1 DATE: September 22, 2011 FROM: Sing Keng Hua TO: Mrs Janet Chan SUBJECT: Progress on our

2103T project

Introduction The goal of this report is to provide an update on the current progress of our project. It aims to provide information on the status of our project, the goals we have accomplished, the problems we are facing, the possible solutions to these problems, any future issues we foresee and any future actions we will take during our software engineering process. My position in this project is the GUI programmer as well as the software tester. I will be presenting general information on the project as a whole, as well as specific information on my area of work on these said topics.

Background Our project aims to create an effective to-do manager for geeks, in which we have to collaborate with our team-mates to brain-storm ideas, plan the production process, program the software, debug and test the software and evaluate the features. The envisioned outcomes are not only limited to our education of the software engineering processes and techniques, but effective communication within the team as well as to our educators and evaluators in both oral and written form.

Current Status of Project We have made good progress in terms of coding and planning. On the aspect of coding, we divided our software into their GUI (Graphical User Interface) and main logic components, where we have been working on them concurrently and are now beginning to integrate them. At the same time, we are smoothing out details of our software components from the problems we encounter while integrating. I am also currently working on a new design for the GUI to improve its look and feel. Not much testing has yet been done as my teammates are still in the midst of coding.

Goals Accomplished At present we have a done a functioning logic component and GUI. In my scope of work, it is worthy to note that the GUI is fully functional and what remain are a few aesthetic changes. The hotkey functionality which has been problematic for other groups (as written in the IVLE forums) has also been completed in our GUI. Our first attempt in integrating the GUI and the main logic has also succeeded, with few problems. In the aspect of teamwork, we have been working together very well. There have been no major conflicts and disagreements. Communications of ideas, suggestions

2 and problems have been occurring on a regular basis as we have meetings at least once a week and ad-hoc discussions both online and offline. The general morale of the team has been high and the mood during meetings has been upbeat.

Problems Faced Coding-wise, the planning details in our software components still need work. During integration, we have discovered a few functions in our code that do not integrate well with the rest of the logic and the GUI. Also, the GUI lags upon start up and takes up a significant amount of memory. This might cause performance issues to users who have slower computers. Teamwork-wise, we face the problem of being too unfocused due to our good relationship. We sidetrack too much and sometimes fail to focus on the project for a duration of time that is adequate for our full understanding on the topic that is being discussed. As a result there have been miscommunications with respect to the architecture of our software.

Possible Solutions / Solutions in action Problem: Some functions do not integrate well with the rest of the components. Solution: We have made changes to the functions that did not integrate well since their discovery. Problem: GUI lags on start up Solution: A possible solution to the lag in the GUI can be to create a splash screen on start up to prompt the user to wait. As the lag is not very significant (about 2 seconds) and is one-off to the lifecycle of the program, it is on my low priority to get rid of it completely. Problem: GUI takes up too much memory Solution: Due to the technology used, there is not much that can be done. I am currently researching on optimisations that can be implemented without too much modification to the present code. Problem: Being too unfocused during discussions Solution: The group has realised this, and we are taking the effort concentrate and clarify ideas we did not fully catch during discussions. We are also reducing the amount of jokes and small talk we make during our meetings.

3 Future Issues We foresee further problems to crop up as we continue to refine and integrate our code. When I begin testing our software, more bugs in our code will show and more modifications and repairs will have to be made. The lack of time is also a possible issue as the second half of the semester will be a busy period for us and we will have to focus more on our other modules due to more material, projects and assignments coming in. All these issues can potentially put us into a situation where we are pressed for time to complete the software.

Future Actions As already briefly mentioned in the previous sections, our upcoming task is to test our software and find any possible bugs, as well as evaluate our features via organizing sessions for people to try our software. Also, additional features we are not including in version 0.1 will also have to be coded, tested and evaluated or version 0.2. In my area of work, I will continue to improve the performance of the GUI and produce automated testing for our software so that the testing process is more efficient. With respect to the team, I will continue to be proactive in getting the group back on track if they get distracted, as they will to me if I get distracted. We as a team will also practice more time management in preparation for the busier second-half of the semester.

Conclusion Progress in the project has been very good and the team is work well together. Morale is also high and disagreements have been minimal. The coding problems experienced are actually rather standard to any software project. My greater concern is to the possible lack of time we may encounter later in the semester as signs of an increasing workload are already showing. Nevertheless, my team and I are confident we can produce an excellent piece of software, and in the process learn the techniques of software engineering and the skills in communication that is required, as long as we continue to prepare ourselves for what is to come.