Student Name: Shaira Rahman Course: INFS3605

Student zID: z5059151

Team: 7

Tutorial: Tuesday, 10am-12pm

Instructor: Dr. Michael Cahalane, Mr. Wilson Hua

Part A: Due Monday 15th July

During Sprint 1, Team 7 proposed to complete a set of tasks that would instigate the development of
a gamified Android application called ‘MyDegree’–an application which will allow Information
Systems students from UNSW to help with their degree progression planning. This involved a set of
tasks that entailed creating the wireframes for the user interface, researching about features to
include in the app to maximise user experience, also setting out to code the initial layout of the app
including the activities, widgets, views (XML pages), and controls.

As an overview, out of all the backlog items/tasks proposed (11, with subtasks within each task), 3
were classified as fully ‘DONE’ and the other 8 were partially completed–as there were some small
tasks remaining such as the input of dummy data, positioning of the widgets on the pages, changing
the colour scheme, and making the app more aesthetically appealing. In terms of how realistic the
Sprint 1 backlog was throughout the first iteration, I would say that we managed to follow the list of
tasks as a guide of which tasks needed to be completed but we fell short on setting appropriate
deadlines and sequentially ordering the tasks needed to be completed. For e.g. as per our Trello
board, we (the Scrum Master, Letitia and the rest of the team) applied same day deadlines on
several backlog items.

Due to this, it became confusing among the rest of the group for how to prioritise different items
and deciding which ones should be done first. It was also hard to coordinate and keep track of which
team members were completing which tasks as many of them were interconnected i.e. requiring the
skills and expertise of more than one team member e.g. Designer (Cameron) and UX designer (me)
were required to collaborate and complete the same task. Also, there was the case that many of our
team members had other commitments which made it difficult to complete certain tasks assigned to
us on time. For example, some team members (including me) had work commitments, some had
other social commitments, and due to this it was difficult to find a set time within typical business
hours to meet-up and work together on the project. Another hindrance was also the fact that
Assignment A was due the same week as the first week of Sprint 1, which put me and other team
members under pressure and it became difficult to prioritise commitments.

Another issue was also the unequal assignment of tasks, due to Bowen being the primary developer
in team, most of the coding component of the project fell on him. The rest of the team didn’t felt as
though that their coding knowledge was sufficient enough to take up a role on contributing towards
the coding e.g. in case one of us accidentally enters the wrong code, which may riddle the entire
application with errors and it would fall upon Bowen, the primary developer, to fix those errors. Due
to this (and the inclusion of an extra team member) it was also a challenge to designate meaningful
tasks within the team.

One member was coding, two team members oversaw the UX component and the designing of the
wireframes, two team members were responsible for the creation of app content and test dummy
data, whilst the other team members didn't have much to contribute other than to help out
wherever help was needed. This was no fault of their own but rather the fact that majority of the
tasks that were assigned involved coding. I was one of the team members that oversaw the UX
component and the designing of the wireframes.

In retrospect, I wish I was able to contribute more with the coding component of the application as I
did have previous experience with Android application development from INFS3634, but I just didn't
have confidence that it was sufficient to the creation of the ‘MyDegree’ application. Due to this, I
think that it is unfair for Bowen to be the primary developer who would have to do majority of the
application building, so I think that it is time that I (as well as the rest of the team) re-learn Android
Studio so that we could help Bowen and thereby balance the workload.

Possible solutions for how to use technology during Sprint 2 to improve my own personal success
(and in turn towards the overall group success) would be first, to re-learn how to use Android Studio
and how to debug code to help Bowen. I could do this through watching YouTube tutorials, Udemy
courses (e.g. Android Java Masterclass) or even start small and have Bowen to give instructions for
how to complete small easy tasks within the application e.g. working on the XML documents,
inputting of data and improving the layout of the application and the aesthetic side of the
application.

Another solution would be to make use of GitHub and SourceTree as a way for all team members to
work synchronously within the application without having to upload a different a new version of the
same application every time a new change is made. This way it would be marginally easier for all
team members to see the same application while working on different computers and more efficient
in the long run to help with completing tasks on time. It would also be more efficient to set more
realistic deadlines for certain tasks (using Trello) and set a sequential order (using Google Calendar
reminders) for which tasks should be completed in what order e.g. initial wireframes to be
developed before starting the coding component and one should be done one day before the other
to provide a window to make changes.

All in all, other than the drawbacks (as mentioned in earlier paragraphs) faced by Team 7 during
Sprint 1, it was still a rather enjoyable experience for an Agile Scrum project as it provided the whole
team with a chance to bond with one another during our meetups, eat dinner together and bond
over our mutual interests e.g. when choosing a theme for the app, we chatted about our love for
animals (for incorporating a zoo theme), our mutual love for Marvel superheroes and an enthusiasm
for the inclusion of a fantasy/medieval theme. We were also very transparent in the way we
communicated making it easier to seek out/provide help and be responsive with one another. I
really look forward to working with them again all in Sprint 2.

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