Professional Workforce Development I - Spring 2019 Module 2: Project Selection and Presentation Skills

1. CS 410Professional Workforce Development I Spring 2019 Module 2: Project Selection and Presentation Skills 01/19/2019 - 02/08/2019 Week 2 - 22 January 2019 Instructor: Jim Brunelle (jabrunel@odu.edu) Office: E&CS 3111 (757-xxx-xxxx) Office Hours: Tuesday 1300-1400 or by Appt

2. Lecture Agenda 1030-1035: Welcome/Announcements 1035-1045: Personal Posts- Summary 1045-1105: Professionalism Posts – Discussion 1105-1145: Societal Problem Ideas – Discussion 1145-1215: Next Three Assignments (expectations/approach) • Evaluate a Previous CS410 Project Due: 01/27/2019 • Individual Societal Problem Presentation Due: 02/04/2019 • Peer Presentation Evaluation Due: 02/08/2019 FYI - Tom’s “Scream” Tie CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

3. Personal IntroductionsWho Are We • We are from: • Richmond, Charles County (Md), NOVA, Hampton Roads • We are taking this course because (excluding “it’s required”): • To better myself • topics in this course seem so important for future success • this is the type of course that I need…stronger foundation in communication • bring aspects of CS curriculum together and provide real world experience • Job/Experience: • Networking, USN (Communications electronice), Research Assistant (Networking), MSRC (tutoring CS), managing servers/developing software, web portal development, service/project coordinator, Crestron programming • Interests/Minors: • Philosophy, Anime (computer animation?), music (performing, writing, producing), video gaming, videography, performing (theater), singing, computer engineering, web programming, Rust programming language, athletics, • Personal/fun facts • Expecting first child (15 Feb),spending time with friends/family, Indie rock, raising 2+ boys, cooking/baking, outdoor activities, pickup BB CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

4. Personal IntroductionsWhat We Want to Gain from this Course • Learning ways to manage and organize work, • a taste of what it would be like in a professional environment, • way to translate knowledge from previous courses to solve real world problems, • to experience a project team dynamic, • to increase my skills in team oriented software development • to have a better understanding of what will be expected of me in a professional setting, and how to work with a group to meet those expectations, • to become better at collaborating with others and allocating responsibilities depending upon our individual strengths and weaknesses, • to grow as a public speaker and overcome hesitations with presenting in front of larger or more professional groups of people, • to build a stronger foundation in communication, • get more comfortable with public speaking, • some idea from what is required of me when I enter the workforce, • to build my teamworkingbut specifically negotiation skills, • bring to light my strengths, but also weaknesses so I know where to focus my time and efforts to improve myself as a software engineer. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

5. Professionalism PostsAppearance/Dress • "first impressions" are crucial … often done initially through one's appearance • you want to look "professional".  Your attire can be what makes a first impression • When I hear the word "professionalism", what comes to mind is a person dressed in formal attire. • people would respect an individual in a suit more than someone wearing casual attire because suits represent importance and maturity whilst a casual attire represents leisure or even immaturity • neat appearance that corresponds with the company's dress code CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

6. Professionalism PostsKnowledge/Experience • professional in a software field is different to one in a medical field because the requirements for both occupations is different • knowledge and mastery of ample skills within their field of study or work • is important for a professional is knowledge of the subject matter • we as people like knowledgeable people. If a knowledgeable person has something to say, we listen • the broadest and most important one is to know what is expected of you and how to solve any unexpected problems that may arise.  • how to solve those problems, or at least have an idea of the best ways to start solving them • they must understand when and how to ask for help. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

7. Professionalism PostsKnowledge/Experience • a person needs to build their own reputation before they will be truly accepted as a professional • has a sense of what task given to he/she require of them. This allows the professional to get true estimates as to how long or how hard he/she will have to work or put in work for said task. • Professionalism is like a filter that attempts to keep an environment as productive as possible • one needs to have worked in their field for at least 10,000 hours in order to be considered a professional in it • having a strong understanding of the career you are in…having a strong understanding of your field • Knowledgeis so important if you want people to listen, believe, and respect you • the concept of technical professionalism CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

8. Professionalism PostsBehavior/Confidence • a true professional should adhere to whatever standards are used in their domain (be it regional or as a career-related set of standards) when negotiating with others • the ability to understand and respect another domain's definition of professionalism • The concept of professionalism is complex, as it is a term that cannot be defined with a single sentence. To be a professional is to be many different things, all of which grant one an aura of ethical credibility • professionals remain calm at all times • the trait of confidence…Confidence is the glue that holds all of the traits that make up "professionalism". • The consequence of the action of communication rests at the point of perception. How we manage this is at the heart of what it means to be a professional CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

