git checkout -b software-design-wrap-up

Learning Journal Summary    

    Looking back at the HW1 assignment now, it’s clear how much I’ve grown over the course of the semester. If I were to approach that assignment today, I would do so with a far deeper understanding of structure, planning, and design than I had at the beginning. One of the most important lessons I learned was the value of using stubs early in the development process. Creating stubs allowed me to visualize the end goal much more clearly and understand how all the pieces of a program would eventually fit together. It gave me a roadmap: what depended on what, what needed to be built first, and how the flow of the application would take shape. Alongside this, learning to read and write UML diagrams has been transformative. UML helped me build a mental model before writing actual code—mapping out classes, subclasses, and their relationships made everything else feel more intentional and manageable.

    When I think about victories, two stand out immediately.

    First, I’m genuinely proud of how much more comfortable I’ve become with Java. At the start of the semester, my experience with the language was limited, and I often felt uncertain about even basic decisions. Now, I feel confident navigating Java’s syntax, object-oriented structure, and overall design principles. That comfort level is a major milestone.

    Second, my progress with GitHub has been a huge win. Before this class, I had never used GitHub at all; now, especially after the last few weeks working on the final project with a team, I feel competent and confident managing branches, pull requests, and collaborative workflows. Being able to contribute effectively in a team environment is a very real-world skill, and mastering it has been incredibly satisfying.

    In terms of improvement, I can clearly see growth in several areas:

• My understanding of Java fundamentals and OOP concepts has strengthened considerably.
• I now appreciate how important planning tools like UML and stubs are for building reliable software.
• I’ve developed better time-management habits by learning to break down deliverables into realistic timelines—something that’s every bit as crucial as writing code.
• And of course, my ability to collaborate through GitHub has expanded more than I expected in such a short time.

    While some of these areas aren’t strictly coding-related, they feel equally important in my development as a software engineer. Reflecting on the semester, I feel proud of how far I’ve come. The combination of technical skills and practical workflows I’ve gained will absolutely shape how I approach future projects, both academically and professionally.