Week 2

This week we read a document called Effective Study Skills. As the name suggests, it discusses various ways you can improve your studying. One of the areas of studying I'm better at is managing time. I feel that I'm pretty good at making sure I set aside time to study and work on homework. Another area of studying I'm better at is organization. I think I'm pretty good at keeping my notes and assignments organized, usually by class and module. Another area of studying I'm better at is surveying. I believe that I'm good at understanding assignments and questions, as well as eliminating answers on a quiz. One of the areas of studying I'm weak in is schedules. I don't write study schedules, or schedule when to study specific assignments. Another area of studying I'm weak in is outlining textbooks. Whether it's physical or digital, I don't outline textbooks. Another area of studying I'm weak in is taking notes. I'm inconsistent with taking notes. Some classes I take exhaustive notes, while in other classes I barely take any.

We also read an article called 9 Key Time Management Skills and How To Improve Them. The article discussed skills that go into time management, and ways you can improve your time management skills. After reading the article I made a activity log for next week, which can be found at the bottom of this post.

We also watched a video called Introduction to Project Management. It discussed what a project is, and what goes into completing a project. It first talks about how projects have three important aspects. Scope is what the project is trying to accomplish. Time is how quickly a project is expected to be completed. Resources is what goes into getting a project finished. Examples of resources are money, man hours, or physical materials. The video then talks about the different reasons a project could exist, such as because a customer requested it, or for environmental concerns. Most of the video discussed how a project is managed. It discussed how the role of a project manager is to both make sure the project is completed, and to balance its scope, time, and resources. It also discussed the skills a project manager needs business knowledge, people skills, and leadership skills, and how a project manager will naturally learn all three skills. 

We also watched a video called How to Create a Work Breakdown Structure: A WBS Masterclass. The video discusses how to create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), which is a document that breaks a project down into smaller pieces. A WBS is structured like a tree, where a part of one level contains smaller aspects, which make up the next level. Specifically, it discusses a Product Deliverable Work Breakdown Structure (PDWBS), which organizes the project by the deliverables required to complete the project. A deliverable is something that must be created in order to progress or complete the project. A deliverable can range from anything to a document, event, or even the project itself. The video defines two types of deliverables, end deliverables and interim deliverables.The PDWBS breaks the project down into multiple levels. Level 0 is the project itself. Level 1 is either made up of the deliverables or work-streams. Work-streams are categories to organize different deliverables. Level 2 is usually made up of end deliverables, but can sometimes contain interim deliverables. Level 3 is made up of interim deliverables which are used to complete Level 2's end deliverables. From there more levels of interim deliverables can be added as needed. The video discusses three ways to represent the PDWBS, an ordered, hierarchical list, a tree diagram, and a dictionary.

We also watched a video called Project Management in Under 5: What is a Gantt Chart?. A Gantt chart is a 2D graph, where time is on the horizontal axis and a project's activities or tasks is on the vertical axis. A Gantt chart is used to set the schedule for a project, and is used to asses if a project is on schedule. A project's tasks are placed on the chart as rectangles. The location of the rectangle represents when the task is scheduled to start, and the length of the rectangle represents how long the task is scheduled to take. Gantt charts are useful for keeping track of tasks that are dependent on each other, since tasks will occur after other tasks they are dependent on. Gantt charts are also useful for keeping track of tasks that are happening in parallel.

We also looked at some of the capstone projects from last year. 

One of the projects I looked at was Out of Mana. Out of Mana is a small video game that has similar gameplay to Vampire Survivors. Out of Mana was developed by one person. Because it was developed by one person, and because it's a student project, I think it was well done. A couple of ways the presentation could be improved is clearer audio, and more information on game mechanics.

Another project I looked at was A Bird's Song. A Bird's Song is a video game featuring 2D platforming and gliding. A Bird's Song seeks to tell the story of the Kauai O'O, an extinct Hawaiian bird, through gameplay. The way the game accomplishes this is very clever. Each level the levels become less natural, and feature more man-made obstacles. The presentation was well done, with detailed information on each team member's roles, game mechanics, as well as videos showcasing controls and gameplay.

Another project I looked at was Infinity Areas. Infinity Areas is a modding tool designed games made in the Infinity Engine, such as Baldur's Gate I & II. Infinity Areas allows user to edit map data from these games using a GUI interface. The project looks well done, looking very similar to other modding or software tools featuring GUIs. The presentation was very informative on the capabilities of the tool, and why the tool was created.

We also watched a presentation called the future is faster than you think. The presentation was pretty interesting. It discussed how advances in computing leads to advances in various fields, such as AI, robotics, VR, and more. It then discussed how advances in these fields make an even faster advancement when combined. It uses the cost of light as an example of advancement, and shows how the cost of light has gone down an an increasingly faster rate. It then talks about how there is more capital than ever, and how that capital can go farther than ever because everything is cheaper. All of this combines to make everything advanced at a faster and faster rate. The presentation makes some claims about our society within the next 20 years, such as advancements in brain to computer interfaces and the singularity.

We also read an article called The Future of Software Engineering: Key Emerging Trends in 2024, which talked about current trends in the software engineering industry. The article begins by talking about some older programming standards, some current programming standards, and finally predicts some of the programming standards that we'll see in the future. The predicts standards regarding using AI in ethical ways, making programming languages better for the environment, and having more standards for specific industries. These predictions make sense, AI and climate change are things we need to deal with right now. The article then talks about some of the challenges the industry is facing. These are how long software takes to get to market, making sure software is scalable and readable, concerns over privacy and personal data, and a shortage of talented, senior level developers. Then the article talks about some trends that will shape the future of the industry. These trends are using low-code development to build more secure and scalable software, AI helping write software, more focus on cybersecurity, and using more cloud computing. The article then talks about how much the software market has increased in value, particularly with regards to AI. The article then says that software engineers will continue to be in demand. The article ends by saying that AI won't replace software developers, since AI can't do everything a human can.

Our writing lab this week gave advice on how to write essays. It talked about three types of audiences, lay, managerial, and expert, and how to write to each. It also gave advice on how to peer review essays. It discussed several aspects of essays, such as mechanics, writing style, and research, and gave things to look for in each aspect.