When working on a software project, having clearly defined requirements for both functionality and design. If you don’t get everyone on the same page by writing correct, feasible, prioritized, unambiguous, and verifiable requirement statements that tell every what they need to implement; and then following them up with solid and unambiguous design statements that tell you how it should be done.

In our INFO 324 class, we had to read three articles about writing requirements, each with a slightly different approach. They were: ”Writing Quality Requirements” by Karl E. Wiegers, “Business Requirements – What Is The Difference Between Good And Bad?” by Thomas Hathaway, “Writing good requirements is a lot like writing good code” by Jim Heumann.

Of the three articles, I agree with Wiegers the most, because he takes the most simplistic approach by breaking down each of the characteristics of a good statement and specification, along with some great examples. I also appreciated Heumann’s approach of  providing strategics and tools to writing requirements that come from the real world of working at IBM.

No related posts.

Internet Relay Chat or IRC is a great tool for communicating with a diverse community of internet users. IRC allows you to connect to a network of chat rooms or” channels” and talk to other users in real-time. The great thing about IRC is that it is full of other geeks and technical professionals and there are tons of active channels where you can get help with problems are just talk about new developments, such as #ubuntu, ##windows, #android, #debian, #python, and ##linux. And those are just a few of the channels on the freenode.net network.

For my INFO 324 assignment, I was asked to “Blog about what you read, and your thoughts pro and/or con about IRC as a communication tool for computing professionals.”

In my time spent on the Freenode server, I lurked in the ##windows channel. While I was there, I saw the 45oish people or so in the channel  just hang out and ask the occasional tech question. For instance, a user asked anyone if they knew how to troubleshoot installing Type 1 fonts and their registry. Later, people were helping a user troubleshoot using a USB Wi-Fu card and getting it to connect to secure networks.

It’s great that you can get live support on almost anything via the internet, and get an instantaneous response. Next time I am stumped on a tech issue, I think I will try my hand at asking the members of an appropriate IRC channel.

The one downside of using a large IRC channel is that it’s hard to follow the conversation. Everyone is pretty much shouting over each other, and there is no indication when someone is typing. While you can have private conversations via IRC, it’s considered rude to start one with a user without asking permission first, and then you lose out on the benefit of having the “hive mind” of the room.

No related posts.

Unlike most students, I attend Drexel; So that means I was in classes all summer long with a full load. That finally ended last Wednesday, so I get a week to relax. After all of my friends have returned back to college for another year, I get home to have fun. It also means that instead of having to deal with classes, I get to spend the next six months working at Razorfish Health (one of Digitas Health’s many sister companies) as part of their UX team, and performing research and creating websites for pharmaceutical companies. I can’t wait to get started, because I know it’s going to be a blast, and I get to work with many of my old coworkers.

As for the rest of  this summer, it wasn’t all bad. One of my highlights of my summer had to be a three-day weekend in Washington D.C. with all my friends and a visit to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to see what my twin brother had been working on at his summer internship. (Which I still need to post pictures from the trip to my Flickr)

As much as I complain about having to deal with the woes of Drexel’s summer term, I’m still glad that I choose to attend Drexel and get the amazing opportunities that I have had when I am on co-op. It has made a huge impact on what I want to do for a career and at the same time reassured me that I’m on the right track.

That and the fact that I’m still too busy to update this blog regularly. At least I’m still constantly tweeting on my Twitter!

Related posts:

1. Summers Over… Back to Work I Go

For the Fall-Winter 2010 co-op term, I was lucky enough to get a co-op job through Drexel as an Associate Interaction Designer at Digitas Health, a Publicis Groupe company. It was great experience, and honestly; I wish I was still at co-op rather than sitting in class.

As an Interaction Designer, I got to create both sitemaps and wireframes for upcoming pharmaceutical websites. I even created a few simple mobile websites. DH was a great place to get an internship and expand my portfolio and working knowledge of User Experience work. I hope that I can go back in six months when my next (and final) co-op cycle arrives.

User Experience has always been an area that I have enjoyed, mainly because it falls into the intersection of technology and design. I can also use some of the skills that I have learned doing print production (i.e The Triangle) and web design. Since when creating wireframes or other diagrams, you need to have them presented cleanly on a print document, but it still represents a website.

I would also like to thank all of my co-workers in the UX department for welcoming me to the team, and mentoring me along the process. The co-op would not have been as much fun with out all of you!

Related posts:

1. Co-Op is Over, Back to Class I Go
2. Summers over, and I’m excited.

Wow, what a year it has been.

I can’t believe that I’m now a 3rd year “pre-junior” at Drexel, I’m now Managing Editor and an Editorial Board Member of Drexel’s independent student newspaper, The Triangle, and starting my second co-op internship at a digital marketing agency in Center City Philadelphia.

Let’s jump back to my last blog post, where I was on assignment for The Triangle at the opening of the Philadelphia Apple Store in September. I probably should have written a few blog posts between then and now, but the gist of my life is this (after the jump):