9. Professionalism PostsBehavior/Confidence • It's almost like being professional is human instinct • to be confident, while remaining respectful, even when under pressure. • be confident but remain humble enough to take advice or admit you are wrong, or even incapable or something • are competency and integrity. You need to be honest .. by providing clear and realistic options and advice.. need to follow through and do what you said you will do • being able to take care of business and do (as opposed to say you will do) are very important characteristics of professionals. Confidence is key though • confidence is definitely important, as it shows maturity and self control • have to be reliable, meaning professionals should be able to be trusted by teammates to get the work done CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

10. Professionalism PostsBehavior/Confidence • take responsibility for their share of the workload and accountability for their mistakes • professionalism also relates to how an individual conducts themselves at work and out in public. A professional thinks before he speaks • self-aware to know how to act in certain situations. • Once they have established their reputation, they can keep it by remaining honest, listening to others, and continuing to improve their education and work in their field • in order to be considered a professional, a person must be able to work well with others • the most important characteristic a true professional must have is a positive attitude. Without a positive attitude, it will be very difficult to carry yourself in a professional manner because your body language will not reflect it. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

11. Professionalism PostsBehavior/Confidence • dependableand someone who handles task given to them in a timely manner while maintaining efficiency • I believe professionalism to be solely a pragmatic concept, that pushes the group or business toward instead of holding it back • Commitment is also incredibly important. If you make a commitment to achieve some sort of goal, then you must follow it through even if the end product is not to your liking. • professionalism isn't a "costume" that one can just throw on one day but that it's something that must be demonstrated and proven • you put every effort forward to do the best you can at whatever task you're trying to achieve • set out to accomplish something and do so while respecting your peers, customers, the industry, and yourself and also maintain a set of moral standards CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

12. Professionalism PostsCommunications Skills • one of the most important traits that a professional needs to have are exceptional communication skills • professional knows how to handle these kinds of situations, and he/she understands which style of communication to use given any one of these situations • professional will also understand that all of these types of communication sub-categories exist, and they should be handled properly given any situation • Understanding the feelings of others is what differentiates people from robots • most important trait of a professional is the ability to efficiently and effectively communicate with coworkers and team members so that everyone knows what's needed and what's expected of them • emotional intelligence to handle stressful situations effectively CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

13. Societal Problem IdeasCriteria • Identifies a unique/unsatisfied Societal need • Requires an Innovative/non-trivial software-based solution • Can be an enhancement to an existing product/system • Must be something that society will “buy” (i.e. desirable/marketable) • If it is a capability enhancement – must offer substantial improvement to what competitors are offering • Must be relevant and achievable (bounded, feasible) • something that can be taken from concept-to-design in CS 410 and specified and prototyped in software for demonstration in CS 411 CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

14. Societal Problem Ideas Mobile Identification Most members of society have some sort of identification. Whether it be a drivers license, military ID, passport, or one of the many other types of identification, as far as I know all of these ID’s are only available as a physical ID card. In the modern day world where almost everything has been digitalized, I think it is time that we make out ID’s mobile as well. I would like to create an application that allows mobile ID's for Virginia residents.  CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

15. Societal Problem Ideas Better access to information regarding ODU educational resources The idea was to develop an application to grant students better access to information regarding the MSRC (Math and Science resource Center) and the services offered. It is only ever through word of mouth, a blackboard announcement made by a Professor, or the occasional flyer posted around campus that you will hear about the MSRC. You will not find that unless you already know about the MSRC, you will not know where specifically to find information about it, as there is but its web page that most will never dig deep enough to find, and on the main ODU portal there is only brief mention of the MSRC under the small "Campus Tutoring" section of the "Places & Hours" menu. The section tells not even what the MSRC is or where it can be found, but rather only when it is open, which to most is not helpful. Through the mobile application students would be able to learn more about the tutoring center and its schedule, courses offered, and the availability of specific tutors CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

