Blog3# Reflection on project development and software demo
According to one semester's effort in developing our software, I understand the process to develop a software in our real life, such as how a software life cycle runs in external companies and how to make product efficiently. In addition, I also understand how important the soft skills are to enhance our communication during the process. Especially, at the final software demo stage, effective communication helps us to demonstrate the functions and features of the software in a clear and concise manner.
In this post, I will describe the points I learn from the project development and software demo preparatoin, and how those points might help me to manage my future projects better. The learning points I summarized are stated as below:
- Expect the version 1.0 to be difficult. Version 1.0 software is all about dreaming! We need to create something that has never been created before. From setting goals for the team to trying to achieve them, we have several iterations of brainstorming and changing plans. Unfortunately, we also need to manage the project to meet the deadline at the same time. Even if we lay out the best plans, we cannot control the independent variables. The problem is that while all these methodologies are great, there is simply no way to give a date to when software will be ready. Thus, I'm ready to expect the difficulty to create a software in the next project and expect changes for whatever reasons that could be.
- Make to do list in a developer style. Along the way of developing the software, I realized it's necessary to list all the actions need to be done in a to do list and update it every week. However, the list usually is very huge if I list everything in one list and make me feel stress. In the future projects, as a developer, I should rank my work in different priority levels and then execute those actions in a systematic way without bringing more pressure to myself.
- Get organized in advance. Before the final demo, we have weeks to prepare for these six minutes. In order to make a high quality demo, I need to practice a lot of things which include not only performing the script itself but also managing how to switch between actual software and PowerPoint slides smoothly. As what Benjamin Franklin said," By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail." Thus, preparation for work is also important for whatever I undertake to do.
- End with an exclamation point. Based on the experience of the previous two oral presentations, I understand it's important to start a presentation on a high and also maintain the end on a high. The conclusion of a presentation is just like a great dessert at the end of a great meal. The entire presentation can hinge on the final impression I make which will take audience back to the key messages and bring our presentation full circle to the ultimate objective. After three rounds of presentations in this semester, I will be more confident in future presentations.
In conclusion, this is my first trial to create a product from design, proposal, implementation till the final demo. Although what I have done leaves much to be desired, it's a good starting point for me to apply what I have learnt in practice.
Bibliography
Kawasaki, G. (2006). How to be a demo god. California.
Miguelcarrasco. (2007). How To Kill Your To Do List, Developer Style! Retrieved 3 23, 2012, from Real World Software Development: http://www.realsoftwaredevelopment.com/how-to-kill-your-to-do-list-developer-style/
Hi Zhang Xi,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that a check list should be put in place to make sure that not only you but all of us in the team is able to keep track of the high priority tasking that are to be done. However, you must also understand that there are times during a software project implementation, whereby every single tasking is important and needs to be completed concurrently and in such a case, the check list that contains the various prioritized tasking would be redundant.
In the case of our project, there were quite a number of tasking that required prioritization and the check list would have helped all of us in many ways.
Hi Zhang Xi
ReplyDeleteI believe the twinning of CS2101 and CS2103T has helped to brought out the unique exposure that we have. We have gained both technical and soft skills in one go! This is not something that an average university student can experience. Good job on this NUS!
With regard to your learning points, i agree with them especially the ending of presentation on a high note. This is because as you mentioned, good ending will let the audience have a better impression of the presentation.
As part of CS2101 presentation preparation, i have also researched on presentation techniques and would like to share with you what i have learnt on ending a presentation with a big bang! There are several ways to do it. We can either challenge the audience to apply what we have told them in the presentation or use a famous quotation to catch their attention. You can find more of these different approaches at http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/10-ways-to-end-your-speech/.