For the final part of my blog series, I will be wrapping up my journey; what I have learned and what I am doing after TWU.
Thoughtworks University - Last step and what I’ve learned so far
This is the final part of my blog that I will be sharing about my time before graduating from TWU. In case you missed the earlier part, please check it out at:
Key Takeaways
TWU is like a real-world project simulation and it allows you to make mistakes and learn many new things. I learnt how to work with a client, how to plan a project, how much time and effort we’d need to complete the goal of each sprint, as well as how to organize a tech-huddle to discuss the tech issue.
The TWU trainers coordinated sessions on both technical and non-technical topics. One of the main things I came away with was communication and collaboration skills. Critical skills for working as a team and when conflicts arose while working with people who had different opinions that were not aligned. On my team, we had a lot of discussions and sometimes it took time to come to a conclusion on one issue.
Team1: Bubble Blast! with our lovely trainers and PO
Challenging
The most memorable time for me was when the pipeline kept failing functional tests again and again for two days even though the local instance was working fine.
“It works, it works, it works on my machine,” — our team cheer
This situation had to be fixed before the last showcase. At first, we tried to fix it by ourselves — rewrote the functional tests to make it less flaky. All local tests passed but the pipeline was red. We gathered on Zoom with our trainer to figure out what was happening. We tried several ways to reproduce the issue and fix it. They didn’t work so we had to end the call to join another session.
I was in a call and I was also curious why it kept failing so I asked my friend fromTeam 2 because I heard that they had also faced this issue. Maybe I could use their learning and apply that with my team. It worked! It turns out the issue occurred because we had put the library in the wrong place.
When the pipeline issue was finally solved.
This issue was a lesson learned and I liked that we had supportive trainers who were willing to help. My teammates were really good at teamwork!
Ending
Happy moment was coming to an end.
The seven weeks that I experienced were amazing and very memorable. All the people there were very supportive and invested in helping me and my team to grow!
Graduation day
I really miss you all.
Mew — TWU 72
Life after TWU — getting into a real project
I’ve now been on a client project for a few months and have gotten a lot of support from my new team. They are helping me learn about the business and even more about working in pairs. I still have a long way to go but I feel like my decision to start working at Thoughtworks was the right choice. This place does not have the concept of seniority and people here are free to speak up and give their opinions. You can also ask for feedback from your colleagues to help you recognize your strengths and where to improve. Here you can ask for help when you are developing both technical or non-technical skills. People are willing to help you and push you to the goal.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Thoughtworks.
