Category Archives: CS-448

Apprenticeship Pattern: Learn How You Fail

This week I read the Apprenticeship Pattern Learn How You Fail. The context of this pattern is that failure is inevitable. It happens to everyone eventually. If someone has never failed then they have either avoided pushing boundaries or learned to overlook mistakes. The problem given with this context is that your learning skills have enhanced your successes, but your failures and weaknesses remain.

The solution given for this pattern is to identify the ways in which you tend to fail and try to fix them. This pattern is not about self-pity or trying to make things perfect. It is about gaining self-knowledge about the habits and behaviors that lead you to failure. Once you become aware of the things that trip you up you will have the choice to either fixe these problems or cut your losses. You will need to accept that there are things you’re not good at or that would require a great deal of time and effort invested to fix the problem.

The action plan to help solve this issue is to use your choice of a programming language and a simple text editor to write an implementation of binary search in a single sitting. Then write all the tests you think you will need to confirm the code is correct. Before running the test and compiling the code go back and try to fix the mistakes you have discovered so far. After that run the code and see what errors are still there. Think about what you learned and how the errors could have happened when you thought the code was perfect.

I chose this pattern because as this pattern said, failure is inevitable. I have had failures in my software projects and I will certainly have more failures in the future. I want to be able to fix these failures by correcting my weakness and bad habits. Following the action plan given in this pattern will help me understand where I might have blindspots for errors. I also need to think about my past failures and figure out the common cause that leads to them. I think taking the time to do these will be a great learning experience for me and it will help me in my future career.

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

Sprint Retrospective #2

Hello blog!

Sprint 2 has come to an end and it is now round 2 of sprint retrospectives. This sprint was a little different from the first sprint, where our issues were similar amongst the five projects and we all took one project. Instead of one person having to take on all issues for InventoryAPI, they were able to take on frontend work, or whatever was available. This was a change based on what we discussed during the first sprint retrospective–that we should rotate around what we’re working on rather than being stuck in one project. 

The first two issues I worked on were for AddInventoryFrontend:

The following issue is what resulted in the greatest struggle:

I think what worked well was that in the previous sprint there was the suggestion of changing projects for teammates since they did not want to stick to one of the five projects the whole time, and teammates did swap where they were working. We were also able to help each other out well for a few issues since we all had similar things to change.

What didn’t work well was that we did not gauge well enough how to weigh the tests. We did believe that it would give us issues, but not to the extent that it did. The backend tests should have been split into manual testing and automated testing in Chai since just the manual testing was giving issues that took a long time to address. It was also an issue that almost all of us were making changes to InventoryBackend at once and getting errors from different sections that were fixed by one person but another person was not informed. 

To improve as a team, we could definitely communicate more on errors we have received and what we’ve done to fix them–as soon as we reach them. There are times when some teammates further ahead have gotten errors and fixed them somehow, but forgot what they have changed or updated. Doing so would be of great help for reference and also just good practice. We could also improve as a team by finding more time to work together, like the testing issues for example, since we were all in a similar position, and everyone collaborating on one test first would definitely push us forward. We all have busy and differing schedules so it has been difficult lately, but it can be an improvement.

On the topic of improving as an individual, I still have a fear of breaking things, so I should work on being less afraid of making changes. This sprint I’ve experimented a lot with trying to fix the errors I received trying to get my manual getApiVersion test to work. There were countless changes I made that ended up not making a difference, or would trigger the same error under different conditions. So while I did make efforts to be more “daring”, I could still use some more work on that. I think what scares me more is entering commands I’m not familiar with at all in the terminal, but that can just be an instance of reading more into them.

This sprint felt like a call to be more communicative with my team and also a call to communicate outside of the team with those who have worked on similar issues.

