Week 3 (June 24 - June 28)

 

My experience with my internship colleagues definitely deepened my understanding of connecting the front-end development to the back-end development. Coming from a background where I do not have much front-end experience, such as working with JavaScript or HTML, the issue that I am working on right now was very confusing for me. My last partner, however, knew a lot about front end and was able to explain to me how Bootstrap and Jinja are used in the HTML file to design the page that users will see. He also explained about how JavaScript is used to control the behavior of the page and how to use it to collect the user inputs on the page so that we can store and further manipulate the data. This was a huge learning opportunity for me because for the first time, I was able to clearly see the difference between front end and back end, and why the logic and controller are needed so that data given by users matches the formats in the database and data given back to users are displayed correctly.

 

I plan to use the skills and information I learn in this internship in a class that I will be taking in the fall, where I will not only be designing a user interface, but also implementing it to get my 400-level course credit. I am hoping that I will encounter more front-end issues in the future so that I have an even better understanding of it and be familiar with all the different tools that I can use to manipulate the way a page will look like for users.

 

The way the pair programming is structured in this internship will help me be exposed to many skills that I will need in the future. First of all, we are changing partners about every two weeks, which will make sure that we do not get too comfortable working with just one other person and will allow us to see many difference perspectives and views. It also help us get better at adapting to changes in the flow, direction, and pace of work. Second, whenever we change partners, one partner will take on the issue with their new partner if it was not finished with the previous partner, and this gives the partner that will continue the issue an opportunity to explain it to their new partner, and over time it allows them to get better at explaining issues to another person. I also like how most mornings, we have a meeting to discuss updates and difficulties faced by different pairs. These meetings allow us to share our struggles and accomplishments, and usually, we realize that a lot of us are on the same boat, which is a good lesson to remember in the future.

 

Interacting with many colleagues who has their own ways of communicating and dealing with problems have helped me realize that there is no right way to do thing and that with enough understanding and effort in trying to work together, even partners who disagree on almost all topics can come into come sort of agreement to benefit both. For example, there are some people who like to ask everyone in the room when they come across a problem they can’t solve themselves, some who like to ask the supervisors, some who likes to exclusively discuss with their partner first, and others who like to do extensive research on their own. Personally for me, I like to do research on my own and discuss with my partner, but it is also important for me to realize that even if I came across someone who would rather ask the supervisor directly or ask others in the room, that is their approach and it works for them.

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