Proposal to drop code review, start meeting regularly
Lane Smith
I am proposing to downscale the code review event we have had in the pipeline for the past few months. I am taking this stance because given our present situation, it does not seem feasible nor in our best interests to invest large amounts of effort trying to arrange this for next Monday (my previously proposed date). Instead of a large code review event, we should meet next Monday as a normal meeting---no flyers, posters, or pizza necessary. I think it is most important that we start meeting again regularly.
My reasons are as follows:
-I put in a room reservation request after my last email two weeks ago and still do not have confirmation on a room reservation. Though the student org office states that it should take about 3-5 business days, in my experience this is rarely the case. It is unusual that it is taking this long; I emailed yesterday and am waiting on a response.
-I have received lukewarm responses from other student organizations about cross-publicizing this event. Several organization officers had difficulty seeing the benefit to a code review, and after a back-and-forth with an ACM officer, I understand why. As students, the only "code review" you get is the grade on an assignment, and if you've never been exposed to industry, then it's hard to see the value of the process. Of course, this *is* the goal of ASM--to expose students to best practices to prepare them for industry--but it's a hard sell. I am unsure of how to sell it effectively and lack the time to keep pressing the issue.
-With less than a week away, it would be a struggle to design, print, and post flyers and to have any effective exposure.
If you all agree, let's meet Monday at 6pm, in the ENS commons area (ENS 313) and have just a normal meeting. I still have the code I wrote for the purpose of the code review event. Why not start off by reviewing and critiquing my code, and then use discussions to carry us further on? Again, I think the most important thing is that we start meeting again regularly.
I would like to host a large event, but based on this experience, we need to begin planning *months* in advance. We can talk about this as well.
I would appreciate any feedback and questions you have.
Cheers,
Lane Smith
Sukant Hajra
>
> -I have received lukewarm responses from other student organizations about
> cross-publicizing this event. Several organization officers had difficulty
> seeing the benefit to a code review, and after a back-and-forth with an ACM
> officer, I understand why. As students, the only "code review" you get is the
> grade on an assignment, and if you've never been exposed to industry, then
> it's hard to see the value of the process. Of course, this *is* the goal of
> ASM--to expose students to best practices to prepare them for industry--but
> it's a hard sell. I am unsure of how to sell it effectively and lack the time
> to keep pressing the issue.
This is a real problem. We need a plan to tackle it. Any student too deeply
invested in such insular thinking is on a path towards throwing away millions
of dollars in wasted efforts. It's not that they'll never figure it out. But
they'll be wasting so many resources in the process of learning on the job.
As far as I can tell -- a huge majority of students have never seen well
written code and certainly don't know how to write it. Students of academic
excellence are no exception. In fact, they're more problematic because they
are being rewarded for badly written code.
Let's talk about this Monday.
> -With less than a week away, it would be a struggle to design, print, and
> post flyers and to have any effective exposure.
>
> If you all agree, let's meet Monday at 6pm, in the ENS commons area (ENS 313)
> and have just a normal meeting. I still have the code I wrote for the purpose
> of the code review event. Why not start off by reviewing and critiquing my
> code, and then use discussions to carry us further on? Again, I think the
> most important thing is that we start meeting again regularly.
>
> I would like to host a large event, but based on this experience, we need to
> begin planning *months* in advance. We can talk about this as well.
This sounds fine. Let's meet next Monday and think about what to do moving
forward. Getting a room and student support has been easier in the past. I
think we can figure something out.
-Sukant
Christopher Grant
-Christopher Grant
Voice: (512) 522-1260
Email: CRG...@gmail.com
Web: http://cgrant.wordpress.com
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