Course:
TDD for Embedded C++
Date entered:
2024-10-02 21:18:51 UTC
Course rating:
Very Good
Most useful learnings:
During the training James drove the point home on what it really means to make small, incremental, changes driven by behaviour-focused tests. This helps us stay focused, solving one problem at a time, and combined with the requirement that we must also make the test fail helps ensure the code works not by accident, but deliberately.
Concepts v exercises:
Good balance
Presentation v discussion:
Too much presentation
Course improvements:
Overall this was a very good course. At times the presentation and/or demos would go on for a bit longer than what I would have hoped, especially towards the end on day 3. Breaking these long sections with an excersise, so say a presentation or demo section does not run longer than 20 minutes will help make the course more interactive and engaging. This is me nitpicking though. Overall there is a good balance.
The video recordings are great in terms of content and I enjoyed the humour. Production quality is functional. I would only comment I found the flashing lights in the intro and outro sections a bit disconcerting. It should be possible to achieve the same lightning effect but whithout the entire screen flashing.
Exercise rating:
Excellent
Exercise improvements:
It's hard to say how the excercises can be improved. The pacing and in-code guidance felt good. I also liked the choise to start with a circular buffer to avoid having too many unfamiliarities at once.
Instructor comments:
James' delivery of the content and the way he handled the sessions and engaged with the trainees was outstanding.
Better prepared:
Bring it on!
Start tomorrow:
If we are talking literally tomorrow, then yes but not for work. Main reason being my role (Systems Engineer these days) on the project I'm currently on does not involve writing software (although I'm aware the software team are already employing TDD practices). That said, I'm more motivated to seek a role that does :)
Challenges to applying:
I'm convinced to immediately change the way I write software, and employ TDD both for work and personal use. The key challenge will be how efficient I can be writing tests and skillful in demonstrating the value of TDD to other stakeholders, without presenting the tests as a necessary burden but a key part in making the development process more systematic and efficient.
Other comments:
I was looking forward to this training and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Legacy code workshop:
No
Recommend to others:
Yes
Quote permission:
Yes