Wednesday 26 February 2014

WDI Progress Update - Rick Rampage Game (Group Project), OrbitOz, GitHub

Challenges:
  1. Group Project - Standups not often enough, Commits too infrequent (time intensive code conflict resolution), Perception of a dominance in opinions with some voices not always being heard creating frustration and episodes of demotivation, Dedicated team with Nick Morgan's invaluable vision, team motivation, and graphic design talent, Alberto Forni's impeccable focus on implementation and refactoring, and Ed Fastovski's calmness and assuredness and in the wake of each storm of problems aligning breakdown of scope and compatibility of the core in-game functionality. Amazing team... But I feel a constant sense that my contributions are inadequate and that I'm letting the team down, with all the challenges I present to myself seemingly ending up in the too-hard basket with too much broken code...
Progress @ General Assembly (GA)
Events:

Sunday 23 February 2014

WDI Progress Update and Intro to Startups - Post RubyConf Thoughts

Ruby Conf Presentations: Eagerly awaiting the others to be shared by the organisers!
Progress @ Intro to Startup Entrepreneurship
  • Units 1 to 4 - Completed 

Curiosity:

Saturday 22 February 2014

Dreams and Reality Checks

Dreams (often Weird):
  • Woke up 5:50am 22nd Feb (after the #rubyconfau14 afterparty and thai dinner with friends). Vividly remember being on small boat with some others in unchartered areas in Northern Europe under the guidance of an important and influential leader. He mentioned that missing historical maps were thought to have been located there. I found one, and it chartered new territories in Northern Russian across to North-East Asia
Reality Checks:
  • Area 51 New Site Staging Zone - Whilst reviewing all the StackOverflow badges to strive toward, I came across the 'Precognitive' badge, which recognises those (where 'those' === null) who followed StackOverflows proposal on Area 51 New Site Staging Zone (their proposal didn't exist, because Area 51 came about after StackOverflow had already reached the commitment phase). This site looks amazing, it's incredible refreshing to discover that a solution to one of your ideas already exists, and given my prevailing passion for the concept, it provides a perfect platform to launch into new territories. Area 51 has followed a similar thought-process to what I was aspiring toward when I created Trendmyhunch, with the exception of a few key differentiators!!
Links:

Thursday 20 February 2014

WDI Progress Update - jQuery, AJAX, RubyConf!, Atlassian

Challenges:
  1. ToDo Lab and Memory Game Lab in jQuery
    1. Thanks to Luke Mesiti for highlighting structure for on-click functionality without nesting i.e. $('#game').on('click', '.column', function() { )
    2. Thanks to Nick Morgan for sharing the awesome Memory Game solution he prepared with Alberto Forni
  2. Git Real, Try Git
  3. Group Project planning (starts on 24th Feb!)
  4. Update CV (reflecting on teachings from Tarun Mookhey)
Dreams (often Weird):
  • Woke up in the early hours of the 21st Feb (after an early night). Aware I'd been dreaming about code, my mind was racing. I'd fallen asleep wearing an uncomfortable collared shirt. Mentally I couldn't convince myself to take it off and go back to sleep, somewhat thinking my body's variable scope and functions wouldn't compile with a t-shirt on instead?
Progress @ General Assembly (GA)
  • jQuery - (Selectors, Events, DOM Manipulation {Methods, Transitions, Scoping, This, Propagation with Parents Children, API, Validations, Search Form Caching, Templating, Underscore JS, Interpolation instead of Concatenation)
  • AJAX - (A-synchronous Javascript and XML for requesting data specific data without refreshing entire pages of code using HTTP request, Short Hand Methods, getJSON using jQuery.ajax method, Debugger, Sinatra server to request data followed by AJAX to mitigate authorisation issues, Checking Response States and Callback Success Status, Refactoring to avoid Nesting, Refactoring to increase notation Flexibility, Callbacks {Done, Fail, Always}, Wrapping Form Submit Event with AJAX request to retrieve JSON) 
  • Presentation by Tarun Mookhey (Founder of Pacifica Search) - Employer Types, Salaries, Developer Hotspots, Individual and Group Blogs, CV's, LinkedIn, GitHub, Portfolios, Job Applications
Events:
  1. SydJS (Atlassian All Stars) - Attended 19th Feb
    • Networked with Jonathon Creenaune (presented JS1K), Issac Gerges (presented Node.js for fun and profit), Chris Darroch (referred me to AMD), Jed Wesley-Smith (Atlassian and band SuperMassive), Ben Buchanan (great chat!), Phil Reither (great chat!)
  2. RubyConf - Attending 20-21st Feb
Curiosity:
  1. Coding, Methods, and Tools:
    1. Asynchronous Module Definition (AMD) - JS API (referred by Chris/Daz @ Atlassian)
    2. JS Linter for Sublime Text 2
    3. Emmet for Sublime Text 2
    4. CodeFormatter for Sublime Text 2 
    5. Tabifier 
  2. Reading & Learning:
    1. Atlassian Blogs
    1. SydJS Mentors
  3. Organisations:
    1. SauceLabs testing software
    2. BrainTree website payment systems
    3. Ninefold app deployment 
    4. LookAhead recruitment
    5. ThoughtWorks mindmapping, testing, Agile PM
    6. DiUS
    7. Travis CI 
    8. Rendant
    9. Envato

