My group had its first CG1413 programming meeting last Friday (120210).
What went well during the meeting?
Since my group had two C++ programmers with a commendable knowledge on programming, things went really smooth as we didn’t have to get stuck on any coding problems. As a result more time was available for planning and enhancing our design. Ideas flowed and we were able to complete the task swiftly. Personally it gave me an insight on how more experienced programmers think and I was able to pick up a few tips and tricks from them.
What went bad during the meeting?
Having two C++ programmers in our group seemed like a double edged sword to me. Though it helped speed up things, I felt that they were a little too quick for me. They always seemed two steps ahead of me in the way the think about the code and planning for it. As a result I wasn’t able to contribute much in terms of the program.
Initially for this meeting we were unable to find a suitable venue but with the help of one of our Teaching Assistants (Mr. Achudhan) we were able to find and book a proper meeting room.
My Role during the meeting:
I was tasked to prepare the agenda and take down minutes during the meeting.
Agenda:
The agenda was pretty easy to make as we had already discussed informally on what are the possible things that we need to address during the meeting pertaining to the project. Finding a template for the agenda was a problem at first but after scouring the internet for more than an hour I was able to find one.
Minutes:
In order not to forget what we had discussed, I took down the minutes as and when the points came across. When I took a look at the minutes the following day I was pretty surprised that we had actually discussed on so many points and some of them were even obscure to me. At that instant I knew how important minutes were in a meeting.
Hi Anand,
ReplyDeleteThis week’s post is a little different as compared to the others, but you have organised it into different segments to facilitate the ease of reading. The headers right before each paragraph helps the readers identify what you are currently trying to bring across. Splitting up the post into the different segments help ease reading too as a very lengthy paragraph would turn most readers off.
Moving onto the actual content, I do agree that finding a good meeting place is indeed a very difficult task in NUS. Some places are too noisy, whereas the quiet ones do not really encourage discussion as there are others around. I understand that your group members are well-versed in C++ programming. This shows that being prepared for a meeting always helps facilitate the flow of the meeting. At the same time, you felt that you were lagging behind as you were not at the same level. It is always a good practice for the other members to notice if everyone can follow the pace of the discussion. Additionally you could have clarified any doubts you had at that moment. Taking the minutes during the meeting could be tough as you may have missed a point while writing another. But if it is well done, the minutes will definitely prove useful in the future.
Nicholas
Hi Anand,
ReplyDeleteI am always impressed with your posts. They are really easy to read and the points flow well. You had your views in different segments making everything seems so neat. The proper headings for each segment improve the readability understanding of your post. Keep up the great postings!
I must say that I am really envious of you. Having two experienced programmers in your team really helps save much time and effort. It is inevitable that you would feel a bit out. I suggest that you talk to your team mates to get them to slow down their pace of coding. Have them to help you understand the syntax behind the codes; else it would be bad for you in the future. After all, the project is a learning process to help us master programming.
Your views on the importance of the minutes are shared by all of us. I believe that everybody must read the minutes after every meeting to keep track of the project progress. I personally would like to file the team minutes and keep a copy of my own by my side for easy reference.
I hope your future meetings would be better for you in terms of the pace.
With Regards,
Weilong