Reflection:
These past 9 weeks have been a great learning experience in terms of the role I was playing. I have learnt a lot about Delegation, Time Management, Organisation and Project Management overall. I think the final product was a sucess, as towards the end of the developement the whole cohort pulled together to produce a really good system. We have done things which have worked and things which haven't worked as well. For example using the current version of the system to implement the features on, then merge them together was a good idea, but we only started using this method on the final week. I think if we were better organised in the earlier stages, ie define what the roles actually did and planned earlier, I think this would have made a lot of difference. Once we got into the development stage, it was hard to see the project moving forward. The main reason to this was because we did not have a final list of user requirements - and this kept changing on a daily basis which was not good for the project. Lack of communication was a big issue - some people didn't know what they were doing, but this was down to a number of reasons, ie that person not attending or poor communication with in the specialist groups.
I am looking to go into Project Management in the future which is the main reason why I decided to take the role of a 'manager'. From this project I have gained a lot of confidence and realised that planning and organisation is key to any successful project. There were a lot of hard times, mainly I found hard delegating tasks with in my peers - even though it was not my responibility too. How ever every suggestion I thought of, I did ask for feedback or any other ways of doing it, but this was not the case. A lot of people were moaning about how they did not the get the opportunity too to express their views but they were wrong in some cases. Through out the project I had a lot of help from Jennie Bate, Rob Morrisby, Richard Gibbons, James Tubb and Dan Ransom and as a team I think we worked well together and couldn't have acheieved all this on my own.
Just to conclude, I am hoping I will get a similar opportunity in the future whether it be on placement or at university to put in to practice what I have learnt over the past 9 weeks.
Sunday 1 April 2007
Thursday 29 March 2007
Week Three Day Four...
10.00 Start:
We presented our system this morning and there was still a lot of inconsistencies which need to be resolved. We have spent the majority of today doing this. A lot of the things that needed doing, should have already been done and we should be further on in the developement of the system.
Peer Assisted Marking:
This was a bit awkward to do, but it will give a good indication of who has done what over the past 8 weeks or so.
Signing off features:
We spent the end of the day getting the changes done and then signed off by myself and the release team. This I think has worked, but a few people still didn't change minor errors. We just have to sort a few navigation issues and we are nearly there.
Overview:
Overall i think we got achieve a lot today, even though we should have been at this stage a lot sooner. I'm looking forward to tomorow and hopefully it should be a success.
We presented our system this morning and there was still a lot of inconsistencies which need to be resolved. We have spent the majority of today doing this. A lot of the things that needed doing, should have already been done and we should be further on in the developement of the system.
Peer Assisted Marking:
This was a bit awkward to do, but it will give a good indication of who has done what over the past 8 weeks or so.
Signing off features:
We spent the end of the day getting the changes done and then signed off by myself and the release team. This I think has worked, but a few people still didn't change minor errors. We just have to sort a few navigation issues and we are nearly there.
Overview:
Overall i think we got achieve a lot today, even though we should have been at this stage a lot sooner. I'm looking forward to tomorow and hopefully it should be a success.
Wednesday 28 March 2007
Week Three Day Three..
10am - 12.30:
During this period I was in mainly to provide any support to people who needed it. To be honest this was very minimal because a lot of people were getting on fine.
Cohort Accpetance Testing 4pm:
I did not think this meeting went very well at all. There is still to many changes that need to be made in a very short amount of time, especially in terms of the 11am deadline tommorow. What was good was we identified what needed changing but not how too. A lot of people lost interest and didn't seem to care. A lot of peoples features still contain stupid careless errors which have been sorted before hand.
Shopping Cart Feature:
I just updated my feature slightly to align the grand total.
Overview:
We definately got a lot done today, but we should be further in the development. There is still a lot of errors which should have been fixed. We should have had a system which is 95% complete, but this is not the case.
During this period I was in mainly to provide any support to people who needed it. To be honest this was very minimal because a lot of people were getting on fine.
Cohort Accpetance Testing 4pm:
I did not think this meeting went very well at all. There is still to many changes that need to be made in a very short amount of time, especially in terms of the 11am deadline tommorow. What was good was we identified what needed changing but not how too. A lot of people lost interest and didn't seem to care. A lot of peoples features still contain stupid careless errors which have been sorted before hand.
Shopping Cart Feature:
I just updated my feature slightly to align the grand total.
Overview:
We definately got a lot done today, but we should be further in the development. There is still a lot of errors which should have been fixed. We should have had a system which is 95% complete, but this is not the case.
Tuesday 27 March 2007
Week Three Day Two..