Monday 17 February 2014

Intro to Startups Update - Unit 2 Summary

  • Completed summarising all videos and activities on 18th Feb! (better late than never yikes!!)
  • Links: Post Mortem of Venture-Backed Startup
  • Unit 2 UX Design - Summary
    • Summarised Lessons 1-4 pending publication here

Saturday 15 February 2014

WDI Progress Update and Intro to Startups - Unit 3 Tech 101 Summary, Random Thoughts

Challenges:
  1. My First Apple Store Experience (George Street, Sydney) - So, by Week 4 of the WDI course I'd already destroyed the 'Delete' key on the Macbook Pro, which I borrowed from my partner. I'm not very Apple savvy, but someone gave me a tip to visit their store. So I get to the Apple Store any I wondered.... Why did the Apple staff direct me to the 'Front Desk' when there aren't any signs in the store? and when by 'Front Desk', they actually meant the people wearing bibs around their neck? Why point me to line up in imaginary queues where the sole purpose is to be plonked in front of one of their Macs and baby sat in filling out a 'make an appointment' form? Why not tell or direct people upfront at the entrance of the store to click the App Store on their mobile? 
  2. Finished Hangman game overnight and posted solution on my GitHub account
  3. JS Object Model Constructors, Prototypes, Inheritance
  4. JS Regular Expressions
  5. LESS Mixins, Classes, Arguments, Guards
Progress @ General Assembly (GA)
  • Javascript - String Literals, JS Special Characters 
  • Startup Scene - Read about Anti-Problem Entrepreneurs vs Unexotic Underclass vs Anti-Answers (bureacracy) 
Progress @ Intro to Startup Entrepreneurship
Progress @ Intro to Startup Entrepreneurship
  • Unit 3 Tech 101 - Summary
    • Summary Lessons 1-6
      • Front-end Decisions: 
        • Platform (decision influence, startup friendliness) - Browser, Mobile, Desktop, Back-end
        • Tech Stack (reflect on known solutions) - Web stack, Native, Meta Frameworks, Web Front-end
      • Back-end Decisions:
        • Priorities (tech options, fast MVP to market, use tech you know)
      • Cloud (on-demand scalability)
        • Server (Platform as a service) 
        • Services (Services as a service) - Identify pre-existing solutions
      • MVP - Top priority!
      • Prototyping:
        • Change costs increase with time
        • Sketch ideas to convey details and functionality pre-dialogue
        • Wireframing quick visual prototype mockup. Share for test iterations
        • Functional Prototypes - Test before build
        • User Testing - Insight from others for objective feedback
      • Hustling:
        • Priority is effort and investment in first customers to build momentum
        • Seed data and manual solutions to save time and avoid unnecessary automation
        • Kickstarting: "If it's perfect it's too late" - Early perfection and optimisation = evil, "who cares if noone wants to use it", "who cares how fast it is if it misses its mark" - Phil Reither (watch the video)
      • Homepage of Startup:
        • 5 seconds to impress
        • Outsource design?  (compromise quality vs cost)
        • Responsive across devices design - Mobile first strategy
        • Slogan, Screenshot showcasing implementation, Call to actions
      • Developer Competency and Fit Testing and Interviews - Coding ability, Communication skills, Motivation, Aptitude, DNA, Goal compromisings (speed vs quality with modular solutions), Project testing
      • CTO responsibilities - Handling build, unforeseens, understanding competing tech and impact of strategies and choices on products and users 
      • Outsourcing - Maintain control of product and them, realise common understandings of goals, visions, requirements and activities, candidates are stand-alone features, offers faster solutions allowing focus on strengths and priorities, test their timezone availability and motivation (i.e. Skype interview)
      • Product Management - Startup tools - Github (Versioned Source Control, Community, Collaboration), Dropbox, Trello (Digital Post-It Board), Jira (Atlassian System Dashboard), Skype, Basecamp (Product Management Platform)