16. Societal Problem Ideas Detecting and Tracking Seizures About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, which makes it the most common neurological disease in the world. Medication can decrease or stop the amount of seizures someone can have but not in all cases. There should be an application that can determine when a seizure is about to take place while also tracking seizures, meaning that it should be able to notify the users emergency contact when a seizure is taking place, record the length of the seizure, while also recording potential triggers and symptoms, which can help many people decrease the amount of seizures they have and potentially save lives.  Detecting Seizures: …One of the things the application can check to determine if a seizure is taking place is heart rate. Changes in heart rate are common in seizures, it increases in most cases but also can decrease. Using a smart watch, the application can track the users normal heart rate and determine if there is a change in heart rate. In addition to heart rate, another parameter that can be checked to determine if a seizure is taking place is acceleration. Seizures can cause parts of the body to jerk rhythmically. By detecting the rapid change in acceleration from hand movements, the application can determine if a seizure is taking place. The application can also determine if a seizure is taking place by detecting if a fall has occurred. By combining the different fields mentioned above, the application can derive a strong algorithm to determine if a seizure is taking place.  Tracking Seizures: The second part of the application is keeping track of seizures. The application should be able to check the length of the seizure, potential triggers, and also get feedback from the user of the symptoms that occurred prior to the seizure. Tracking the seizures can help many people with epilepsy determine the causes and also obtain a strategy of ways to prevent them from occurring. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

17. Societal Problem Ideas Legal “Code” The US federal legal code is 4,192,588 lines long and consists of a number of embedded change log sand references to other sections of the legal code. Currently humans have to interpret this code when trying to determine if an action is legal or not, or if a rule applies in a situation, or whatever. This adds unnecessary delay and the frightening possibility of human error when making important decisions.Software is able to perform a very similar action already: compiling computer code. I think the primary element of life that benefits from this change is trust. People and organizations trust software, especially open-source software like Linux, primarialybecause they can build it themselves. I see a straightforward path to mechanize all legal inquiries in the same way we mechanize database queries using SQL. Because all legal inquiries can now be inspected and compared against a standard, people can trust that what is written will always be interpreted as they intend it to be interpreted, much like how C code is a standard that is always interpreted in a standardized fashion. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

18. Societal Problem Ideas Obesity Many people do not get as much exercise as they need.  There are many factors causing this, but one that could be easily solved by a computer-based technology is a lack of education about how much is needed. The software could start by containing a collection of well-researched, accepted documents that can educate the reader about the different kinds of exercise, how to lose weight or gain muscle mass effectively, and how much exercise is required for certain milestones, among other things.  The user could access these documents, among others, at any time. After the user exercises, they should input how they were exercising and for how long.  Using the most current guidelines, the software could calculate the total amount of exercise for the week, and how much more should be done at a minimum.  Furthermore, the user could input information about what foods they are eating and how much, and the software could give them a rough estimate of how their weight will be affected if they continue at their current pace. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

19. Societal Problem Ideas Misinformation An issue I see with society is the amount of misleading or just wrong information when it comes to societal aspects, the most common being slander or political statements. An algorithm that could read in and contextualize data points from accepted sources, and then compare those points to articles or studies released would greatly decrease the amount of false information. The objective is to not really call out those who propagate "fake news", but to really apply a score to that group or individual on how trustworthy said group can be. Now obviously, this algorithm would mean much more than just some code, and would probably need a private group to control and operate the output. Any outside control could skew the results and give unnecessary power specific individuals. An ability to prune out accepted sources that are no longer meaningful would also be important. To remove a specific source, and then apply the same scrutiny would be important for sure. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

20. Societal Problem Ideas Nutrients and Calorie Management A problem that I face is the issue of food or diet. I want to increase my body weight, but this is proving difficult because I am not sure how much calories I need daily or if I am getting that number of calories. This is not an issue that only affects me, people that want to lose weight need to know how much calories they need and if they have reached their daily caloric needs. The current way of tracking the required caloric needs is manually using pen and paper which is not always accurate. The most difficult aspect of fitness is the nutritional aspect, most people could get and follow a workout plan. But the most vital part about fitness is the nutritional side without this side you will not be seeing as much progress as you could be. I propose a device that could inform the user about their caloric levels. It would tell them if they need more calories or if they have reached their daily caloric needs based on their plan. It could also tell the user if they have any micro or macro nutrients deficiencies This device would connect to the user’s phone.  We currently have devices like Fit-Bit which let the users know that they need more steps. A device like this would just be the next step. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

21. Societal Problem Ideas Groceries for the elderly | Uber Groceries One problem in society is that elderly or disable people are not well or able enough to gather groceries for themselves or may not feel up to it on days when they want or need it the most. While major retailers like Walmart  do deliver foods to your doorstep they do not handle the situation where the individuals who order packages cannot or are unable to move all of the goods into their designated storage areas. As a result, this leaves room for an application where people truly willing to deliver foods to doors and even inside living quarters may profit as well as those who require the service. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

