A common problem that one faces today is how to move from ‘Hello World’ problems to building world class integrated systems with complex use cases that are closely coupled with each other.
Here is my story on how i evolved from “Hello World” to building two online marketplaces, starting a tech product and bringing a legacy application back to life. I should correct this is not my story, this is my note on how my mentor, Naveen and the team at colored cow helped me to start out and take that first step outside in the real world software domain.
DELEGATE : During this phase Naveen asked me to perform certain tasks by researching on them, they were mostly installation related tasks. There was a reference document which i was supposed to use and perform these tasks. He would help me wherever I would get stuck and point me in the right direction.
EXPLAIN : During this phase Naveen began to direct me towards more complex concepts. This was not just pure delegation. I was to look up on these topics and read up on them. Then i would briefly explain whatever i could gather on those topics. Often i got almost nothing and he took the time to briefly explain the topics and correct me where i went wrong and give me a gist of the entire picture. After this step i was comfortable enough to explore the depths.
SET AN EXAMPLE: This was the final phase of the orientation process. I was given assignments and asked to begin with them. In the process of that first assignment which took me a week to finish, i got hold of the art of self-learning. I would get stuck a number of times on various technical and design oriented aspects and he would guide me on them and show me how to learn, correct and improvise.
The last phase was set into a feedback loop that continues to this day. From knowing a basic concept on AJAX now the learning process goes into deeper concepts of design and architecture. The assignments grew more complex and so did the learning.
– by Nishanth Kaladharan “KD”