CSUMB CS Online Learning Journal - Ryan

 This week I completed my capstone video and project testing report. The app is very nearly complete and I have completed most of my major milestones. The only thing left is to present at the capstone festival and make any last minute changes that may be needed. The plan for next week is to complete all the remaining tasks and prepare for the capstone presentation. I also need to finalize my ILP website with the capstone and any remaining items outstanding. No challenges and no instructor assistance needed. Looking forward to the program completion and obtaining my degree.

 This week I started working on testing the core functionality of the app and ensuring that I capture as many edge cases as I could identify. I also attempted to add some polish to the application as it functions but there are a few usability enhancements I made. I tried to improve the interactions in the app to make them feel more smooth and less robotic. I also started work on my presentation outline for submission. Next week I plan to finish the app and prepare for the capstone presentation. I will also be looking for any minor features that I feel I can add in without compromising the current apps functionality. There are no challenges I am facing at the moment and will continue working on the app to get as much of it built in the time remaining.

CST 499 Week 13 Learning Journal This week was spent continuing to work on my capstone project. This week was focused on validating my project with the client and ensuring that I would be able to deliver on the core features. The project milestone accomplished this week was validation with clients that the core feature of the app meets their expectations and works appropriately. Next week will be focused on further polishing the app and attempting to include some additional features beyond the core functionality of the app. There are currently no challenges in the project development that I believe need instructor assisstance.

Describe some of the differences between using an Agile process and using a  Plan and Document (or Waterfall) process.    Agile emphasizes flexibility, iterative development, and ongoing collaboration with stakeholders. Work is broken into short cycles (sprints), delivering small but functional increments of the product that can be reviewed, tested, and adapted based on feedback. Requirements are expected to evolve, and documentation is kept lean to support rapid change. In contrast, the Plan-and-Document (Waterfall) process follows a linear sequence—requirements, design, implementation, testing, and deployment—where each phase must be completed before the next begins. Waterfall assumes stable requirements upfront and places heavy emphasis on comprehensive documentation as a blueprint for the entire project. While Agile adapts quickly to change and encourages continuous improvement, Waterfall prioritizes predictability, structure, and thorough documentation at the cost of...

 This week we focused on building out the front end of our application. One thing I learned this week is that I feel like I am more interested in front end development. Last weeks iteration was somewhat challenging and abstract to me because, it was just information. This week doing React I felt I understood it more, and could see how my code directly translates to the look and feel of our application. I also found it easier to troubleshoot because I could change a line of code and see how it affected the design. Overall a good week of learning how to develop a larger software application.

 One of the most interesting things I have learned reading "Software Engineering at Google" is the idea of code reviews. When I first was thinking about programming I thought the actual coding would take up most of the time, but it appears that code reviews can consume an equal if not more amount of project time. I also learned that there are different types of code reviews and how there are many different aspects that the code reviewer is looking for before approving a piece of code. Reading about software engineering at Google it does sound like coding and reviewing code is very much a group effort with team members switching between the roles, similar to our current group projects.