10am Start:
Today was the same as yesterday for me, just providing support to who ever needed it. For myself, it wasn't the most productive day for me, but as a cohort we have made a lot more progress in terms of features being completed, I think we are down to a few from week 2 and week 3 to be done and I think that if the people get the support we should be well on task for the deadline of 12pm tomorrow.
Meeting 1.15
In this meeting, along with Daryl Hunter, Ash Grimsey, Jennie Bate and Janice hurn we looked at our current situation of features to give an overview of what is left to do. From this we could see where the potential problems may occur and the risks that might be involved. A lot of the features that were not completed was down to the lack of support, which I think will be sorted tomorrow morning.
Overview:
After today a lot more features were completed, I think we are nearly half way and the system should really come along tomorrow. It is definitely looking more positive compared to Monday, providing every thing goes OK.
Today was the same as yesterday for me, just providing support to who ever needed it. For myself, it wasn't the most productive day for me, but as a cohort we have made a lot more progress in terms of features being completed, I think we are down to a few from week 2 and week 3 to be done and I think that if the people get the support we should be well on task for the deadline of 12pm tomorrow.
Meeting 1.15
In this meeting, along with Daryl Hunter, Ash Grimsey, Jennie Bate and Janice hurn we looked at our current situation of features to give an overview of what is left to do. From this we could see where the potential problems may occur and the risks that might be involved. A lot of the features that were not completed was down to the lack of support, which I think will be sorted tomorrow morning.
Overview:
After today a lot more features were completed, I think we are nearly half way and the system should really come along tomorrow. It is definitely looking more positive compared to Monday, providing every thing goes OK.
Monday 26 March 2007
Week Three Day One...
9am Start:
Cohort Meeting:
In here we discussed what the layout of the week should be. I think that this plan was a good idea and it should show the progression of the project. I got everyone to state what week their feature was in and whether it was completed or not. The reason for this is so that I can help those who need support and see whose feature is in for certain deadlines (week 1, 2 or 3).
My role today was mainly to provide support again, but also make sure that every one was getting their features done. People had to come to me once they have done their feature and documentation, so their feature could be signed off. This worked well for the majority of the features, however it wasn't to be at the demo. The whole point of the cut off points was too stop any more changes being made to that feature so that we can focus on the rest of the development. A lot of the features needed to be changed because it was not up to suitable standards, which takes us back to square one. On a positive note, a lot more features were done which is encouraging. There was hardly any support available today from either the system integrators or the web designers because a lot of them were developing their features, but James Atwill did a good job putting the developed features together. We shouldn't have this problem tomorrow with their being more support available from the lecturers.
Overview:
Although we made some progress, I'm not happy with how it went. Week 1 AND week 2 features should be done and dusted, with exceptions of course but this was not the case. There are still a lot of issues surrounding the final feature set, which that this stage should be final(2 weeks ago).A lot more changes still need to be made, therefore increasing the workload. I also think that more pressure is required too in order for people to complete their features to a acceptable standard.
Cohort Meeting:
In here we discussed what the layout of the week should be. I think that this plan was a good idea and it should show the progression of the project. I got everyone to state what week their feature was in and whether it was completed or not. The reason for this is so that I can help those who need support and see whose feature is in for certain deadlines (week 1, 2 or 3).
My role today was mainly to provide support again, but also make sure that every one was getting their features done. People had to come to me once they have done their feature and documentation, so their feature could be signed off. This worked well for the majority of the features, however it wasn't to be at the demo. The whole point of the cut off points was too stop any more changes being made to that feature so that we can focus on the rest of the development. A lot of the features needed to be changed because it was not up to suitable standards, which takes us back to square one. On a positive note, a lot more features were done which is encouraging. There was hardly any support available today from either the system integrators or the web designers because a lot of them were developing their features, but James Atwill did a good job putting the developed features together. We shouldn't have this problem tomorrow with their being more support available from the lecturers.
Overview:
Although we made some progress, I'm not happy with how it went. Week 1 AND week 2 features should be done and dusted, with exceptions of course but this was not the case. There are still a lot of issues surrounding the final feature set, which that this stage should be final(2 weeks ago).A lot more changes still need to be made, therefore increasing the workload. I also think that more pressure is required too in order for people to complete their features to a acceptable standard.
Saturday 24 March 2007
Week Two Day Five..
10am Start:
This morning was mostly spent helping the web implementers integrate the features that they had been given ready for the 2pm demo. All the the features that were submitted were on the latest prototype, how ever we are still left with a lot of work to do next week. The burn down chart (cohort meeting) showed that we are not getting the features developed quickly enough. The daily plan that was brought up, I think is a good idea. With this plan it should add pressure to the people who have yet to finish their features but I felt this wasn't the case in the lecture. I also sat down with Richard Gibbons, Dan Ransom and Ashly Grimsey and discussed all the features we thought were complete. I showed this on the site map Chris Wade created earlier in the project. From that I was able to determine that the features that were completed, or nearly completed didn't really provide any dependence. We just need to sign these off as early as possible next week so we can concentrate on week 3 features.