22. Societal Problem Ideas Shipping App Proposal Recently, I have been trying to figure out the cheapest way to ship things. Specifically, small items like CD's and t-shirts. However, I found so much conflicting in overwhelming information, that I had to stop and just take a step back for a minute. I looked online for solutions. I know that Ebay has a shipping calculator, but you need an account, and honestly, it is very basic. I found apps that are available for Android and IOS, but they don't really have the kind of focus that I am looking for. I'm in the boat where I have no idea what I can/can't ship in certain methods through certain companies, and I want to find the cheapest way to ship the most amount of product...So I am proposing an app that does just this.So what exactly is the problem? It's information overload. People have no idea where to begin with shipping, and honestly, I think most people would rather overpay for shipping that is easy (like flat-rate priority mail), rather than going through all of the effort to figure out the cheapest solution. This is a problem, as if someone owns an online store, they are constantly shipping items, and to overpay just a few cents on shipping costs for any particular item can quickly add up to a substantial amount of money that could have been saved otherwise.This app that I am proposing will compare shipping rates based on the package dimensions, package type, and contents. There are many times where I find that I cannot understand what does/doesn't qualify for a certain shipping method. It can be very overwhelming. There are more shipping methods than just FedEx, UPS, and USPS. However, some of these may require account creation, or maybe they will require an charge to even use their service. This app would take care of all of this mess. This app probably would not be free, but at this point, who knows. Maybe it could be free with ads, or you could pay a small fee to remove the adds permanently.If you have a common item to ship, then the app will show suggestions based on what other people have done. For example, if you don't know how to ship a toaster oven, then there is probably someone out there who does. This recommendation will have information like dimensions of box, packaging material, weight, and of course price! Instead of browsing the internet, this information would be contained in the app. It will have a matrix of costs/ratings of these popular methods, and ratings are based off of users who have used the methods that these other users recommended.Ideally, this app will be valid for any package going anywhere in the world, but due to my lack of knowledge as to how customs work, I would say that only certain items would be allowed to ship worldwide, keeping the majority of the focus on US/US and US/Canada shipments. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

23. Upcoming Assignments • Evaluate a Previous CS410 Project Due: 01/27/2019 Select and critique a previous CS410 project: Submitted Report should include the following: • What societal problem did they select? • Who was their customer? • Who was their end user (i.e. How were these people suffering and why - what needs to be accomplished/changed/enhanced) • What was their solution? • What did they do well? • What could they have done better? Your submission should be appropriately formatted as a Report: • Structure report in paragraph format • Include selected Project Title, Team, Time-frame (Spring 2017) • Include appropriate paragraph headers to convey structure and flow (i.e. Project Summary, Customer/Users, Solution Overview, Overall Assessment) • Maximum length – 2 pages CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

24. Upcoming Assignments Individual Societal Problem Presentation Due: 02/04/2019 • Review the assignment guidelines (Module 2) • Look over previous CS 410 projects: • You may find parallels to your proposed ideas • Content/approach, etc. gives you a sense of what you/your group will need to accomoplish • Prepare a narrated, powerpoint presentation that introduces your societal problem. The objective is to convince your classmates that your project should be selected as one of the CS410 projects to be addressed. Be sure to include: • Problem description – including why this needs to be solved • Customers, end-users – who they are, what it does for them • Your solution/concept – include illustrations, examples, and/or afunctional diagram • Identify challenges/obsticals to overcome • Provide a conclusion • Review your presentation, again and again – have others look at it/listen to it – then submit it in the discussion board (for peer review, discussion, and potential selection) • Idea Presentation Examples CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

25. Upcoming Assignments Peer Presentation Evaluation Due: 02/08/2019 • Review every Societal Problem Presentation posted • Assess whether or not the problem/potential resolution is: • Really a need that does not already have a solution • Suitable to be resolved by a software-based solution • Non-trivial, innovative, achievable • One that you are interested in, can embrace and commit to analyzing and supporting efforts to define, design, and ultimately implement (within the CS410-411 time frame) • Select your top 5 choices. • List these choices in order of interest (with 1 denoting your first choice). • Submit this list on Blackboard under the Submissions link. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January

26. What’s coming… February 8: Peer Presentation Evaluation review/group formation (we will have two groups) February 12: Group Web Site Setup (Note “1 Getting Started”) • Group: A collection of individuals who have regular contact and frequent interaction, mutual influence, common feeling of camaraderie, and who work together to achieve a common set of goals • Teamwork: The collaborative effort of a team to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. CS 410 Spring 2019 Week 2: 22 January