Devcathlon: mockups

Introduction The Software Engineering II class is in the initial phase of developing Devcathlon. The class has broken into groups and creating mockups for the game's interface. Currently the user interface is written using html as the game will be tracked via the internet. Events As the team went through the mockup we needed to assess where each step applied to an Event. Some of the events that stood out.

• Commit Early
• Commit Often
• Don't wait till the last minute
• Collective Ownership
• Pair Programming
• Team Meeting

The team did not start working on the mockup until Friday afternoon so we did not have an early commit. We did pair programming and was able to get a decent amount work done, which would have scored us a fair amount points. However, because we did not get an early start we lost 2o points. Point Assessment At this point it is difficult to know if the mockup1 team won on points. I do know team mockup3 score 10 extra points because of their early start on the design. However, looking at the commit log I did not see a lot of activity until Sunday night. So I think all three teams should have a deduction of points for waiting till the last minute. Issues Some of the issues I encountered during the coding process.

• Keeping track of development time while not connected to the web.
• Keeping developers honest with pair programming and development time.
• How to handle administration, how much control to give the Game Master.

The issues will be ongoing and probably will require tweaking when the game is in play. To handle pair programming both developers must independently verify the session by choosing their names from a drop down list and either choose date from a menu or input the date into a form. Dealing with a lone developer who was without a web connection is a little tricky but is something that can earn points. The Game Master must be able to add or deduct points at his or discretion. That way any coding without a web connection can still earn points as long as the administrator verifies the code. Conclusion I wish we had more time for the mockup design there were some issues that required some thought and discussion which led to a late start on the coding. I hope the team can pull this project off because it seems interesting and deserves to reach its potential.