CSC 322.01, Class 02: Prepare for partner meetings

Overview

• Preliminaries
  • Notes and news
  • Upcoming work
  • Good things to do
  • Questions
• Context
• Working with real human beings
• Q&A

Preliminaries

Notes and news

• We will be meeting with partners on Friday and Monday. Please be on time and respectful.
• Susan Sanning is speaking to us today. Please be respectful.

Upcoming work

• Get your résumé up to date. We’ll be using it in class next week.
• Refresh your knowledge of Ruby by doing https://github.com/saasbook/hw-ruby-intro. (Due Monday.)
  • Those in CSC 321 will be doing those problems as part of the second homework in CSC 321.

Good things to do: Academic

• Convocation tomorrow
• CS extras Thursday: Summer research opportunities in CS.

Questions

Context

• Susan does a lot of work with faculty who do community projects.
• That means working with what Sam calls “real people”.
• You are not creating software for an annoying faculty member; you are now creating it for a meaningful situation.

Introductions

What are you excited by or challenged about?

• See what we can do with real
• Different models of communication / how do we translate world views
• See at least one project come to completion
• Coming to consensus about what the product should be.
  • Susan notes that there are transitions in clients
• Odd to take a leadership role rather than just do what I’m told
• Make a difference to this community, something that may have a legacy
• Different sets of standards and detail (exciting and challenging)
• Different concerns and risks
• Working in a different group setting (challenges and complexities)
  • Group dynamics can be hard
  • Channel your inner New Yorker and be blunt when someone is frustrating you
• Build (or make progress on) a product; a crazy amount of work (positive)
• Build relationships
  • Susan reminds Sam that he should ask for feedback from the community partners
• It’s intimidating to have to satisfy clients’ needs.
  • Our community partners are incredibly understanding.
  • They realize that it is primarily a learning experience.
• Transition to a new team; New leaders, etc.
• Building things that will be used by people
• Not just code.
• Getting feedback on people who are using things.
• Deadlines and expectations.
  • You have a lot of control.
  • You need to set realistic expectations for yourself and your team with your partners.
  • Don’t overcommit.
• Taking over a project from other people.
• Group: Dividing up the work, identifying different strengths, etc.
  • It’s okay to draw on your strengths
  • But you should push yourself out of your group
• Maybe finishing something
• Using this as a way to figure out what I want to do with my life
• Excited about improving communication skills
• Worried about miscommunication
  • Nice to do follow-up email
  • Regular meetings are good
  • Sketches
• Something that continues throughout the semester, rather than a new project each week.
• Excited about developing skills, scared about that too.
  • That’s one of the reasons that Susan is here.
• Worried about inherited codebase.
  • You should be, even when it’s great.
  • It’s hard to pick up someone else’s project.
• Something helpful for others
• Driving vs. Navigating

An overview of our community (Grinnell)

• How many people live in the town? About 9,000, not including the school.
  • Get chocolate from Susan’s as a reward for guessing (right or not)
• That includes our rural community.
• How do you know what’s happening in town?
  • Newspaper: Grinnell-Herald Register, twice per week, 75 cents. Requires disposable income.
• What percentage of our community live at or below the poverty line?
  • Guesses: 24, 30, 36
  • Depends on the statistics you use, it’s 30%
  • But more qualify for food stamps, 40-50%
• How else do you get information?
  • Networks of friends
  • Radio (1410 KGRN). Gives you a great sense of our community. Listen at 7am or so.
  • Internet.
• Our schools now have a one laptop per child program.
  • What happens when a kid goes home with an assignment like “watch this video”?
  • Not everyone has Internet access
  • Some folks who live 5 miles from town have no access to DSL. One option is Cell Phone as a modem. How much for 30gb per month? About $400.
  • Most people rely on their cell phones.
  • Smart phones are common, but not with a whole lot of data.
• What’s the unemployment rate in Grinnell?
  • Guesses: 40%, 18%, 10%, 7%, 4%,
  • Answer: 3.8%
  • Our community is made up primarily of working poor, people working two or three jobs to make ends meet.
• If the organization needs volunteers
  • Mobile friendly
  • Commute distances
  • Having time to be active in the community (and time of day)
• If you want to learn more, do one of the community social justice tours with Susan.

What are your biases about our community (the “townies”)

• “Uneducated”
• “Racist”
• “Older”
• “Guns”
• “Only drive American cars”
• “White”
• “Trump supporters”

What forms these impressions?

• Some encounters, such as the truck
• Global perceptions of Iowa
• Social media

What are our community’s biases about Grinnell students?

• Arrogant
• Smart
• Rich
• Spoiled
• International
• Hard-working (???)
• Druggies
• Communists
• PC
• Colonialists

Why are we discussing these biases?

• We should be aware of them and maneuver around them
• Please try to represent the College well
• If you experience some of these biases, please come to Sam or Susan
• Are there concerns about the College failing to use its money to help the town? Yes.
• But our community partners understand what it means to work with us.

Working with real human beings

• Please talk loudly
• When can you text your community partner? Can you text your partner?
  • Ask Them!
• Set up communications agreements.
  • Some prefer text
  • Some prefer email
  • Some prefer phone calls
• More agreements
  • If I don’t hear from you, when should I follow up?
  • “One to two business days” is reasonable. But asking is good, too.
• And more
  • How often should we meet? Sam suggests every two weeks.
  • Think about bullet points and explicit questions with numbers.
  • Work on translating technical to normal
• Email should be formal, at least at first, even if they don’t respond that way. Start on the conversative side.
  • Dear Mr./Ms./Mx./Prof. etc …
• Professional dress
  • Depends on the situation
  • Start more formal than normal and then take queues
• Concepts of time differ. In town, time is pretty exact. Be there on time or a few minutes early.
• Set up appointments as far in advance as possible. A week or more may be necessary.
• A good response when you’re too busy
  • I’m really busy right now and can’t get that done promptly.
  • I will get back to you on X.
• Confidentiality. Honor it.
• Make eye contact!

Q&A

No time, but we covered the important topics.