From the blog CS@Worcester – CS With Sarah by Sarah T and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Find Mentors

Hello and thanks for coming back to another week of my blog! This week, I took a look at chapter 4 in the book Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover, called “Find Mentors.” Having a mentor can help you get guidance, support, and feedback to help you get better in your field. This apprenticeship pattern gives tips on how to find a mentor, like looking for people who are respected in your industry, going to conferences, and asking for feedback from your colleagues. It is also important to be open to feedback and find more than one mentor to get different perspectives. The computer science field is still relatively new, so there are not that many truly skilled mentors that excel in all computer science areas that are available to look up to. The pattern also says that you may encounter mentors that you may not be able to talk to, such as people making informative YouTube videos who live overseas. But those people are still mentors who inspire you. The pattern also emphasizes how hard it actually is to find a mentor. While there are many skilled people in the computer science field, not all of them are open to mentoring. Therefore, you should always ask if they are interested in mentoring people because you never know if they will accept being a mentor.

As an aspiring computer science major myself, I should also be on the lookout for mentors. There are several ways I can find mentors. The book says I should pick a tool, library, or a community that has an active mailing list and sign up for it. Other ways include asking faculty members at university, who are definitely more skilled than me and are always open to answering questions. Reaching out to alumni is a great option as well, since they were in the same boat as me when they started out. They could mentor me themselves or redirect me to someone they know who is skilled enough to answer my questions. Attending computer science events could be another option since it is a great way to network with professionals and ask them for advice. I would also have to keep in mind that as I get more experience, others may look up to me as a mentor and I would have to guide them on their long journey as well.

Thank you for reading.

From the blog Comfy Blog by Angus Cheng and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Find Mentors

Hello and thanks for coming back to another week of my blog! This week, I took a look at chapter 4 in the book Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover, called “Find Mentors.” Having a mentor can help you get guidance, support, and feedback to help you get better in your field. This apprenticeship pattern gives tips on how to find a mentor, like looking for people who are respected in your industry, going to conferences, and asking for feedback from your colleagues. It is also important to be open to feedback and find more than one mentor to get different perspectives. The computer science field is still relatively new, so there are not that many truly skilled mentors that excel in all computer science areas that are available to look up to. The pattern also says that you may encounter mentors that you may not be able to talk to, such as people making informative YouTube videos who live overseas. But those people are still mentors who inspire you. The pattern also emphasizes how hard it actually is to find a mentor. While there are many skilled people in the computer science field, not all of them are open to mentoring. Therefore, you should always ask if they are interested in mentoring people because you never know if they will accept being a mentor.

As an aspiring computer science major myself, I should also be on the lookout for mentors. There are several ways I can find mentors. The book says I should pick a tool, library, or a community that has an active mailing list and sign up for it. Other ways include asking faculty members at university, who are definitely more skilled than me and are always open to answering questions. Reaching out to alumni is a great option as well, since they were in the same boat as me when they started out. They could mentor me themselves or redirect me to someone they know who is skilled enough to answer my questions. Attending computer science events could be another option since it is a great way to network with professionals and ask them for advice. I would also have to keep in mind that as I get more experience, others may look up to me as a mentor and I would have to guide them on their long journey as well.

Thank you for reading.

From the blog Comfy Blog by Angus Cheng and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Find Mentors

Hello and thanks for coming back to another week of my blog! This week, I took a look at chapter 4 in the book Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover, called “Find Mentors.” Having a mentor can help you get guidance, support, and feedback to help you get better in your field. This apprenticeship pattern gives tips on how to find a mentor, like looking for people who are respected in your industry, going to conferences, and asking for feedback from your colleagues. It is also important to be open to feedback and find more than one mentor to get different perspectives. The computer science field is still relatively new, so there are not that many truly skilled mentors that excel in all computer science areas that are available to look up to. The pattern also says that you may encounter mentors that you may not be able to talk to, such as people making informative YouTube videos who live overseas. But those people are still mentors who inspire you. The pattern also emphasizes how hard it actually is to find a mentor. While there are many skilled people in the computer science field, not all of them are open to mentoring. Therefore, you should always ask if they are interested in mentoring people because you never know if they will accept being a mentor.

As an aspiring computer science major myself, I should also be on the lookout for mentors. There are several ways I can find mentors. The book says I should pick a tool, library, or a community that has an active mailing list and sign up for it. Other ways include asking faculty members at university, who are definitely more skilled than me and are always open to answering questions. Reaching out to alumni is a great option as well, since they were in the same boat as me when they started out. They could mentor me themselves or redirect me to someone they know who is skilled enough to answer my questions. Attending computer science events could be another option since it is a great way to network with professionals and ask them for advice. I would also have to keep in mind that as I get more experience, others may look up to me as a mentor and I would have to guide them on their long journey as well.

