ALX Community Blog.

10th July 2023 ➕  @oluwas_handle



Embarking on my Alx SE program has been a transformative experience, filled with challenges, growth, and a wealth of knowledge. Throughout my journey, I have encountered numerous challenges, gained invaluable insights, and honed my skills. In this blog post, I aim to capture the essence of my portfolio project called the Alx Community Blog, highlighting the key learnings that have shaped me as a software engineer. So, join me as we delve into my world of software development learning with Alx.

Alx Community Blog ; The Alx community blog is a project aimed to provide a much user friendly and interactive alternative to the existing Alx slack channel. It aims to reduce the traffic on the slack channel, providing the Alx students necessary information, knowledge and learning platform to help grow software engineers in the Alx community.

Our project is aimed at providing the Alx community an alternative communication platform that will serve and also aid quick access to information concerning events happening in the program. It will serve as an alternative to the pre-existing information platform known as slack but not replacing the slack platform completely. As a student we found out that the slack platform can sometimes be too ambiguous and too overwhelming, and having noticed this, we came up what a community blog initiative which would be more user friendly and interactive.

Meet the team memebers ;

  1. Hounliho Jaurex Samson

  1. UI/UX Designer

  2. Frontend Developer (Assistant)

  3. Product Manager


  1. Olatunbosun Oluwatosin

  1. Content Writer

  2. Frontend Developer

  3. Backend Developer (Assistant)

 

  1. Elisha Ologunde Eminent

  1. Project Manager

  2. Backend Developer

  3. Product Manager (Assistant)


The Beginning: Embracing the Learning Curve
As a novice in the realm of software engineering, I found myself facing a steep learning curve. Understanding programming concepts, mastering various languages, and grasping complex algorithms seemed daunting at first. However, I quickly realized that it was time to show my GRIT and "Do Hard Things" as we were taught at the foundation of the program. Embracing this initial struggle became the foundation for my growth as a software engineer.
now that being said I needed to learn how to work together as a team member leveraging on each others strengths and weaknesses.

Like every other projects we were based with a lot challenges such as ;

  1. The challenge of coming up with a suitable, user friendly and interactive interface for the frontend of our blog page well suited for the Alx community initiative. 

  2. Timing challenge was also encountered between team members over scheduling daily meets and  specific and suitable time for discussions and brainstorming on the project.

  3. Lastly we were faced with the challenge of addressing nested comment systems.

  4. Maintaining a consistent time schedule for working on our project. Setting and coming up with a realistic time schedule alongside our regular daily activities.

  5. Finding out our unique angle and niche that sets our blog project apart and also portrays the set goal it was originally designed for.

  6. While some errors are easy to fix, many are not. This is also one challenge we keep on encountering over and over again, which is deeply frustrating. It affected us because during the time we are debugging or fixing bugs it extended the development period. etc


Just like every other Success story we as a team were able to proffer ways to mitigate most of our challenges. such steps included;

Effective Project Planning:
With our project idea in place, We focused on breaking it down into manageable tasks. We created a project plan that included milestones, deliverables, and deadlines using the trello board. This helped us stay organized, track progress, and adapt to any unexpected challenges that arose during the development process.




Hands-on Development: The development phase is where the rubber meets the road. Armed with our SE knowledge, We began building the various components of the project. However, we soon realized that writing code was just the beginning. Testing, debugging, and iterating became integral parts of the development process. It was through this iterative cycle that I refined my project, improved its functionality, and ensured a smooth user experience.

MVP Specification

  1. Architecture:

Front end —> backend—> user.  


  1. APIs:

(i) API routes for web client to communicate with the web server will be MVC (Model View Controller). Including post, get, put and delete.

MVC (Model View Controller)

(ii)  API endpoints ;

  1. Index

  2. Store

  3. Edit

  4. Update

  5. Delete

(iii) intended 3rd party APIs is the ALX APi


  1. Data Modelling:




  1. User Stories:

The interface of our blog will have a nav bar by the far left corner with the following menu options ; 

  1. Dashboard

  2. My blog post

  3. Add post

  4. User profile

  5. About Us

It will also have a search input bar at the top of the page. Finally it will have an arrowhead at the far bottom right corner of the page to navigate back to the top of the page.


5. MockUp:

ALX Community Blog Landing Page


Reflecting on the Journey: As I near the completion of my portfolio project, I find myself reflecting on the trials and learnings encountered along the way. From conquering the learning curve to embracing collaboration, every step has contributed to my growth as a software engineer. While my current project showcases my skills and accomplishments, it also serves as a stepping stone for future growth. The journey doesn't end here; it evolves into a never-ending cycle of learning and self-improvement.

Conclusion: Embarking on a software engineering program and undertaking this portfolio project can be an exhilarating experience. Through the challenges faced and lessons learned, I have transformed from a novice to a confident software engineer.

PS; it's not just about the end result; it's about the journey—the trials, the learnings, and the growth that shape us into better developers. So, embrace the learning curve, set clear goals, collaborate with the community, and never stop growing. Happy coding!

Olatunbosun Oluwatosin 👍

Project Screenshots

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