You can find more information about A Different Road pattern here: https://www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/apprenticeship-patterns/9780596806842/ch03s08.html

This passage is very quick and to the point. The authors emphasize that you should continue to follow your own map. Even if this new map brings you into an adventure you have never thought about doing. The authors ask just one thing, bring all of the knowledge and processes you’ve learned with you. Being a software apprentice means that you can look at problems from different perspective and use the tools and knowledge around you to excel and progress further. This way of thinking is not only useful in software development, but everywhere else too.

My favorite part about this pattern is that the authors understand that sometimes life can be strange. I enjoyed the example “…Ivan Moore, Ade’s mentor since ThoughtWorks, he described how he went off to a Greek island for six months to become a windsurfing instructor after his first IT job.” (Oshineye, Hoover). I liked this because it was so obscure. Who stops developing software to teach windsurfing? Well that’s the point. Everyone has different values in rewards. Regardless of what you want, someone else may want something entirely different. Maybe that windsurfing job paid HALF as much, but maybe money wasn’t important to Ivan. Instead he wanted to reap the rewards from enjoying life on a Greek island, the experience and the fun. These rewards could have been more valuable to him and you can’t tell him he is wrong.

The authors also tell you that leaving the field for some time could be risky as most conventional software companies see the break as a suspicious gap in your career. However, the authors also let you know that this- shouldn’t be the case. New experiences can help widen the perspective of one’s view. Leading to better understanding, communication, and team work.

At the end of the pattern the authors give you an action. All this is, is a suggestion on what to do if you are experiencing something like this problem in the pattern. The authors ask you to “write down some of the other jobs you think you would enjoy doing. Find people who are doing those jobs and loving it. Ask them what they love about it and compare that to the things you love about software development.” (Oshineye, Hoover)

At the end of the day, you should really be doing what you love and what rewards you, the best way you see fit.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Rookey Mistake by Shane Rookey and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

In this portion of the Individual Apprenticeship Patterns, it gives an overview about how the new coming of an apprentice can impact a development team that is filled with well-experienced craftsmen or developers. Apprentices by their nature are new, and inexperienced first hand, and therefore they are open to learn ideas and techniques used by the craftsmen around them. Assuming that most of the experienced craftsmen have 10-20 years experience, they are unable to further their skills because their only primary concern is to just get the job done or delivering the next project.  In order for a development team to improve its dynamics with new ideas and techniques, the apprentice can be one of the main components to improve or repair the team’s passion and enthusiasm.

“Most teams are not hyper-passionate or overly enthusiastic about technology. Predictably, they are focused on delivering the next project or improving on the aspects of the development life cycle that are causing them pain. Therefore, enthusiastic apprentices can often succumb to the urge to fly under the radar.”

The quote struck out to me because it shows the apprentices can give in or succumb to the ways of the experienced developers. As an individual, I want to be the type of person to bring enthusiasm to the team and to allow a flow of passion and excitement into the team. To me, maintaining a positive vibe and atmosphere allows everyone in the team to communicate effectively and consistently.

“On a team that is open to the excitement and contributions of an apprentice, you will provide some unique qualities that more experienced developers rely upon, such as unfettered imagination and enthusiasm. This is the time in your career when it makes the most sense to take risks and speak your mind. You have very little to lose. Your ideas and passions will add intelligence and diversity to your team.”

I found this quote extremely useful because it supports my idea that as a team member, having a passion about the work environment or project can bring positive outcomes for the team, and good things will happen. I fully agree with this Apprenticeship pattern because it promotes an amusing and enjoyable atmosphere for every team member, which can be traced back through the conscious or subconscious actions of the apprentice.

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

The “Confront Your Ignorance” pattern offers the next steps after you’ve followed the “Expose Your Ignorance” pattern. It’s not enough to admit that there are gaps in your knowledge; an apprentice software developer needs to be willing to do the work to fill in those gaps. The book suggests several ways to go about this. You might read introductory articles about the subject, start making a breakable toy, ask experts and peers if they’re willing to share their knowledge, or learn alongside someone else. Personally, I think learning with breakable toys would be the most effective strategy for me. I understand what’s going a lot quicker if I can try something myself and see it in action. I’ll also keep in mind asking peers and mentors. A lot of the time, I won’t be able to figure out something that’s obvious to someone who already has knowledge in a certain area on my own.