Thank you for reading.

From the blog Comfy Blog by Angus Cheng and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Find Mentors

Hello and thanks for coming back to another week of my blog! This week, I took a look at chapter 4 in the book Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover, called “Find Mentors.” Having a mentor can help you get guidance, support, and feedback to help you get better in your field. This apprenticeship pattern gives tips on how to find a mentor, like looking for people who are respected in your industry, going to conferences, and asking for feedback from your colleagues. It is also important to be open to feedback and find more than one mentor to get different perspectives. The computer science field is still relatively new, so there are not that many truly skilled mentors that excel in all computer science areas that are available to look up to. The pattern also says that you may encounter mentors that you may not be able to talk to, such as people making informative YouTube videos who live overseas. But those people are still mentors who inspire you. The pattern also emphasizes how hard it actually is to find a mentor. While there are many skilled people in the computer science field, not all of them are open to mentoring. Therefore, you should always ask if they are interested in mentoring people because you never know if they will accept being a mentor.

As an aspiring computer science major myself, I should also be on the lookout for mentors. There are several ways I can find mentors. The book says I should pick a tool, library, or a community that has an active mailing list and sign up for it. Other ways include asking faculty members at university, who are definitely more skilled than me and are always open to answering questions. Reaching out to alumni is a great option as well, since they were in the same boat as me when they started out. They could mentor me themselves or redirect me to someone they know who is skilled enough to answer my questions. Attending computer science events could be another option since it is a great way to network with professionals and ask them for advice. I would also have to keep in mind that as I get more experience, others may look up to me as a mentor and I would have to guide them on their long journey as well.

Thank you for reading.

From the blog Comfy Blog by Angus Cheng and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Find Mentors

Hello and thanks for coming back to another week of my blog! This week, I took a look at chapter 4 in the book Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover, called “Find Mentors.” Having a mentor can help you get guidance, support, and feedback to help you get better in your field. This apprenticeship pattern gives tips on how to find a mentor, like looking for people who are respected in your industry, going to conferences, and asking for feedback from your colleagues. It is also important to be open to feedback and find more than one mentor to get different perspectives. The computer science field is still relatively new, so there are not that many truly skilled mentors that excel in all computer science areas that are available to look up to. The pattern also says that you may encounter mentors that you may not be able to talk to, such as people making informative YouTube videos who live overseas. But those people are still mentors who inspire you. The pattern also emphasizes how hard it actually is to find a mentor. While there are many skilled people in the computer science field, not all of them are open to mentoring. Therefore, you should always ask if they are interested in mentoring people because you never know if they will accept being a mentor.

As an aspiring computer science major myself, I should also be on the lookout for mentors. There are several ways I can find mentors. The book says I should pick a tool, library, or a community that has an active mailing list and sign up for it. Other ways include asking faculty members at university, who are definitely more skilled than me and are always open to answering questions. Reaching out to alumni is a great option as well, since they were in the same boat as me when they started out. They could mentor me themselves or redirect me to someone they know who is skilled enough to answer my questions. Attending computer science events could be another option since it is a great way to network with professionals and ask them for advice. I would also have to keep in mind that as I get more experience, others may look up to me as a mentor and I would have to guide them on their long journey as well.

Thank you for reading.

From the blog Comfy Blog by Angus Cheng and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Find Mentors

Hello and thanks for coming back to another week of my blog! This week, I took a look at chapter 4 in the book Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover, called “Find Mentors.” Having a mentor can help you get guidance, support, and feedback to help you get better in your field. This apprenticeship pattern gives tips on how to find a mentor, like looking for people who are respected in your industry, going to conferences, and asking for feedback from your colleagues. It is also important to be open to feedback and find more than one mentor to get different perspectives. The computer science field is still relatively new, so there are not that many truly skilled mentors that excel in all computer science areas that are available to look up to. The pattern also says that you may encounter mentors that you may not be able to talk to, such as people making informative YouTube videos who live overseas. But those people are still mentors who inspire you. The pattern also emphasizes how hard it actually is to find a mentor. While there are many skilled people in the computer science field, not all of them are open to mentoring. Therefore, you should always ask if they are interested in mentoring people because you never know if they will accept being a mentor.

