CST338 Week 5 Learning Journal Markov

     This week I worked with my team eight which includes Sharmain, David, Jael, and Sylvia. It was the first time in this class that I got to collaborate with a group on one project, and it honestly taught me a lot about communication and how different problem solving styles can work together.

   For my approach, I wanted to plan everything out before writing any code. I started by sketching out a UML diagram and thinking through how the whole program should be structured. Having the layout on paper helped me feel more confident before touching Java.

   My teammates had different ways of approaching the assignment. For example, Sharmain liked checking other source online, looking for similar project worked well for her, while planning everything first worked better for me. Once we combined our strategies, things started to make more sense. My structure helped us stay organized, and their reference based method helped guide us when we were not sure how to implement something.

   The hardest part was when the program simply refused to run right. We tested it again and again, tried adjusting things, and even when we thought we fixed one thing something else broke. After a lot of trial and error the program finally worked. The funny thing is we are still not completely sure which change made it work, but seeing it run was a huge relief.

   Looking back, I would probably still start with planning on paper, but I would also check examples earlier. Working with my team made me realize how helpful it is to mix different strategies instead of relying on just one. It made the assignment easier to handle and a lot less stressful.

   Overall, I am proud of our teamwork and how we pushed through every confusing part. I learned a lot not only about Java but also about how to collaborate better. After all the debugging stress, I think the whole team deserves a break.

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