About me

    My name is Abdi Getachew, I am a Software Engineer. I chose this field because I've always been interested in technology and how much it has changed our lives. But I've always been interested in what the inner workings of technology is, essentially what moves it. So that is why I decided to join Software Engineering because I want to learn about programming and code, So that one day I would be able to make something of my own that I would contribute in moving technology forward.

Weekly Reflection

Week 1

The first week was good, I got introduced to my teammates and the advisor and we were given orientation. And I got a basic understanding of the course as well as what was expected of us in this course. We agreed to meet up the next week and we were told to prepare our own idea of what the project should be and parted ways.

Week 2

We went over what we should aim for in our project ideas in the second week. We were informed that our project ideas should aim to accomplish one if not more of the SGD goals. And I also had to reconsider my inital proposal.

Week 3 

Week 3 was very enjoyable. after we met up with our advisor, he evaluated each of our project ideas and gave us very valuable and well needed feedback and we also chose our representative. After we left the meeting we decided to meet up so we could talk in depth about what the project should be and what would benefit us more. We talked, asked each other questions and got to know each other. We left our meetup with a clearer vision of what we wanted to do.

Week 4

This week we prepared our project proposal and each of us was tasked with writing a section of the proposal. I was tasked with writing the project flow as well as prepare a flow chart. We also met up and decided on the detailed aspects of the projects and we discussed on how exactly we will proceed with the project. I spent the past week trying to find ways to make the project more cohesive and smooth as possible and we shared ideas of the best possible solution. Based on our field of expertise each of us was given a task that will make up the entire project. As a software engineer me along side my teammate Bisrat were tasked with building the mobile application that will control the entire system, we were also tasked with programming the Arduino to do very specific important tasks. During this week we also discussed about the prices of the equipment we will need for the project and decided on an appropriate compromise. Overall this week was very fruitful and I feel it is a very important step in the right direction. If we keep up this pace we will definitely be able to produce a very smooth and polished project on time.

Week 5

This week was more practical than the others so far. Each of the students in the group put forward what materials they needed to fulfill their individual responsibilities. We got to calculating the costs of the materials, when considering inflation these times and our budget, turned out to be rather high. So we decided to build some materials by ourselves and try to source some materials from the university. We also decided that in order to keep our costs low we will try to source these materials from cheaper alternatives such as small shops and second hand products. This will ensure that all the products will be fulfilled and allow us to be more flexible with the budget.

Week 6

As we progressed and time kept moving forward, I was keeping track of the e-portfolio as well as consulting with my team members on their progress as well. I was concerned about the electrical equipment and the mobile application working in harmony so I spent a considerable amount of time researching on the exact way we should go about building the project. And came up with a list of the necessary equipment, but due to budget shortage we had to settle on a Wi-Fi module instead of an Arduino and a 2 channel relay module instead of a 4 channel relay module as well as other adjustments we had to make. But nevertheless the materials were decided upon and we had most of what we needed and we decided to keep some of our budget incase of emergencies and later purchases.  

Week 7

As soon as the materials were purchased we got to working on our duties. We decided on dividing into three groups, the electrical group, the building group and the software group. The subgroups were made according to our area of expertise, I worked on the software group and I am required to build mobile application, build the e-portfolio and code the Wi-Fi module using Arduino code and I am also working closely with the electrical group to ensure the mobile application worked smoothly with the electrical component.

Week 8

This week is the week we delved deep into the nitty-gritty part of the project. The e-portfolio was made using google sites, the mobile application design is already completed and we decided to use flutter to make the application. I spent this week going back and forth with my teammates about the equipment and the application. 

Week 9

The mobile application is coming along nicely. So I decided to start working on the Arduino code that will be used to control the entire project and sent the first draft to my teammates. We also decided to not use a bread board because we really didn't need it, we also sourced some materials from the university and cheaper alternatives. I was also updating and maintaining the website frequently as well.

Week 10

As deadline day was approaching we finished working on the mobile application and it was fully functional. And my main focus became the Arduino programming, We ran into some problems trying to figure out the connection and synchronization of the application and the Wi-Fi module. So multiple adjustments were made to the code until it started working smoothly. During this period the building group had also completed their duties, so we got to assembling the prototype.

Week 11

After we assembled the prototype we got to testing it vigorously. We kept running into problems but we solved what we can and modified the rest, until finally we made the working prototype which made me proud of our accomplishment so far. With a few tweaks here and there we ended up on the final product which fulfilled its intended purpose. After we finished working on the prototype we discussed on which members will prepare a portion of the final report as well as the three minute video and we parted ways.

Week 12