August22
By: Alison Kerwin
5 days, 9 people, Fika, stress, fun and FLAT OUT!
We’ve made it.
After a frantic week we have reached our goal and launched an application which will allow University of Bath students to search for rooms and properties on Facebook: Flat Out.
It’s been an excellent week. We’ve learnt a great deal and we’ve kick started what we hope will be an exciting experiment.
Can a University just create an app in Facebook (without having alternatives elsewhere)? Is it sometimes useful to throw out the rule book and create something quickly and simply?
Well we’ve put the app out there – so now we wait and see…
Posted in: Get Creative
Yvonne, posing as an intrepid reporter, notebook in hand, walked all the way over to Tom T’s desk to ask him about his experience of the week. Tom T has been managing the Flat Out project.
YA: So, Tom, what has been the most enjoyable thing about the week so far from your perspective?
TT: Well, apart from Fika… for me it was working with the whole team and having more interaction with everyone than usual.
YA: What has been the most frustrating thing fo you?
TT: My PC crashing several times a day on most days, and Facebook being slow.
YA: What have you learnt?
TT: I’ve learnt a huge amount – where do I start? Well, I’ve learnt the importance of communicating with people so as to ensure that there is mutual understanding. I’ve learnt that project management is hard. But working on a project with the whole team is a brilliant experience.
YA: Would you do it again?
TT: Yes – in a heartbeat.
YA: And how was it at the lonely pinnacle of command?
TT: It was a really good experience, not lonely at all, because I’ve had a great team of people around me.
YA: Aww, thanks Tom!
Posted in: Get Creative, team
August21
By: Alison Kerwin
It’s hard to believe we are nearing the end of Get Creative. The week has gone incredibly fast as we’ve worked Flat Out on the project (c’mon someone had to say it!).
We now have an application working in Facebook and it’s looking pretty good.
As a Manager it’s been great to see the team throwing themselves into something new. It’s been fun, frustrating, enlightening and exhausting but everyone has given it 100% and it’s been very rewarding.
Throughtout the week though a number of people have asked how I can justify using an entire week on a project such as this so I thought I’d share my thoughts:
I have learnt more about my team in the last four days than I had in the last seven months…
- Most of the team like to throw themselves into something new. Others prefer the familiar.
- Democratic decisions are hard to reach in such a diverse team. It is often easier to just make executive ones.
- Trying to enforce the same rules (i.e. no flexi-time, lunch at the same time and being more social) is not for everyone. You have to have a flexible approach.
- In some areas we work together really well.
- In others we don’t.
I believe (and hope!) I understand individuals more because I’ve had an opportunity to see how they work and how they have reacted to this project. I have seen what makes them tick and gets them enthused and also what doesn’t. All of which is extremely valuable.
One size doesn’t fit all for a team and it’s good to remind yourself of that.
Taking time out from the day to day has been extremely beneficial for all of us. Whether we’ve loved it or hated it we have tried something different and learnt something about ourselves and the way we operate.
I’m confident when we have our de-brief… there will be lots of food for thought and hopefully I have a happier, more motivated and inspired team as a result.
Posted in: Get Creative, team
With Get Creative week, we have all had to keep to a 9 to 4 schedule (using 4-5 to catch up on support). It’s good to be here at the same time. It means we can start things quickly without having to wait around. Everyone is included in everything from the beginning.
Out of 9 of us, one travels from Frome by car , 1from South Gloucestershire by car and another by bus and 1 from Bristol using a train and bus combination.
Trains get cancelled; buses run late. You can get caught behind a slow-moving tractor. The bus service from South Glos is hourly to Bath at peak times and more frequent thereafter. During holidays, uni buses relax into a 15 minute frequency.
Travelling at varying times in the morning, you meet different people. For this week, I’m ‘early crew’. It’s a change.
Posted in: Get Creative, communication, development, events, team
Get Creative week is above all a team building exercise and I hope, like me, everyone has been able to learn something about themselves, pick up a new skill or experience new ways of working. For me the most important things so far are:
- Learning some PHP, before this week my experience extended to phpinfo() and now I have created a class, used PDO and realised why frameworks like CodeIgniter and CakePHP ease the pain
- Understanding that Kelvin and I work well together as we are quite happy to point out each others mistakes without the other getting offended. When pair programming we also realise when to change seats to make sure we are being productive
- Finding that writing a Facebook app means you don’t have to be concerned with user management and connecting people, it sounds obvious but it’s amazing how much time we spend on this in our other apps
- Discovering that I look like a frightened rabbit when someone points a video camera at me!
I think it will be useful for us to all sit down and discuss these kinds of things when the week is finished, perhaps this is an excuse for more Fika?
Posted in: Get Creative, team
During lunch yesterday we made the rather rash decision that we should make a quick, unscripted, video exploring how Get Creative Week has been going. The hideous result is below.
http://www.vimeo.com/1566065
This was filmed on a Nokia N95 on what turned out to be a windy afternoon, so apologies for the sound quality in places, but blame Mother Nature, not us! As you can tell, it was great fun to make, even if most of us can’t watch the whole thing through out of sheer embarrassment!
Posted in: Get Creative, communication, team