System Integration Meeting 12pm:
A lot of issues were brought up here which need to be focused on next week. The emphasis is on the programmers, and we have introduced week feature cut of points so that the development of the system will go in the right direction. The cut off points I suggested will be week one on Monday, week two, late Monday - Tuesday and week three on Wednesday. Any features that have not been completed will have to be left out, depending on its importance.
Overview:
Today was mainly for me to catch on the whole project's development, because I have been busy with my feature all week. At the cohort meeting on Monday, I will be asking all the people whose features feel that they are incomplete and then separate them into the 3 weeks. We can then provide support to them in regards to design, integration and web implementation. The emphasis is on them to get it done, and the way we are currently working needs to be changed, as their are still a group of people getting the system up to standard, when it is every ones responsibility. I think it will be hard next week, but every one turns up and shows a bit more commitment and responsibility, I think it should go OK. We will have an idea of this at Monday lunch time. The introduction of the cut of points should put people under pressure a bit.
This morning was mostly spent helping the web implementers integrate the features that they had been given ready for the 2pm demo. All the the features that were submitted were on the latest prototype, how ever we are still left with a lot of work to do next week. The burn down chart (cohort meeting) showed that we are not getting the features developed quickly enough. The daily plan that was brought up, I think is a good idea. With this plan it should add pressure to the people who have yet to finish their features but I felt this wasn't the case in the lecture. I also sat down with Richard Gibbons, Dan Ransom and Ashly Grimsey and discussed all the features we thought were complete. I showed this on the site map Chris Wade created earlier in the project. From that I was able to determine that the features that were completed, or nearly completed didn't really provide any dependence. We just need to sign these off as early as possible next week so we can concentrate on week 3 features.
System Integration Meeting 12pm:
A lot of issues were brought up here which need to be focused on next week. The emphasis is on the programmers, and we have introduced week feature cut of points so that the development of the system will go in the right direction. The cut off points I suggested will be week one on Monday, week two, late Monday - Tuesday and week three on Wednesday. Any features that have not been completed will have to be left out, depending on its importance.
Overview:
Today was mainly for me to catch on the whole project's development, because I have been busy with my feature all week. At the cohort meeting on Monday, I will be asking all the people whose features feel that they are incomplete and then separate them into the 3 weeks. We can then provide support to them in regards to design, integration and web implementation. The emphasis is on them to get it done, and the way we are currently working needs to be changed, as their are still a group of people getting the system up to standard, when it is every ones responsibility. I think it will be hard next week, but every one turns up and shows a bit more commitment and responsibility, I think it should go OK. We will have an idea of this at Monday lunch time. The introduction of the cut of points should put people under pressure a bit.
Thursday 22 March 2007
Week Two Day Four..
9.30am Start:
Today was not really a productive day because our feature set was nearly complete. All we had to do was to fix the errors that we had with putting our features on to the new website design template. Kieryn has currently got one error with this feature, but this can be fixed over the next few days.
Demos:
Because of all the errors that came up with the integration, we could not show our features on the new design. They seemed to like our feature set, as there wasn't any questions. After the demo, we integrated our feature set with the new design. Richard Gibbons and Dan Ransom is currently putting together the site for tommorow's launch. One thing that needs to be changed is our time management. It was clear that we had made a slight improvement how ever we should be further on in the developement of the whole system. I totally agree with what the lecturers and the completely for the daily plan. This will put people into gear and we should see increased productivity come next week.
Overview:
As I said, it wasn't really a productive day, but just to tie up loose ends. I didnt get a chance to talk with the other managers about the status of each role but I will be getting in contact with them over today and tommorow to get me up to speed for monday.
Today was not really a productive day because our feature set was nearly complete. All we had to do was to fix the errors that we had with putting our features on to the new website design template. Kieryn has currently got one error with this feature, but this can be fixed over the next few days.
Demos:
Because of all the errors that came up with the integration, we could not show our features on the new design. They seemed to like our feature set, as there wasn't any questions. After the demo, we integrated our feature set with the new design. Richard Gibbons and Dan Ransom is currently putting together the site for tommorow's launch. One thing that needs to be changed is our time management. It was clear that we had made a slight improvement how ever we should be further on in the developement of the whole system. I totally agree with what the lecturers and the completely for the daily plan. This will put people into gear and we should see increased productivity come next week.
Overview:
As I said, it wasn't really a productive day, but just to tie up loose ends. I didnt get a chance to talk with the other managers about the status of each role but I will be getting in contact with them over today and tommorow to get me up to speed for monday.
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