Out of all the courses that could’ve defined my last semester at UH Manoa, I find Software Engineering to be one of the more symbolically relevant. For most of my time spent as a college student, I felt a looming anxiety about how employable I actually was. I had kept hearing about GitHub and even used it a couple times as an intern, but never had I truly explored the full potential of this product while in a group setting. Not only that, but before taking ICS 314, I had very limited knowledge of app development as a whole. For a long time, I continued as a computer engineering student, worried that I would never get the exposure to real world experience that I so craved. This changed with ICS 314.
Not only has this class introduced me to the right tools and interfaces, but it has also forced me to gain the very real world experience I needed. This course has dropped me right in the center of marathon programming, practical coding habits, being conscious towards user testing, and other areas of functional programming. Marathon programming being one of the most demanding and frustrating experiences for me to go through in college, the task to fulfill a programming objective within a short span of time was beyond nerve-racking and incredibly competitive. Still, it’s that kind of engagement that I definitely wanted to familiarize myself with and gain superior proficiency in. It was fast-paced and stressful, but exhilarating to now be in this environment that so aptly simulated life within my chosen field. This class has sharpened my skills, both as an individual programmer and as a valuable team player.
On top of wanting to make my skillset relevant to real world employment, I also wanted to gain experience in how a team functions properly. Throughout the duration of this course, I was introduced to a standard method of team coordination known as Agile Project Management. The cyclic nature of this collection of methods was something I was able to easily grasp and put into practice, especially when it came to Issue Driven Project Management. The list-based layout of this particular solution made observing what needed to be done easily apparent and was the right type of organization needed to make any team project a success.
Ultimately, I’m grateful for having taken this class and appreciate being treated as nothing less than an employee. This style of teaching may have been more demanding, but it was reassuring to know that I was being placed with all the expectations of an actual software or computer engineer. This class is extremely relevant and I believe, has prepared me for my future.