CST 300 Second Week Journal

OLI Module #2

    These assignments taught me about the reality and importance of collective intelligence. Often it is assumed that individual intelligence (IQ) is a major factor in a team's success. However, it seems that IQ has little to do with the success of a team. I learned that woman score higher on tests regarding social perceptiveness, an ability to pick up on subtle, nonverbal cues from other people. The three factors that create an effective team are high social sensitivity, equal participation, and having more women than men. The NY Times article titled "What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team" was a great read that shared a story that exemplified the findings of the data. The data showed that social sensitivity in teams are what make them great. The videos from OLI with Jesse and Jenny describe the value of having a good team, what a good team looks like, and what it means to be a good team player.

Module #2 Lecture

The Future Is Faster Than You Think

    This video was about the rapid change we see in the world. Especially when we are talking about technology the change is accelerating at an amazing pace. Moore's Law (the observation that the number of transistors that fit on an integrated chip doubles every 2 years) was brought up to show the speed at which technology is advancing. These advancements have led us to have time abundance as well as capital abundance. There is more time and money than ever to tackle big problems. The video talked about the topic of the singularity as well. The singularity is the point in time at which our ability to predict the next year breaks down because the rate of change is too fast. There was another concept brought up called longevity escape velocity. This is described as the point in time at which for every year that we are alive technology is extending your life for more than a year. That was exciting to hear about. Especially when it was mentioned that this point in time could be within our lifetimes.

Trends in Computing and Software Development

    What will be trending in 2023? That is the main question that the article aims to answer. AI will be improving without a doubt. More people will use it and it will become more refined. The article mentions that it is unlikely that AI will be replacing software engineers anytime soon. AI can code simple functions that find a maximum variable, but it cannot code more complex systems. To me, it seems that AI will be a useful tool for software engineers to outsource simple or monotonous work. The article also talked about JavaScript, Python, and HTML/CSS being the top programming languages as well as the reason for their popularity. As the need to store data increases so will the demand for cloud services. The article states that demand for data engineers as well as solution architects will increase due to this. There was a period recently where several tech companies were laying off many of their workers. The article explains that this is because the tech companies incorrectly assumed that work would transition to a completely online experience. The tech sector will see marginal growth in line with other industries instead of the booms it has had in recent decades.

Introduction to Project Management

    What is a project? The video states that a project is "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result." Projects are constrained by the three factors, time, cost, and goal. This is referred to as the project management triple constraint. The triple constraint means that if one factor changes then the other two change with it. For example if your goal scope increases (meaning you are expecting more output of the product than before) then the time has to increase along with it or the cost has to increase or more likely time and cost increase when the goal scope increases. The video states that there are many things that could spark the need for a project. I'll list some of them here. Market need, business need, technological advancement, customer request, legal requirements, social need, customer request, ecological considerations. A board of directors chooses which projects to prioritize and invest in. These projects are handled and led by project managers. Project managers are responsible for the success of the project. They must demonstrate workflow management skills, strategy and leadership skills, and project management and business knowledge. Project managers must be professional, have strong morale, be ethical, and have credibility.

Week 2 Learning Journal Post

Part 1: Review and Reflect Learning Strategy

    Top 3 items I am good at:

• When to study. I am adamant about making sure I feel rested, alert, and ready to learn when I decide to start a study session.
• Where to study. I make sure that I am in an environment (usually my home) where I can study without distraction.
• Reading multiple-choice questions. I am quick to discard obvious false answers so that I have a greater chance of picking the correct answer.

    Top 3 items I need to improve:

• Planning my time in answering essay questions. I often get carried away in answering a question. I often am not sure how much detail is necessary to be considered a satisfactory answer.
• Ask questions to learn. Sometimes I will be passively taking in information without a real purpose or goal. By actively engaging with the information and asking questions I can get a better understand of the material.
• Answering easy questions first. I often get stuck on certain problems and find it hard to let go and move on.

Part 2: Preview Time Management Skills

Part 3: Project Management Basics

    Intro: Projects are different than operation because they are temporary and unique. The five phases of project management are: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and control process, and closing. The knowledge, experience, and skills that a project manager brings to the project is crucial to its success.

    WBS: A work breakdown structure is "a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work t o be 'executed' by the team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. This means a project is broken down into parts in order to more easily organize and define the total scope of the project.

    Gantt Chart: A Gantt chart illustrates the schedule of a project. This schedule includes the beginning and end of a project as well as terminal and summary elements. Terminal and summary elements are the subprojects and tasks within the overarching main project.

Part 4: Previous Capstones

    Oceanside Public Library Home Delivery System Capstone: This capstone is a web-based project that allowed Oceanside Public Library help find, pick, and checkout books for home delivery more efficiently. The project seems to have accomplished its goal in making the process of book checkout and delivery more streamlined. I wish the presentation went more in detail with what technology they used and what the process of creating the software looked like.

    

    PetRecs Capstone: This capstone is a website that allows people to create pet profiles, store information about their pet to these profiles, and monitor health data. This project was well done and I am surprised that this is the first that I am hearing of such a product. It is practical, aesthetically pleasing, and easy to use. The project is well done and there are many features that I would expect such as sharing access to profiles via email as well as revoking access. I could see that being useful for sharing with your veterinarian.

    SimpliFit Capstone: SimpliFit is an iOS application that aims to simply exercises and fitness. The application explains workouts as well as keeps track of your progress. The project has the features that would be expected in a fitness program (individual profiles, workout information/videos, log of exercises). I think the layout and graphical presentation of the application could be improved.

Week 2 Summary

    This week I learned some effective study strategies (forest application that I still need to look into) from other students in the discussion post. Module #2 in OLI taught me the importance of social sensitivity in team settings. I learned about the trajectory of technology in Module #2 Lecture. Module #2 Lecture Learning Journal Post had information on project management, time management, and studying strategies. That post also had a video of the Fall 2020 Capstone projects which was fascinating to watch. That video gave me a great deal to think about when it comes to projects, such as what type of project I would want to do, how I would want to do it, and the timeline it would take me to create my own capstone project.