iHacky Code Review

General Thoughts

Overall, the system is in a very rough state. Functionality of the system is very limited and very basic. It appears that most of the work has been done on the back end setting up the database, server, and the integration with Facebook. Now that the back end is up and running, it is now time to work on the interface itself.

The Code

I have don't have much experience with PHP or with FBML so I cannot really take apart the code. One issue that I did notice was that some of the PHP pages have little or no commments. Internal comments are very important to new developers so each page should contain the necessary comments to understand the code.

System Issues

Understandably the system is in a rough state at the moment, but the aesthetic appearance of the system is severely lacking. At this point in time, functionality is far more important than beauty, but at some point the aesthetic appearance of the system should be addressed.

Also, perhaps one of the most important links on the system, the Need Help? link, does not work. Another issue with the system is that it is not possible to change your Hackystat account once you have set it.

Documentation Issues

The documentation looks pretty good overall. I didn't try to install the system on my own computer, but the documentation to do so looks pretty decent. One problem that I saw with the documentation was that the screen shot on the iHacky homepage doesn't look at all like the current system. The screen shot should be changed to reflect the current state/look of the system.

Also, in the InstallationGuide it does not specify that you have to be logged into Facebook in order to add iHacky. I didn't bother registering with Facebook because I already had a Facebook account. Since the guide did not specify that you had to be logged in I just clicked on the link. When I did so I got an error page saying that "the page you requested was not found". Normally, Facebook says the page you have requested requires that you log in if the page exists. I'm not sure if that is a problem with the way Facebook handles applications or if it is a problem with iHacky's application page, however, if I was just a regular user who has no idea that the application actually exists, I would have thought that the application was broken and would not have bothered pursuing it further.

Also, I'm not sure if the use cases are still relevant given the current state of the system. If they are no longer relevant, they should be removed or edited to reflect the current system.

Potential Problems With iHacky and Suggestions

There does not seem to be a clear, precise idea of where this system is going based upon the presentation (although it does lay out a general road map), the documentation, and looking at the actual system itself. The use cases provide some ideas of how the system will be used, but I'm not sure if they are still accurate or relevant based on the current state of the system. Hopefully the problem is simply that the use cases and other documentation that lays out the "vision" for the system are simply missing or deprecated. If that is not the case, then immediate action is needed so that the details of how the "specific communication mechanism between each user" will work (for example) can be laid out (along with all the other items mentioned in the road map).

Under the current configuration, the networking feature of the system is not really present. The road map provided in the presentation mentions some ideas on how the networking can occur, but once again it is very general. From the current system, I'm guessing that tools, teams, and projects will be used as a networking area. But even in these areas, the "vision" seems somewhat fuzzy. Like right now, the projects tab takes project data from Hackystat and displays it. But how does this network software engineers together? Are you going to generate links within the Hackystat data or is it just going to be list of projects you're working on while using Hackystat. What happens if the project is not using Hackystat? Will there be a way you can add those projects?

One solution to clear things up might be to hold a brainstorming session to figure out what aspects/characteristics/interests of a software engineer would other software engineers be interested in. This common ground could then serve as the basis for how to network software engineers together. Here is a list right off the top of my head:

• Languages (Java, C, C++, etc.)
• Tools (Eclipse, Visual Studio, Ant, etc.)
• Areas of Interest (GUI, Web Design, Game Programming, etc.)
• Projects (Current, Future, Dream, etc.)
• Growth (What new areas do you want to experience?, What languages do you want to learn?, What tools would you like to experience?, etc.)
• OS Platform(s)
• Experience

Once you have a list then you can build your system around them and focus on providing networking options for all of them.

Conclusion

Overall, the potential of this project is really high. One problem with lots of potential is that it is difficult to narrow the focus. In reality, the narrower the focus, the better, as it is better to do a few things well then to do lots of things ok.