      • Agile Development - "Fail early and fail often", Feedback, Try, Throw-away willingness
      • Scrum - Fast moving, Process and Specification (guideliness), Adapt what works to team, Pick and match (good and bad parts)
      • Traditional Systems - RUP (Rational Unified Process) like Waterfall with 120 rules, Prescriptive Rules
      • Kanban - JIT Change Management modelled from assembly line manufacturing and LEAN Value System
      • Scrum (preferred by Startups) - Adaptive Rules, Software development and creative product design, Agile Value System
        • Sprint - Daily Standups (mornings <15min), Planning Meetings(start of iterations breakdown into manageable tasks, Timebox <45min, Agenda, Chair, Assign Actionable), Always Testable Product, Deploy after each
        • Roles - Product Owner (process, upcoming, priorities, sign-off), Scrum Team (build product, no micromanaged, signoff on tasks at sprint start, responsible to do in sprint or its their fault), Scrum Master(Lord)(team runs smoothly, tools working)
        • Artifacts (non-person, touchable) - Agile Manifesto, Scrum Boards (Post-it notes, To Do, In progress, Ready for QA, In QA, Validated) Backlogs
    • Links:
    • Apps:
      • Xero accounting cloud app
Other Thinking (reflecting on this Unexotic Underclass reading):
  • Potential clientele?: Impoverished, Injustice chain of deliverers and recipients, Inflexibilities, In-appropriation, Deceptive selling and marketing {reflect on $ vs timeframe to earn value}, Untimely, Unaccelerated and Un-engaging education with limited UX, Unfair distribution of wealth, freedom and rewards (celebrity and anti-problems celebrated and spark interest across society), Lack of humaneness in some large corporates (lenience, common sense, broad effort, care, genuine companionship, are not always prevailing, spectrum of consequences isn't closed loop to drive continuous change), Highly ambiguous and near primitive legal constructs enforced with gaps, and even the most fundamental parallels ignored (lack of proactive behaviour, only excessive wrongdoing and persistent suffering by the good seems to ever drive social movements that realise change for betterment), Media and role models often drive and thrive on widespread curiosity toward negativity, excessively celebrating stupidity and anti-problems (disregard for intelligence and purity in values), Lack of acknowledging human achievements (with broad reason and purpose), cascading unrealistic and uncoordinated timeframes (underpromising, overdelivering, and ignorance of corporate slavery and its impact on the mental and physical health of teams and wider society), lack of hero metrics and parallels, Upheaving long-impoverished markets (technology driving the tides to turn), Rethink societal pressures driven by emphasis on borrowing and manipulation of value cycles, Overhaul life-expired legal systems with tech, Transform emotional intelligence into measurable skillsets, Flatten broader societies class hierarchy (viral knowledge-worker syndrome), Rank quantifiable risk parallels and actions across society, markets and the environment, Rejuvenating and monetizing traditionally boring and mundane jobs using media and gamification, Unjust distribution and priority toward handouts and freebies in response to sympathy trippers, carefrees, excuses, and whingers (average joe busy bodies and the genuinely disadvantaged miss-out or are excluded from offerings)
  • Keynotes?: Assume and dwell on impossibilities, Reverse mentality, Back to basics fallback, Demise of the first-class citizen and leveraging the rise of eager emerging markets overhaulling white elephants in our traditional frameworks, Rediscover purpose and passion following creative and adventurous pathways, Filter out monetary enticements to jump back on the treadmill bandwagon of mundaneness and in-humaneness, Carefully judging deservedness
Community Contributions:
  1. My First Post answering a question on Stackoverflow
Curiosity:
  1. Composition and 'includes' in Javascript to work-around single class inheritance limitations

