Topic: Conduct a SWOT analysis of this course. SWOT means: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities (to make this course better), and Threats (what are any serious issues that could affect the quality of this course). Discuss each.
Hello and welcome to my third blog post. I really enjoy mental frameworks as I find they are often valuable to help me structure my thinking. In particular, I have used SWOT analysis in the past and find them helpful for quickly understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a particular area.
Strengths
- Project List – I was very impressed by how many and how varied the projects were. This is the greatest strength of the class since it gives everyone the opportunity to work on something that interests them.
- Project Selection Process – I thought the process to choose a project was fair and balanced. I liked that we had to justify why we were interested in each project.
- Professors/TA – Very engaged and available which makes it easier to learn and feel well supported.
- General Excitement – It’s hard not to be excited when taking this course given how close it usually occurs to being done with the program!!
Weaknesses
- Discussions – I personally have gotten less value out of the discussions in this class. I would have liked to spend more time on the project. I understand why they are there but I would rather just have a “recommended reading list” from the professors/TA’s that I can peruse when I have time.
Opportunities
- Strengthen Industry Partnerships – I think it’s great that some projects have industry sponsors. I think there’s the opportunity to have more of these, especially now that the economy is a bit down, as they are a great opportunity to help students find their first software engineering role.
Threats
- Unbalanced Groups – I think the biggest threat to this class is the risk of getting placed in a group with team members that don’t work well together. This is always a risk in group work and in general I think the class does a good job (through progress reports and surveys) of ensuring everything is going well. However, I would recommend to continue investing in this area to ensure healthy group dynamics as that is (in my opinion) the most important aspect of ensuring this class goes well for students.
Overall, I have found this course well structured and have enjoyed taking it. I think a large part of that has to do with the fact that I ended up having such great team members but I also think the professors/TA’s have put in a lot of work to make sure all students are well supported. Thanks for everything!
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