Creating of a Product in Python - Assignment Example

INDIVIDUAL REFELECTIVE STATEMENT COVER SHEET Reflective Statement Our group comprising of six members Dias (me), Jason, Yasin, Richard, Mobin, and Alex was asked to create a product in Python 3.3. The purpose of the product was to demonstrate data gathering and analysis. Every individual in the group had their role to play. My role in the projects was writing the python code. The task was challenging, but I managed to pull it off and provide the team with a functional code. The reason for choosing this responsibility is because after we assessed the weaknesses and strengths of every team member, I have more experience and knowledge about Python programming language. Python’s design philosophy mainly accentuates on code readability that is a concept I clearly understood more than the other team members. Jason, the team leader, ensured that every team member understood the role they were supposed to play. Therefore, I had perfect understanding of the role I had to play in the project, and this understanding did not change at any point during the process of completing the project. My team was knowledgeable about all the stages involved in completing this project. We all worked for a common good that was to produce a workable project that is the best in our class. Being a group that was formed by people that hardly knew each other I do think that our performance was high even though we had a slow start. Our performance was high because the group members had complimentary skills and talents that were aligned with and devoted to a common objective. Our high-performance was also as a result of high levels of innovation and collaboration consistently showed by all the group members from the start of the project to the end. We all functioned as a team. All team members contributed their energy and time to the project. More outstandingly, all team members played a part in the decision-making process. All members trusted each other and this added value to the project. However, during the beginning of project management, the speed of working was slow. We had fallbacks due to lack of communication skills. We corrected this and ensured that we functioned as a team by having open communication where every team member contributed ideas, asked for clarification on anything in the project that was confusing, and we listened to each other carefully. Teams function if all its member roles are clearly defined. Moreover, teams function better if all the roles of a project have been evenly distributed to the members. As said earlier, our team consisted of six members. This number was not greater than the parts of the project. Therefore, the roles were evenly distributed among the team members. After forming the group and understanding each other’s weaknesses and strengths, we sat down and came up with thoughts on what we could base our product on. We all learned about each other’s topic through the team. This was made possible by the weekly feedbacks on what has been completed and what is still needed to be done. Each team member provided feedbacks, and they were all taken into consideration. The python code I was responsible for creating was among the main parts of the project. Apart from writing the code for the team, I attended all the meetings. In these meetings, I shared my ideas and provided feedbacks on the progress of my code and listened to the other team members’ feedbacks. Moreover, I ensured that I am a reliable member by delivering what I said I would on time. Apart from writing the Python code itself, I was responsible for implementation, testing, and deployment. I conducted implementation and testing in small steps. I did not implement everything and then test it at the end to minimize errors. However, after completing implementation, I did complete testing that was straight forward. Since some of the group participants did not fully understand the python code I had written, I had to explain the principle of python coding to them and how it works. Reflecting back from the start to the end of the project, our team faced some challenges in the beginning which affected our performance. The problem was due to team members not attending to all meetings, poor communication from the team manager, and the team manager not setting clear tasks for the team members. I saw these problems at the initial start of the project but did not act immediately. I let the team leader make all the decisions without taking into consideration that the team leader does not make all the verdicts for the team. To change this, I would have suggested that the he sets clear tasks to all members of the group. This would begin by defining the goals of the team. During the first meeting where we got to know each other, we should have set the tone and ground rules. In this meeting, we as a team should have decided on what is expected of us. Additionally, to improve communication, team hierarchies and reporting structure should have been clearly stated. In terms of the ground rules, I would have suggested that rules be set on team members not attending group meetings. Attending group meetings should have been mandatory, and if a team member does not attend, there would be consequences. Delivering what you have promised in a group project is very important for the success and timely completion of the project. As an active and dedicated team member, I delivered the python code that I had promised the team members I will. This was made possible by agree to the reasonable deadlines that were set by the team leader. I never promised to deliver a part of the code on a certain date knowing that the date was not achievable. Additionally, I made sure I was ahead of the schedule where I worked in advance that gave me ample of time to complete my role in the project. Every delivery I made concerning the python code was on time. I ensured that I do not over commit since over committing is a reason for not delivering what you promised on time. As part of keeping my promise and meeting the set deadlines, I provided the team with quality work. This can be avowed by the fact that my code was working, and it can be downloaded from https://moodle.essex.ac.uk/mod/data/view.php?d=155. So as to ensure that I delivered quality work, I made it known to me that I was accountable for anything that would be wrong in the code. This entailed that I had to work extra hours to provide quality work. Furthermore, I do believe that I delivered quality work for my team because I regularly reviewed the code to certify that it is workable. I constantly looked at my previous failures in the code which ensured that I moved forward in the right direction. In the process of completing the project, there are lessons I have learned that will be useful for my individual project in my final year. First, it is important to be hundred percent sure of what is expected of you and should be clear as from beginning of the project. If you are not hundred percent of what is expected of you, you should ask your supervisor for clarification. In our group, we faced setbacks in the beginning because the group members were not hundred percent of their tasks and what is expected of them and did not ask the team leader immediately. Moreover, I have learned that proper communication is required in delivering a project. In our team, there was no proper communication resulting in setbacks at the beginning of the project. To my understanding, it is imperative to have proper communications allows the process of resolving any issues related to the project quickly and possible. Lastly, I have learned that it is important to attend all set meetings that concern my project. In our team, some team members did not attend some of the meetings that brought setbacks. By attending all meetings that are scheduled with my supervisor for my final project, I will ensure that we are on a similar page and will help me catch any issues before they escalate into bigger problems. After completing the project, we did a presentation. Personally, I do think the presentation went well. Every member of my team played their role in the presentation. Everything went according to the way we had planned. All of my team members provided positive feedbacks, and I took them positively and turned them into goals that I achieved. The feedbacks I gave in the group were positive and honest. This is because before giving any feedback, I reminded myself the reason I am doing this. I mainly avoided giving personal judgment that involve criticism and praise. The reason is that criticism offers unfavorable judgment while praise offers favorable judgment, and the two are not good for the team. In giving honest feedbacks, I was always sincere and avoided giving any mixed messages. This ensured that I always meant what I said with respect and care. During the product demonstration day, we got several responses. Personally, I feel that the response we received was appropriate since we had worked hard to achieve our goals. We produced a product that I feel is among the best products as compared to other products. Read More