Friday 14 February 2014

WDI Progress Update - Javascript, Underscore Library, Fizzbuzz, Modernizr, and Advanced CSS Tips

Challenges:
  1. Homework Hangman
  2. Dump-Ling on Valentines!
Progress @ General Assembly (GA)
  • Javascript (Underscore Library vs Lodash, Scripts to Automate Underscore Setup in HTML, CDN JS Library of JS/CSS, Coordinate Magic Number Dangers, FizzBuzz to Demonstrate Thought Process {Structured Planning, Interaction}, Minification, )
  • Presentation - Brice Lechatellier (CSS3 and JS) - Key takeaways:
    • CSS vs JS (on Native vs Mobile apps), CSS Pre-processing of Browser Prefixes with Mixins (LESS or SASS), CSS Testing using Chrome Inspect Element, Paralax Animation Techniques, Seamless Transitions, JSFiddle, Font and Icon Libraries, CSS Filters, Depth of Field, Modernizr Browser Compatibility Testing 
Future:
  • IOS Apps reflecting on tips from Brice!

WDI Progress Update - Javascript Event Handers

Challenges:
  1. Homework in morning before class!
  2. Javascript Koans, Ruby Koans!!!
Progress @ General Assembly (GA)
  • Javascript (Browser Events {Registering and Unregistering Event Handlers }, Event Types, Adding and Removing Events, Cross-Browser Compatibility, Listeners, Event Steps {DOM Node, Type, Function}, Event Coordinates, Animations, Unobtrustive JS, Separation of Concerns, DOM Event Bubbles and Element Priorities, Event Tracking, Sokoban Game with Constructors, Validation Event Handling, Error Handling Events, Anonymous Functions and References, Memory Leaks and Circular References, Javascript Runtime, THIS's Keyword Rules, THIS's Object References and Changes at Control Shifts {Method Invocations, New Operator, Call and Apply Functions} between Execution Contexts {Global (window object), Functional (body), and Eval Code} and their associated Properties {String, Math}, Direct vs Indirect paths, Object Oriented Approach)
  • Presentation - Angie (Life after WD) - Key takeaways:
    • Version control, Cheat sheets, Blog consolidated learnings, Community contribution, Resource tools (Stackoverflow, Dash, etc), Sharing tips

Thursday 13 February 2014

WDI Progress Update - Javascript MTA and ATM

Challenges:
  1. Homework MTA in JS (fully compiled) - Thanks to Taryn East and Pranava Swaroop for key Javascript tips enabling my MTA code to compile, and appropriate use of DOM in ATM app teaming with Sam Peters.

  • Structure code with REF DATA, FUNCTIONS, TESTS
  • Structuring JS objects structured with property labels and values (similar to hashes in Ruby)
  • Access to Object property names (passed as arguments to functions) within functions requires explicit use of 'Object.keys(...'
  • Values of objects passed to functions (i.e. line[stop], not line.stop)
  • Repl.it - Error debugging JS, function to display alerts as console logs

