Agile Workflow

How The Practicum Works

The Applications Development Practicum follows an Agile methodology, designed to emulate professional industry workflows in a supportive academic environment.

We operate in two-week sprints, which is the fundamental unit of work tracking, development, and delivery.

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The Two-Week Sprint Cycle

Activity	Week 1: Planning & Development	Week 2: Development & Retrospective	Ongoing (Throughout Both Weeks)
Monday Meeting	Updates → Sprint Planning → Issue Selection → Developer Meeting	Updates → Retrospective → Developer Meeting	Communicate Blockers promptly
Weekdays	Work on assigned issues. Coordinate with PMs/Leads.	Wrap up issues. Ensure PRs meet review requirements.	Submit PRs early, not at the last minute
Review	N/A	N/A	Review your peers’ PRs (Two required each week)
Documentation	N/A	N/A	Update issues with notes and progress

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Core Meeting Breakdown

Our work is structured around the Monday 6 PM meeting. Detailed agendas for these sessions can be found on the Team Weekly Meetings page.

Sprint Planning

Held at the start of each sprint (Week 1 Monday), this meeting ensures all team members have clear, sized tasks for the cycle.

• Task Sizing: PMs and Lead Engineers assign issue sizes (before planning) to streamline the process.
• Issue Selection: Everyone gets 5 minutes to browse and select their work based on availability and comfort.
• Q&A: Open floor for clarifying questions before committing to an issue.

Sprint Retrospective

Held at the end of each sprint (Week 2 Monday), this meeting is dedicated to continuous improvement.

• Purpose: Review what worked, what didn't, and identify actionable improvements for the next cycle.
• Process: Notes are added to the board, reviewed, and discussed by the team.

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How to Ask for Help

We encourage questions! You are not expected to know everything. Never hesitate to ask for help!

Primary Channels

• Reach out through Slack:

  • DM your Lead Engineer or PM.
  • Post in your project channel.
  • Tag your PR or Issue with Needs Help.

• Use the weekly Developer Meeting: Bring any of the following to the meeting:

  • Blockers or confusing tasks
  • Code challenges or repo issues
  • Anything slowing down your progress

Leadership is here to help and support your learning.