Team Retrospectives

[eric-newcomer]

• Answer the following 3 bullet points as headings (using markdown) in a new comment each week:
  • What went well last week?
  • What didn't go well last week?
  • What experiment (or change) we'll make next week to improve as a team

[eric-newcomer]

Week of 1/20 - 1/24

What went well last week?

This past week, we were successfully able to come up with a project idea that is technologically ambitious while being within the scope of our abilities. Additionally, we were able to decide which tech stack we will be using for this application. The tech stack that we decided to use is Django, a Python framework that we are all familiar with.

What didn't go well last week?

One thing that didn't go well last week was communication. We were not able to meet outside of class and were not always notified when one of us could not make lecture or lab. We must make sure that we are able to meet outside of class at least once per week and must notify each other if we are not able to make lecture or lab on a given day.

What experiment (or change) we'll make next week to improve as a team

To address these issues, we have started communicating in a group chat via Slack. We have also started to meet over Google Hangouts to talk about our Team Retrospective and will be filling out a When2Meet to determine what days/times we can meet in person.

[saraford]

To address these issues, we have started communicating in a group chat via Slack. We have also started to meet over Google Hangouts to talk about our Team Retrospective and will be filling out a When2Meet to determine what days/times we can meet in person.

excellent job! :tada:

[bglossner]

Week of 1/27 - 1/31

What went well last week?

This week we created our storyboards for each of our features, made 3 low fidelity wireframes for the home page, request service page, and give service page, and got Django up and running on all 3 of our computers, meaning no one is blocked in terms of getting started with the part they are doing. We have determined that Saturday is the best day to meet and have continued to use slack to give updates to each other to try and improve our communication,

What didn't go well last week?

Because of career fairs and other important tasks, not all group members could attend lecture and/or lab Monday and Wednesday, which takes away group time that could have been used to unify or clarify our ideas. Additionally, it has taken me awhile to get started on the homepage, which is a current work item.

What experiment (or change) we'll make next week to improve as a team

We need to set aside more time to meet outside lecture/lab if we miss them. That way everyone can get caught up with the current affairs of the project more easily. Maybe adding more time to the meeting Saturday or creating little meetings (<1 hr) outside of class.

[rupaltotale]

Week of 2/3 - 2/9

What went well last week?

• We started developing our web app
  • Ben set up the front end and developed the navbar
  • Rupal developed the Jumbotron
  • Eric set up the backend and developed the Login page
• We utilized each lab time to collaboratively work on the project

What didn't go well last week?

• Lack of communication. We have been out of sync because of conflicting schedules (most likely) and are not sure what page each person is on.
• Lack of documentation. We created a few work items for this week but have not updated them as we make progress. And in some cases (@eric-newcomer), no work items have been created for the work done. This only makes communication worse.

What experiment (or change) we'll make next week to improve as a team

• Create work items at the start of the week before any development begins, preferably together so that each of us knows what the others are doing and we don't encroach on another teammate's responsibilities.
• Set a time for retro sometime in the afternoon or evening.

[eric-newcomer]

Week of 2/10 - 2/14

What went well last week?

• Made substantial progress on application
  • Rupal created our home page UI
  • Ben created Favor pages for users to click on to view
  • Rupal made a Favor creation form that allows users to add new Favors
  • Eric added signup and login, as well as a landing page and login redirect urls.
  • All added unit tests, along with acceptance tests and regression tests.
• We utilized each lab time to collaboratively work on the project

What didn't go well last week?

• For the most part, everything went well last week. One thing we could potentially improve on is our Git workflow, making sure we are always pulling the latest changes in order to avoid merge conflicts when trying to merge PRs.

What experiment (or change) we'll make next week to improve as a team

• Notify the group/request reviews whenever a pull request is made so that the group can synchronize.
• [Not necessary but helpful visually] Using a Git desktop client like GitKraken to see where each branch is and how they relate to one another.

[bglossner]

Week of 2/17 - 2/21

What went well last week?

• Eric started a user profile to show current info about users
• Ben updated the card UI to be more like the wireframe and created more unit tests
• Rupal updated the slideshow, updated the favicon to be used, and bastracted the scripts and css to be used by pages.
• Thus, good progress overall on working towards finishing our first main feature (requesting service)

What didn't go well last week?

• I (Ben) missed Monday, which means I missed some important information. We could have done a better job updating each other on what's happening and when someone makes a PR.

What experiment (or change) we'll make next week to improve as a team

• Notify others in Slack when PR happens and attempt to better record updates made and how they work

[rupaltotale]

Week of 2/24 - 3/1

What went well last week?

• Substantial progress towards completion was made by all of us.
  • Ben completed UI Automation
  • I (Rupal) implemented search bar and reorganized the website
  • Eric completed CRUD operations for favor on the profile page.

What didn't go well last week?

• Lab time was not utilized properly as I (Rupal) missed most of Friday and Eric was not there for some time on Wednesday, I believe.
• Confusion with PR --> review --> approve process led to creating two PRs by me for the same story.

What experiment (or change) we'll make next week to improve as a team

• Come up with a concrete protocol on when PRs will be approved and merged into base branch. I suggest that we slack the EM (and the EM other teammates) when their PR is ready to be reviewed and merged.

[eric-newcomer]

Week of 3/2 - 3/6

What went well last week?

• Good progress toward meeting the final deliverables of this project.
  • Ben added 5 UI Automation tests
  • Rupal implemented the Favor sign-up feature, that allows users to sign up for Favors.
  • I (Eric) fixed the delete operations for the Favor table on the user profile page and set-up TravisCI for our repository.

What didn't go well last week?

• Some tasks that we need to finish couldn't be started, due to the fact that they rely on the completion of other tasks. (email confirmation of Favor signups while implementing Favor signup)

What experiment (or change) we'll make next week to improve as a team

• In addition to outlining what tasks need to be completed, include a timeline for which tasks depend on the completion of other tasks.