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Final Project Preparation

Checklist to organise Final Projects

Getting the Final Projects ready is not a task that can be done a week before the module. A lot of decisions have to be made beforehand, so this high-level list of the steps Volunteers and PROM (Programme Managers) should do in order to get everything ready for Final Projects. It also has the main links of important documents.

When you are on the React Module

  • Must review the trainee’s performance and make readiness for Final Projects decision
  • If you haven't yet, make sure you identify trainees that will be filling in roles such as UI/UX Designer, Tester or Product Delivery
  • Ask internally and externally for possible ideas of charities that could be part of Final Projects. The form used should be the Final Project Proposals form.
  • Start recruiting Tech Lead, Product Managers and UI/UX Designer for Final Projects. See the role descriptions.

When you are on the NodeJS Module

  • Review the project ideas with Tech Leads and Product Managers defining technical feasibility and scope size. You might have to have volunteers clarify some information with the charities
  • Identify which of the ideas will be used as a final project.
    • Send feedback to all charities if they have been chosen or not.
    • For the charities/organisations that will work with us, use this template to introduce the volunteers and ensure they understand what will be happening, as well as their Product Owner responsibility
  • Onboard the volunteers with the standard process
  • Create a volunteer channel, so it's easier to contact them and they can support you with tasks, such as reviewing briefings
  • Use this template to identify the projects that will be used and who will be on which team
  • Let volunteers choose which project they would like to be on

When you are on SQL Module

  • Trainees must have completed up to Level 300 of the Full Stack Assessment by week 3 of the module before Final Projects.
  • Must review the trainees' performance and identify the ones going to Final Projects
  • Identify trainees that are close in performance and allocate them to the same project. We encourage trainees to work with different people, so try to mix the teams up. Don’t forget to update the spreadsheet.
  • Have a meeting with all volunteers and trainees to go through the details of the final project (presentation to be created with expectation, escalation process, type of support, overview of the trainees per team, etc). Don't forget to record it and share the recording with all the participants, with their consent.
  • Introduce all teams and people in it and create all Slack groups
  • A day before the first Saturday of Final Projects, send the project briefing to the team

Project Submissions

As mentioned above, before the Final Project starts ideas should be gathered and fully specified before the start of the first week. The form used to receive these ideas is this.

A good project should

  • Show all of the skills the trainee has learnt at CodeYourFuture so far
  • Be large enough that four people can work on it for 4-6 weeks and still have work to do
  • Be something that the trainee is passionate about
  • Be interesting to employers
  • Solve a real world problem that you have faced in the past or at CodeYourFuture

All code should be done in public on the trainees' Githubs, unless there is a strong security concern with an external project. It should never belong to a mentor. This work is an important portfolio piece. Commits must belong to the trainee and the work should be clearly displayed to potential future employers.

Teams

Before class starts volunteer and trainee teams should have been assigned.

Please make a copy of this template spreadsheet to organise the teams and track the progress of the projects. Repos must be logged on this spreadsheet so everyone can see what is happening during the module. All trainees should make sure that they are comfortable with their roles and what they will be required to do. More information about roles.

Starter Projects

Here is a starter project for Postgres/Express/React/Node.

Documentation can be found here.

If you need help for any of these projects, you can find help in this Slack channel: #cyf-full-stack-starter-kit

Briefing Presentation

This Briefing presentation gives an overview of the day to day running, the roles and the aims of the Final Project