CS371p Week 9: David Durairaj

1. What did you do this past week?

This past week was the busiest week I’ve had this semester! I had a test and 3 Computer Science assignments all due by Thursday night, and not a lot of time to distribute between all the work. The sad part was that I had to do these assignments the week after spring break, which means I spent most of spring break studying and working on my projects. However, I still had a good spring break, and I felt recharged and ready to go for the upcoming week. I survived to write the blog this week, which I’m happy about.

2. What’s in your way?

Right now the main thing in my way is preparing for my internship this summer. Specifically, I still haven’t found housing yet, and as time continues my options are starting to get narrower. Another thing in my way at the moment is getting ready for the next round of Computer Science assignments. While I’m happy to have a small break from this past week, I need to start looking towards the next set of projects, or I could end up having a stressful week down the road.

3. What will you do next week?

This upcoming week I hope to get back into a regular routine after last week’s busy schedule and spring break. I will probably take a look at the next SWE and OOP assignments, and start talking with my teammates about splitting up the work to get everything done in time. I hope to be able to start spending more time designing the software we are implementing, as up to this point I have spent most of my time only implementing solutions without thinking about their flexibility, usability or long-term efficiency.

4. What was your experience of Project #3: Allocator?

The Allocator assignment was not too difficult, though it was also not as exciting or interesting to complete. I had a great teammate to collaborate with, and I enjoyed working together to finish the project. I’m hoping the next project is more inspiring and exciting to work on.

5. What’s your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

My pick of the week are these two resources for those interested in pursuing product management (acing the PM interviews):

a. Cracking the PM Interview explains the PM role in top companies and provides a good overview of how to prepare for an interview.

b. Decode and Conquer provides a framework on how to answer PM questions asked in interviews.

For those interested in defining and launching products and services for customers, I would definitely recommend taking a look at product management. Additionally, the book Swipe to Unlock is one of my favorite reads and talks about technology trends and strategy.