Curiosity:
  1. MTA app using constructors and prototypes?
  2. Codepen.io

Wednesday 12 February 2014

WDI Progress Update - Javascript, ROROSyd

Challenges:
  1. Homework
Progress @ General Assembly (GA)
  • Javascript (Objects, Prototypical Inheritance System { implementing 'new' as a function, prototype flexibility with mutability and immutability i.e. changes during runtime }, HTML DOM Nodes and Traversing,  Object Literals {Prototypical pattern inverted to create Constructor pattern function by creating clones of Object.prototype, extended with new properties}, Inheriting Properties via Delegation/Differentiation/Concatenation(JS Prototypical Inheritance) via Cloning, Object.extend Function, Slice, Multiple Inheritance Code Modularity and Reusability benefits, Prototype Chains, Mixins to extend object behaviour {Prototypes of other Prototypes}, Closure Prototypes using Blueprints {Extend Object via Concatenation} to Secure Private States of Mixins, Prototypical Pattern vs Constructor Pattern, Regular Expressions, Constructors, Hierarchies, InstanceOf, Prototype.Define {allows clones to inherit mods made to prototypes}, This {Execution Context Stacks, Control Shifts}, New Operators, Call and Apply, More Flexible Constructors using idiom for setting defaults)
Events:
  • Crossed paths again with Mark Wotton CTO meanpath.com @ ROROSyd (he was my tutor sometime between '99-'01 in computer science!!!) 
  • Bumped into another old uni mate, Pantelis, on the way to class! 
Curiosity:
  • Parent, Child, Ancestor, Descendant
  • Reverse Prototype Chains
  • Parallax scrolling
  • Haskell
  • meanpath.com

Tuesday 11 February 2014

WDI Progress Update - Javascript

Challenges:
  1. Homework, losing time fixing my deployment to Heroku due to failed mailers
Progress @ General Assembly (GA)
  • Javascript (Comments, Expressions, Statements, Arrays, Debugging, Programs (;), Function Helper Libraries, Function vs Procedures, Function Scope {not block scope}, Circular Dependancies, Invoking, Pure Functions, Function Environments, Functions are First Class Objects, Recursive Functions, ECMAScript Harmony {let} vs Blocks, Closure Phenomenon, Values and Side effects, Lexical Scoping of Variables, Shadow Variables, Nested Functions, Operators {Assignment, Comparison, Arithmetic, Bitwise, String, Logical [Short-Circuit Evaluation], Special, Conditional, Comma, Delete, In, InstanceOf, New, This, Typof, Void, Precedence}, Operands, Objects (Properties/Associative Arrays, New Objects, Object Initializers, Constructor Function and Object Instances, Object.Create using Prototype object, Inheritance {Classical, Prototypal}, Indexing Object Properties, Defining Object Type Properties, Defining Methods, Object Methods using 'This', Defining Getters and Setters, Deleting Properties) Enumerating Object Properties {ECMAScript 5, For..In, Object.keys(o), Object.getOwnPropertyNames(o)}, Economy of Loops vs calling Functions in Stack Contexts, Efficiency vs Elegancy vs Time, Transitivity, Floating Point Arithmetic i.e. (0.1 + 0.2 == 0.3 false (0.1 + 0.2).toFixed(1) == 0.3 true), Silent Errors due to Style incorrect { placement on new line and no block scope, DOM {Document Object Model} as API logical structure for accessing, changing, deleting, or adding to valid HTML/XML)  
  • Javascript Shells
Events:
  • Attended meetup Ruby on Rails Oceana  (ROROSyd) on 11th Feb
Curiosity:
  • MORE Javascript Stuff (Lambda, Dynamic Objects, Loose Typing, Object Literals i.e. JSON, Delegations, Differential Inheritance, New Object clobber constructors issue, Module Pattern transformed into Constructor Pattern Augmenting Objects with Privileged methods using Closure with reference to the Context, JSLint, Reliability Strict Mode Tags {Intolerables}, Implementations, Object Hardening Support {Immutability/Mashups}, Secure JS Subsets {FBJS, Caja, Cajita, ADsafe})

Sunday 9 February 2014

WDI Progress Update - Trendmyhunch Extras, Google Analytics Client Authentication using Service Account and OAuth