As an aspiring computer science major myself, I should also be on the lookout for mentors. There are several ways I can find mentors. The book says I should pick a tool, library, or a community that has an active mailing list and sign up for it. Other ways include asking faculty members at university, who are definitely more skilled than me and are always open to answering questions. Reaching out to alumni is a great option as well, since they were in the same boat as me when they started out. They could mentor me themselves or redirect me to someone they know who is skilled enough to answer my questions. Attending computer science events could be another option since it is a great way to network with professionals and ask them for advice. I would also have to keep in mind that as I get more experience, others may look up to me as a mentor and I would have to guide them on their long journey as well.

Thank you for reading.

From the blog Comfy Blog by Angus Cheng and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Find Mentors

Hello and thanks for coming back to another week of my blog! This week, I took a look at chapter 4 in the book Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover, called “Find Mentors.” Having a mentor can help you get guidance, support, and feedback to help you get better in your field. This apprenticeship pattern gives tips on how to find a mentor, like looking for people who are respected in your industry, going to conferences, and asking for feedback from your colleagues. It is also important to be open to feedback and find more than one mentor to get different perspectives. The computer science field is still relatively new, so there are not that many truly skilled mentors that excel in all computer science areas that are available to look up to. The pattern also says that you may encounter mentors that you may not be able to talk to, such as people making informative YouTube videos who live overseas. But those people are still mentors who inspire you. The pattern also emphasizes how hard it actually is to find a mentor. While there are many skilled people in the computer science field, not all of them are open to mentoring. Therefore, you should always ask if they are interested in mentoring people because you never know if they will accept being a mentor.

As an aspiring computer science major myself, I should also be on the lookout for mentors. There are several ways I can find mentors. The book says I should pick a tool, library, or a community that has an active mailing list and sign up for it. Other ways include asking faculty members at university, who are definitely more skilled than me and are always open to answering questions. Reaching out to alumni is a great option as well, since they were in the same boat as me when they started out. They could mentor me themselves or redirect me to someone they know who is skilled enough to answer my questions. Attending computer science events could be another option since it is a great way to network with professionals and ask them for advice. I would also have to keep in mind that as I get more experience, others may look up to me as a mentor and I would have to guide them on their long journey as well.

Thank you for reading.

From the blog Comfy Blog by Angus Cheng and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Find Mentors

Hello and thanks for coming back to another week of my blog! This week, I took a look at chapter 4 in the book Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover, called “Find Mentors.” Having a mentor can help you get guidance, support, and feedback to help you get better in your field. This apprenticeship pattern gives tips on how to find a mentor, like looking for people who are respected in your industry, going to conferences, and asking for feedback from your colleagues. It is also important to be open to feedback and find more than one mentor to get different perspectives. The computer science field is still relatively new, so there are not that many truly skilled mentors that excel in all computer science areas that are available to look up to. The pattern also says that you may encounter mentors that you may not be able to talk to, such as people making informative YouTube videos who live overseas. But those people are still mentors who inspire you. The pattern also emphasizes how hard it actually is to find a mentor. While there are many skilled people in the computer science field, not all of them are open to mentoring. Therefore, you should always ask if they are interested in mentoring people because you never know if they will accept being a mentor.

As an aspiring computer science major myself, I should also be on the lookout for mentors. There are several ways I can find mentors. The book says I should pick a tool, library, or a community that has an active mailing list and sign up for it. Other ways include asking faculty members at university, who are definitely more skilled than me and are always open to answering questions. Reaching out to alumni is a great option as well, since they were in the same boat as me when they started out. They could mentor me themselves or redirect me to someone they know who is skilled enough to answer my questions. Attending computer science events could be another option since it is a great way to network with professionals and ask them for advice. I would also have to keep in mind that as I get more experience, others may look up to me as a mentor and I would have to guide them on their long journey as well.

Thank you for reading.

From the blog Comfy Blog by Angus Cheng and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.