Update: Week 03
Tying up some loose ends.
Highlights
- Started drafting project proposal to clarify goals and scope
- Began organizing project tasks and timelines using Trello
The Long Story
This last week has been mostly tying together materials and some initial technologies I will be using for my network packet analysis project.
Because this project is in service of earning my CompTIA Network+ certification, I have purchased the official study materials along with an exam voucher, using a student discount, so I can directly prepare for the exam and also ensure my project will implement hands-on practice and demonstrate knowledge expected by employers. I’ve started on the materials that cover networking fundamentals through written materials, review quizzes, and lab exercises. I won’t work through all of the materials in order at this stage, but will focus on areas pertinent to my project needs. This is in addition to Professor Messer videos that are freely available on YouTube. I also began working through Wireshark documentation: looking at the user interface. I’ll look at capturing this week which brings me to…
I wrote my “draft 0” of my proposal this week! That’s where you just throw down an initial version without worrying too much about it being polished. Writing is hard and rewriting is less hard is my philosophy. This helped me to gain a better grasp of what my project’s aims are and what might be a bit too ambitious. For example, I’d love to build a very customizable dashboard to show off my packet analysis, however I redesigned my approach to prototype a simpler version with the ability to upgrade later if time permits in this class or later on my own accord. I’ve taken a couple passes at my proposal and each time has brought greater clarity to me, and hopefully to the proposal itself, as to where the next few weeks will take me.
I don’t think anything is blocking my path. But I guess one yellow flag is spending so much time setting up a project and resource hunting that it gets in the way of doing it. Or trying to incorporate too many new-to-me technologies.
This past week I was using Google Tasks integrated with Google Calendar to organize this project however I found switching between the two cumbersome and cluttering other parts of my life. I plan on setting up a Trello board to organize tasks, timelines, and other project management related things specifically for this project. It’s another thing to look at (which I don’t love) but I think a clearer, focused perspective is worth it.