The writers emphasize that this pattern needs to be used with “Expose Your Ignorance.” Confronting your ignorance without exposing it means fostering a culture where failure and being seen learning are shameful and must occur in secret. It will also probably be more difficult and time-consuming if you don’t ask for guidance when you’re stuck. Exposing your ignorance without confronting it means you won’t be able to solve any problems outside of your particular niche, and others won’t appreciate it when the gaps in your knowledge prevent you from fulfilling your responsibilities.

This is also the first time the writers have mentioned a situation in which you should prioritize the job over the apprenticeship. It’s possible to be so caught up in your drive to learn more that it gets in the way of delivering the product. You might also be tempted to go about solving problems in a way that helps you learn what you’re trying to learn, but is impractical for others. You should be striving to improve your craft, but not at the expense of your team and your duties. Part of being an apprentice is putting the needs of your community before yourself. These guidelines provide a good balance between the greater goal and what’s more immediate.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Fun in Function by funinfunction and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

This semester, I am tasked with writing 10 blog posts, each being a reflection of a pattern defined in the book Apprenticeship Patterns: Guidance for the Aspiring Software Craftsman by Dave Hoover and Adewale Oshineye – this is the first of those blog posts.

This week, I will be writing a reflection on the “Breakable Toys” pattern.  The use of this pattern arises in the situation where a developer feels like failure in the workplace is not an option, and desires a safe space in which he or she can make mistakes and not suffer terrible consequences as a result.  Most people believe that failure is one of the best ways, if not the best way, to learn anything and so, if a person feels like they are in a situation where failure is not an option, it becomes harder for them to learn in that situation.  The “Breakable Toys” pattern is the solution for developers in a similar situation to the one I have just described.  A “breakable toy” is a personal project that is similar in toolset, but not in scope, to a system that you would typically see at work.  The idea behind using a “breakable toy” is that it allows you to try your ideas and techniques, safely, even if they lead to a catastrophic failure.  On this scale, the outcome of your attempts will only affect you, giving you the freedom to learn from your efforts without the fear of affecting others in the process.

The reason I chose this pattern to be the first subject of reflection in this series, is because it is a pattern that I already try to utilize in my own life.  I am currently trying to land my first internship as a developer and a couple of the companies I have been in contact with have asked me to complete coding problems (as you would expect).  I am a person who has a slight fear of failure – not enough to prevent me from trying to achieve things, but enough to give me a ton of anxiety in ‘make or break’ situations – so I began creating “breakable toys” to refresh my knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and fundamental programming concepts.  These “breakable toys” were quite useful to me, and they helped me to solve the programming problems, posed by my potential employers, in the interview process.  I also found a lot of enjoyment in creating “breakable toys” and solving coding challenges, so I have started to make more of an effort to make that a regular activity in my life.  I believe I am starting to utilize another pattern covered in the book: “Practice, practice, practice”, which will likely be the subject of next week’s reflection.

Thanks for reading.

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

Problem: You feel your job depends on you delivering a solution written in a specific programming language and of the same standard of quality as your teammates. Alternatively, obtaining a job in the first place depends on your proficiency in a specific programming language.

Solution: The text suggests picking a language and becoming fluent in it, as it will be the main language you will be using for the next few years to solve problems. It’s a difficult choice to make, especially when looking for jobs that may been looking for specific skills and languages. It’s “important to carefully weigh the options, as it is the foundation upon which your early career will be built.” One good way to gain experience and become fluent in a language is to actually have a real problem to solve, and to “seek out opportunities to create feedback.” Becoming fluent in a language allows you to start working more on test-driven development, allowing you to check your assumptions and aiding development of new languages.

This pattern has good advice, and it’s not the first time I’ve heard someone suggest working on one language and perfecting it instead of trying to learn multiple languages at the same time and expect to be fluent in each one. An interesting tip from the text was building a toy application in the language you’re trying to pursue a job with, one that your prospective employer would be able to access. Good learning experiences come from solving real problems, school gives you a good foundation to build upon and learn from the problems you solve in your professional career. Working in the field and running into real problems, the ability to work with other people and learn from them is a big part of gaining skill. I think Java would be a practical choice to become fluent in as it’s a high demand language that receives a lot of bad press but it running on 3 billion devices. The book also mentioned the community behind these languages and all the resources you have at your disposal. They suggest taking advantage of the support network you have and attending local meetings related to that language.

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From the blog CS@Worcester – code friendly by erik and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.