Challenges:
  • Google Analytics Client, Google's API Developers Console (connected!)
  • Google Maps Coordinate API (yet to attempt)
  • Extras add to My Website: Trendmyhunch
    • Collapsing Menu
    • Anchors
    • Select / Unselect All
    • Feedback form (failed on heroku push, stuck on whether i need https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/sendgrid#ruby-rails)
      • Troubles #1 tried Sample Contact Form on Github, Mailgun and associated documentation, etc (unable to use free SendGrid due to past personal income issues), might have revert back to PHP! Yikes!!
    • Authentication with Google Analytics Client using Service Account and OAuth! (noted the importance of using the correct 8 digit number after the letter 'p' in the URL when in the Analytics Account Settings of the correct App!! didn't realise this initially and was getting error 403)
    • Troubles #2 - Can't upload to Github to mirror pushes to Heroku! Bugger...
  • Important Note: Gem Garb could have saved me a lot of time connecting to Google Analytics! 
  • Played around with dashing, puma server, rufus scheduler, and redis, and rendered my heroku site useless (site still works on local server though...)  ----> discovered that the reason it wasn't working on Heroku was because there  were remnance of Dash (which I wasn't using). the error was only exposed when i ran "rails console production". to solve the issue i just opened the /app/jobs/sample.rb file and commented the whole file.

~/Documents/w5d1_project/ideas_app/trendmyhunch ✗ master ∴ rails consoleLoading development environment (Rails 4.0.2)2.1.0 :001 > exit~/Documents/w5d1_project/ideas_app/trendmyhunch ✗ master ∴ rails console production/Users/Luke/Documents/w5d1_project/ideas_app/trendmyhunch/app/jobs/sample.rb:3:in `<top (required)>': uninitialized constant Dashing (NameError)


Progress @ General Assembly (GA):
  • Analytics (Conditionally included Analytics)

Curiosity:
  • Segment.io

Saturday 8 February 2014

WDI Progress Update - Trendmyhunch Project Launched, Feedback forms, 'What The Trend API', 'Google Visualization API', CSV to PSQL, Example Code

Challenges:
  • Homework:  Email Production using SendGrid and ActionMailer, Feedback form (using Get Satisfaction, UserVoice), Review Github Code of other students 
  • Want to Try: Redcarpet, Javascript tutorials
  • Example Code #1 (using 'trends.format' JSON hash from What The Trend API):
              Testing Method: Pry
              Try it on My Website: Trendmyhunch (beta only so follow the instructions carefully!)

          New Method inside IdeasController.rb
          Modify Sample Google Visualization API code (obtained here)
         
          Please email me if interested..
  • Example Code #2 (loading contents of .CSV files into PSQL database):
         Please email me if interested...

Progress @ General Assembly (GA):


Contributions to Developer Community 

Wednesday 5 February 2014

WDI Progress Update - Production, Bootstrap, CSV migrations

Challenges:
  • App exploded when tried to install bootstrap, used Heroku clone to recover
  • Searching databases and filtering selections
  • Resolved absolute file paths not being recognised when uploading to Heroku. Fixed data migration files and relocated CSV files to the root directory. Compiled successfully with this code:
require 'fileutils'require 'csv' 
class AddIdeaData < ActiveRecord::Migration
  def up
filepath = Rails.root.join("ideas.csv")
# locate the csv file in your /public folder if File.exist?(filepath) CSV.foreach(filepath)do |col| Idea.create(:name => col[0].to_s, :description => col[1].to_s, :author => col[6].to_s, :url => col[7].to_s, :country => col[8].to_s) end else  raise "No file exists with name: #{filepath}" end  end
  def down   Idea.all.destroy # only with team permission  end
end

                                                Progress @ General Assembly (GA):
                                                • Rails (Authentication vs Authorisation, Static page controller, Custom controller methods using routing collections and members, Hidden form fields)
                                                • Production (Heroku)
                                                • Gems (Sanitise for customising Devise Authentication, Rails_12factor for production and images on Heroku)
                                                • Agile (Daily Scrum meetings)
                                                • Bootstrap themes


                                                Contributions to Developer Community 
                                                • Exciting ideas and concepts explored with the The Slippery Gypseas!
                                                • Sydney Tech Startup Meetup on 6th Feb

                                                Curious:
                                                • Cancan (Authorisation)

                                                Tuesday 4 February 2014

                                                WDI Progress Update - My First Wireframe, Concept Sketch, LEAN Business Model Canvas

