki and it answered a question along the way. The question is what happens if there is something you learned but don’t want to share publicly. As such, you could have private and public records with no issues. This sparked an interest for myself, as I need a breakable toy to mess around with and learn but didn’t want to create a blog from scratch to do the job. Overall, this pattern is meaningful as it’s a good place to start if you don’t have anywhere to begin.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Progression through Computer Science and Beyond… by Johnny To and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

After writing about “The Long Road” in my last post, I decided to read the referenced “A Different Road” pattern. This pattern is exactly as described in “The Long Road”. It is a pattern that basically tells you that it is ok to step away from software development and that even if you leave, you will carry what you have learned into whatever path you choose to take. This pattern also warns readers about the difficulties that may arise if they want to come back to the world of software development after taking a break of any kind.

Compared to “The Long Road”, I very much align more with this pattern. I agree that the problem solving techniques learned throughout years of software development can be useful in other career or life paths. I feel like this pattern should have given more insight into this aspect of choosing a different road. This section didn’t really discuss how one might move from a developer position to a project manager position where such technical insight would be a massive benefit to a company. Being in a position like this and having a strong understanding on the feasibility of reaching deadlines and being able to relate to the developers working under you makes you a great asset to your company. The pattern instead gives examples of teaching and full time parenthood.

I entirely agree with the aspect of this pattern that talks about how difficult it is to find a job after having a gap in employment. I follow several computer science career related forums and this is a very common point of conversation. Whether it is a young adult who takes a gap year after graduating, or a parent who takes off the first year of their child’s life to bond more, they both often have trouble finding work after their gaps. This all varies company to company and there are definitely companies out there that value work-life balance as a core principle of the the company’s mission statement. From my experience, companies that have more of an older employee base are more work-life balance heavy. They tend to have more of an understanding of the 40-45 hour work week. There are also companies in the area of defense contracting that almost “have” to have their employees work a maximum of 40 hours a week due to contracts. It is all about putting in the effort to get back into work and finding a company that will work for you. If they don’t understand a reason for taking a break, they probably aren’t a company you want to work for.

From the blog CS@Worcester – The Road to Software Engineering by Stephen Burke and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week, I have decided to read another pattern from the Apprentice Patterns by Adevele Oshineye and Dave Hoover. It is called “Confront Your Ignorance” for this pattern. I chose this one because since I have read about job titles in the last blog post, I believe that there is a need to go back and understand the basics of knowing what to do with self-awareness when it comes to learning materials.

With this pattern, it starts off with the context of that we identified gaps in our skillset, gaps that are relevant to our daily work. The problem is that we do not know how to begin in working on them while knowing that there are tools and technique to master. By to some extent, some of the people around us already know these things and there is an expectation for the knowledge. To solve this issue, we need to choose one skill, tool, or technique to fill in these gaps for the knowledge. It is necessary to make the trade-offs each day to hone these and be sure that to decide whatever it is alright to dig deeper or fix the other gaps in the future.

From this pattern, what I found interesting is the way it makes a compelling statement towards a real-life scenario. While it is alright to learn when doing the project, it is not appreciated for programmers with the code that may lead to another project instead of the one that was tasked.  Employers may not be okay with understanding if the educational needs is interfering with the project delivery. It is best to have the willingness to put the wider interests of the community. This pattern has changed my mind in approaching in what should I do generally with the knowledge that feels limited. I don’t disagree with anything since it does give a clear sense of being a good step towards in expanding your work to even teaching them to others.

Based on the content of this pattern, I would say this is an excellent read as a refresh in knowing what to do with limited knowledge on projects. This pattern has shown me ways to understand that self-awareness is one of the key things to be successful. For future practice, I will try to be more considerate with separating the practice material and then use those skills from it to give acceptable code for future projects.

Link to the pattern: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/apprenticeship-patterns/9780596806842/ch02s06.html

From the blog CS@Worcester – Onwards to becoming an expert developer by dtran365 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week, I have decided to read “Use Your Title” pattern from the Apprentice Patterns by Adevele Oshineye and Dave Hoover. I have chosen this one because there is a need to know what to do when seeing a job title that is given. I believe this will help me in making sure that when a job is given, it does not feel as stressful from just reading it.

This pattern starts off with the context of being hired or promoted to a position with a title as a result of dedication of learning. The problem is that the job title does not match in what you see for yourself. Because of this, there is the need to apologize or explain the difference from the skill level to the job given. By this explanation, the solution is to not let the title affect you. A job title is not meant to slow down the process or believe that the changes should be big to fully do the work. What is needed to be done is writing down a document that describes the job title and update it time to time.

From this pattern, what I found useful is the way to think about the job title as a way to help you instead of putting you down to stress. It is to make sure that the reflection shows what is it you really do and the skill level is accurate by your standings. Thanks to reading this pattern, I understand that I should be not intimidated by the job titles and instead show that I can improve my organization from one work to the next. Overall, I don’t disagree with anything of this pattern and this is because it helps me understand that the industry is very difficult to choose people that can help with the problems ahead.

Based on the contents of this pattern, I would say this is one that requires thinking from your perspective and it is effective by the end of it. This pattern has given me some ideas to approach in expressing the future jobs that might be needing clarification. For future practice, I should try to write down job positions that I found suited to my skill level and make it clear for myself so that it would not as bad at first glance.

Link to the pattern: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/apprenticeship-patterns/9780596806842/ch03s06.html

From the blog CS@Worcester – Onwards to becoming an expert developer by dtran365 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.