- What have you learned about the use of agile vs. waterfall in software projects?
The Waterfall process is what i think of as a more 'traditional' process where the project is divided in large sections that are somewhat independent from each other. And each section has to be completed fully before you can move on to the next part of the project. With Agile the process if much more integrated where each component of the project be it design, testing, implementation, requirements are being evaluated and tweaked with each iteration of features.
- How did you and your group approach project management in this project (what tools did you use, how did you hold each other accountable, etc.)?
We used Trello board to keep track of where we are at in the project, we referred back to user stories often and also took each feature as its own little project that we design, code, test and implement.
- What role did you take on in the project?
We did not have explicit roles in the project and I feel like we made sure to have everyone be involved in the project equally.
- What changes would you make to your approach in future team projects?
I was quite satisfied with how our group did. One of the members ended up being less involved, partially it seems like it was because she works better on projects that use divide and conquer approach.
- How does retro function in a team project?
We tried to retro several times over this project usually talking about what we have accomplished and what we still left to do and how we should approach it.
- In your team retro, how did you engage in the feedback process? What principles of feedback did you use in these conversations?
Its not easy to point out negative things during retros which is also not the point of retro. However we had a couple times were we discussed absences and how to deal with this respectfully. We did not attack each other and only pointed out ways to improve that will help the project.
- How would you describe your ability to communicate feedback? How has this experience affected your communication skills?
I am usually very good at communicating positive feed back ( its obviously much easier that negative feedback). But overall I feel like I am able to communicate effectively both negative and positive feedback. I think a big part of being a good communicator in general is being able to read peoples emotions and adjust your style based on that.
- How do you want to improve in your ability to communicate feedback?
I think I need to work more on feeling comfortable communicating negative feedback and knowing when to be firmer but not judgmental.