                                                Progress @ General Assembly (GA):
                                                • Balsamiq Mockup - Prepared my first ever app wire-frame this evening thanks to Balsamiq and inspiration from Intro to Startups
                                                Feedback is welcome!
                                                                        

                                                • Concept Sketch 


                                                • LEAN Canvas of MVP 


                                                Monday 3 February 2014

                                                WDI Progress Update - Agile Tools, Wireframes, Migration Change Control Diligence, Alumni

                                                Progress @ General Assembly (GA):
                                                • Agile Dev Intro (Agile vs Waterfall, Manifesto, Test Driven Dev (TDD), Behaviour Driven Dev (BDD), Scrum Sprint Cycles and Ya Ain't Gonna Need It YAGNI / MVP Priorities, Ship early ship often, Estimation Points Sys. & Timeframes, Break-down Tasks, Team Velocity Forecasting Sprints, Burn-down Charts, Timeboxing Spikes, Daily Brief Stand-p Meeting Agenda Protocols, Project Normal Workflows, Planning & Design Stage, Site Structure, Use-cases, Wire-frames, Non-standard CRUD requirements, Development Stage) 
                                                • PivotalTracker - Agile Project Management tool using Scrum
                                                • Balsamiq Mockup - Wire-frames
                                                • Rails (Devise Authentication, Importance of Ongoing Migration Due Diligence to Teams and Traceability)
                                                • Presentation by Tiffany McHugh of GA's Studio Service:
                                                  • Job readiness, Partner connections, Alumni network, Teaching opportunities, Sharing, etc

                                                WDI Progress Update - Individual Project Challenges and UX Gaps


                                                Challenges:

                                                1. Watched short video from RailsCasts on refactoring a simple Search Form and implemented into AI app User front-end (not functional yet but feeling more confident). Advised by Alberto Forni to research 'Named Scope' (discussed in Code School)
                                                2. Find out how to apply Google Trends API to AI app
                                                3. Sign up for Rails 1 (and Rails 2 later) 


                                                Progress @ General Assembly (GA):
                                                • Sunday Session
                                                  • Valuable feedback obtained on AI app from Danial Tsui, Nick Morgan, and Alberto Forni. Split into Admin and User sections. Time to implement learnings Intro to Startup Entrepreneurship and up-skill on UX aspects.
                                                  •  -------> Update 3:20pm 3rd Feb:
                                                    Interesting problem solved with instructors help. 
                                                    Situation: List of ideas displayed on the screen. User requested to tick checkboxes that corresponded to their favourite ideas, and then click a submit button. After clicking the submit button a database query would refresh the same screen with only their favourite ideas shown.
                                                    Problem: The user could submit their favourites and the page refreshed showing them a filtered list of only their favourites. However, if they went back to the original URL and performed the same process, the submit button would be unresponsive (i.e despite using the following code, with none of the checkboxes ticked, and therefore none of the ':search' params being present)
                                                    if params[:search].present?
                                                        @ideas = Idea.where(:id => params[:search])
                                                    else
                                                      @ideas = Idea.all
                                                    end
                                                    Outcome: With the help of GA instructors we exhausted all hack options (i.e. @ideas.to_json, ___.inspect, inspecting network elements in the browser, raise "xxx"), and found that if we deleted Turbolinks from '/javascripts/application.js', and commented out in the Gemfile, the app then fully worked! (i.e. delete //= require turbolinks, and then going to terminal and running, 'gem install' and 'bundle', and 'rails server'). It is thought that the problem was caused due to caching by the Turbolink gem.

                                                Progress @ Intro to Startup Entrepreneurship
                                                • Unit 2 UX - Read 100% of PDF notes. 
                                                  • Objectives - Urgently must target detailing Unit 2 audio notes by 4th Feb and implement into Individual Project. Incorporate Unit 1 by 9th Feb. Start Unit 3 reading by 5th Feb and finish by 9th Feb.

                                                Contributions to Developer Community 
                                                • Invited to meet the The Slippery Gypseas band in on 5th Feb to help brainstorm their website requirements!