• Headed to Atlantic City with the Drexel University Photography Club and took a ton of pictures. (Check out flickr)
• Forced my twin brother to come down to Philly for the Red Bull Flugtag, and got a ton of pictures of idiots jumping into the Delaware River. (flickr)
• Started working at Digitas Health, a digital marketing agency that specializes in the pharmaceutical industry, as an associate interaction designer intern/co-op.
• Went down to the Schuylkill River Banks for the Light Drift event, and also got a lot of pictures from the trails of the river bank. (Light Drift needs to be uploaded, pics along the river bank here.)
• Finally got a smartphone to help me keep up with my digital life while on the go.
• Headed up to Boylston, MA for Halloween with my extended family for pumpkin carving and apple picking. (Check out the flickr pics)
• I also visited a bonsai tree farm near Boylston and got a lot of great pictures. (Still need to be uploaded flickr)
• Went to New York City for a photo walk though Central Park with the Drexel Photo Club. (Which I still need to upload on flickr)
• Spent Thanksgiving in Gloucester, MA via a quick flight up to Boston (and got back-scattered on my way home)
• Got the last issue of The Triangle for the term out complete with a Cellphone Holiday Gift Guide (See the blog post)
• Went back home to North Jersey for my Mom’s extra-large retirement party; she worked at Kraft Foods for 42 years (and managed to forget my camera for the party).
• Went back home (again) to go see the Trans Siberian Orchestra with my friends. The concert was awesome, and I really wish I could have brought my camera into the venue.
• Finally got back to North Jersey for longer than a weekend, just in time for the holidays. I even got to work from home for the week between Christmas and New Year’s, so I didn’t have to run back to Philly for three days.

…all while working 40 hours a week at DH and another 20 at The Triangle. And that catches us up to now.

I’m still quite amazed at how much I managed to fit into just three months. Now I finally have a bit of time to sit back, relax, spend time with my family, and do things like write this blog post (and maybe get the rest of my photos uploaded… eventually)

I hope that you have had a happy holiday season and a happy new year.

See you in 2011!

Related posts:

1. Summers over, and I’m excited.

When I think of  holiday gadgets, I only think of one thing. New Cellphones.

This year  for the last issue of The Triangle, I deciding to put together a simple guide identifying all of the best smartphones on each of the four major networks. I also made sure to include a section on the more budget-friendly smartphones for those who don’t want to break the bank.

Take a look at the few article at The Triangle’s website. The full size PDF is available there as well.

Holiday Gift Guide: Cellphones

Overall, it was a lot of fun to take this feature all the way from writing the article, to art direction, and finally to layout and production. Thanks to Sarah Michelson for taking all of the additional photography for the article.

Did I miss a phone that you think is awesome? Let me know in the comments.

Related posts:

1. I Didn’t Write It, But I Did Design It – 2010 Orange Brick Awards
2. Hello Philly Apple Store

Last Friday, I got a chance to go to the grand opening of the Philadelphia Apple store. And by chance, I mean wait in line for and hour and a half and get a free t-shirt. Sure I’ve done  similar crazy things in the past, but this one didn’t even have much of a point to it. I didn’t even buy anything. Sure, I did get an extra-large t-shirt that says “Walnut Street”, but that’s it. Five minutes after I entered the store, I was ready to leave. I did however, stay longer.

And to a greater point, I did write an article about the entire event for The Triangle, as well as take a ton of photos.

Take a look at my article here:

New Apple store opens in Philly

Take a look at my Flickr set here:

Apple Store Philadelphia

Related posts:

1. Apple Store Philadelphia Anyone?
2. WiMAX in Philly!
3. Need a New Phone? I Have Answers

What happens when you take the 7 story expanse of concrete above the entrance to Nesbitt Hall, and a large projector? You get the Social Graffiti Project. The project was created by six digital media students here at Drexel for their senior thesis project.

Tweets displayed on wall as ‘Social Graffiti’

Take a look at the story behind the article, after the jump.

This article was a lot of fun to work on for a bunch of reason. First, the project itself was really cool. I really wish that the project had stayed up for more than a week, and that I could have gone into the projection room. What also made this article fun, was that I go to write the story, shoot the photos, and layout the page. I even got a tease in the “In This Paper” bar on the front page!

Overall, I’m just glad that I get to have such a large hand in the production of The Triangle. From writing articles, to shooting photos, and even designing house ads, it’s just fun. This territory may come with the fact that I am now the production manager for the summer!

Even more interesting, I’m actually pictured in the paper this week, along with our Entertainment editor, Jess Herbine:

It’s never a dull moment at The Triangle!

No related posts.

This week, I got to create one of the most fun features of the year and even better, in a two page full color spread! The Orange Brick Awards are the annual funny, snarky, self-deprecating  awards The Triangle’s editorial board gives out where we poke fun at ourselves and Drexel. While I didn’t have to write anything, I did take control of creating and laying out the spread from start to finish. I even took an original photograph for the background.

Unfortunately, the only way to really appreciate the spread is to see it in print, due to its immense size. So, if you have a chance, go pickup a copy of  the June 6th issue of The Triangle. It will be on newsstands until June 25th. For those of you  not in the University City area, you can view the feature online in my portfolio at KeithHobin.com

Related posts:

1. Need a New Phone? I Have Answers
2. Hello Philly Apple Store

A large part of my time has been in class and working at The Triangle, but whenever I get a chance I bust out my camera and take some pictures. Take a look at what I’ve been up to, in photos, after the jump!

Click any of the titles or photos to view the full set at Flickr.

Drexel University

Drexel has been my home away from home for the past two years. I recently updated my Drexel set with some new photos, including some that feature Drexel’s new wayfinding signs, and closeups of architecture of Drexel Buildings.

Lupe Fiasco @ WPI

I went up to visit my brother at his college, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Worcester, MA. While I was there, WPI had their annual spring  jam concert. With these shot, I tried to focus on the dramatic lighting created by WPI’s student technical crew, Lens and Lights, which my brother is the technical director. Lupe Fiasco was the headline performer of the concert.

A Street Corner in Newark

While waiting to be picked up from Newark’s Penn Station, I took out my camera and got creative, documenting what you could find on a typical downtown street corner.

Sunrise

Sunrises are always beautiful, even more so when they silhouette a city skyline. After pulling an all-nighter, I was actually awake to document it, so I decided to take advantage of my lack of sleep and get some great photos.

That’s it for now. Expect another one of these Multi-Photo Mashups soon, because I still have a bunch more photos that I need to upload to Flickr.

No related posts.