Dhrumil Mehta
Database Journalist, Politics @ FiveThirtyEight
(1) Join this Slack:
https://code4policy.slack.com/
and join the following channels:
#section-a or #section-b
#agile, #python and #setup
(2) Fill out your bio
Instructions are in the #section-a or #section-b slack channel
(3) Fill out the pre-course survey if you haven't already
See your email for details
If you have any questions or feel free to just raise your hand ✋ or speak up in class 🗣️ at any time!
Welcome! Let's get rolling!
Hello, we are...
Profs. Dhrumil Mehta & Aarushi Sahejpal
dhrumil_mehta@hks.harvard.edu
asahejpal@hks.harvard.edu
About Dhrumil:
- Harvard Kennedy School
Visiting Associate Professor of Public Policy
- Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Associate Professor of Journalism
Assistant Director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism
- Formerly:
- Database Journalist, Politics @ FiveThirtyEight
- Software Development Engineer @ Amazon
- Education
- BA in Philosophy
- MS in Computer Science
Database Journalist, Politics
Building Software
Polls Database [Internal]
Scrapers
Open Data
https://www.datajournalismawards.org/project-listing/?project_id=2082
Research
About Aarushi:
- i co-teach this class with Prof. Mehta!
- also, a professor of quantitative methods at American University, in Washington D.C.
- past:
- White House Office of Science & Technology Policy
- COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic
- Cisco Systems
- Education
- BS in Data Science & International Relations
- MS in Data Science
About the Class!
Learning Objectives for #Code4Policy
Learning Objectives focus on:
-
code
-
management
-
policy context
What is Agile?
- What is agile and why do people use it?
- “Learning by doing” rather than “learning by debating”
- Agree to try it out for the next two weeks ("buy in")...
- you're welcome to be skeptical, but try to be so in a way that is conducive to learning
Suspend disbelief for pedagogical purposes#foundational-knowledge
#learning-how-to-learn
AI-Generated Image Using DALL-E
Don't do Fake Agile
- Agile is a philosophy, not a set of rituals
- Bad, or "fake" agile, is a common anti-pattern
- Be able to utilize agile software dev/management techniques effectively and adapt them to your needs rather than creating a bunch of extra overhead by following a template from a textbook
- Observe the benefits and challenges while implementing agile methods in your group projects
Identify agile anti-patterns#application
Agile in your life
Reflect on how lessons from the:
- hands-on project-based learning
- case studies and readings
- guest speakers
to identify how agile can apply to your own institutional context
...and your life outside work?
How can agile help in you in your own institutional context after HKS? #integration
Learn tech skills on your own
- Reframe learning technical skills - "How do i learn enough to build X?"
- Using ChatGPT, Google, and your community to help pick up programming skills
- Like learning a language
#learning-how-to-learn
Learn as you build!
Become a tinkerer
- Become the kind of person who will boldly start tinkering with a piece of technology and will fearlessly ask questions about the guts of how a piece of technology works.
- Identify counter-productive thinking and planning
#caring
Unlearn FUD/unneccessary risk-aversionAI-Generated Image Using DALL-E
"Talking Tech" & Bridging Gaps
- Learn how to “talk tech”
- Be able to bridge communication and culture gaps between policymakers and software engineers
#application
AI-Generated Image Using DALL-E
Data Visualization
- Learn how to effectively communicate data visually (with the help of your two data-journalist professors)
- Utilize principles of UX testing and iteration when communicating with data
#application
AI-Generated Image Using DALL-E
Make charts that tell a story or effectively convey a point.
Build in the open
- Learn about the value of open source technology in government
- Have a civic-tech mindset
- open first
- user-centric
#caring
Logistics
#Code4Policy
Slack: Our primary mode of async communication
https://code4policy.slack.com/signup
GitHub: Lecture notes and assignments will be here
https://github.com/code4policy/2022
Panopto: Videos will be available on Panopto, links are embedded into the GitHub lessons.
Daily Standup Meeting: At the start of class, daily.
Communication
GitHub: Lecture notes and assignments will be here
About You!
Please take a moment to find the slide with your name on it and fill out your bio. Link will be provided in Slack.
...as your classmates introduce themselves, make a mental note if you might be interested in forming a project group with them
Remember, Scrum teams are:
- self organizing
- cross functional
Tell us your name and (very quickly) a bit about yourself... then the following three things:
-
What have you been working on since the last meeting?
-
What are you working on between now and the next meeting?
- What are your blockers?
We will do this daily. Keep it short and sweet!
STANDUP!
Dhrumil will assign a "product owner" and "scrum master" for the day.
Academic integrity
The class is highly collaborative. Academic integrity for this class means making a good-faith effort at learning the material. Collaboration is always allowed.
Privacy
-
Do Not record your classmates without explicitly obtaining permission. You can record me if you want, but don't post it publicly.
- Class is a space for exploration and understanding, everything said is off-the-record.
Expectations
Time Commitment
- As a J-term course, this class is compressed into two weeks. That means it is a bit of a bootcamp. It will be hard to take other classes during this time, expect to be doing a lot of homework daily and working on projects over the weekend.
- Front-loading technical learning - Week 1 will be busy. Week 2 is more flexible.
Flexibility
I will check in with everyone daily. During standup, via slack, etc...there will be lots of polling. Please let me know if the class needs to slow down or be sped up. I will be responsive to your collective needs.
Expectations
Syllabus Review
Project
brainstorm.md
project.md
- Final Project (40%)
- Product (30%)
- Process (10%)
- For both parts you will be graded as a team. Smaller individual adjustments may be applied.
- Assignments (40%) - GitHub & Coding
- Class Participation (20%) - Slack participation and collaboration, demonstrating engagement with learning materials. Reflections and readings.
- Usually on the HKS grading distribution
Grading
- Video on whenever possible
- Standup meetings / async participation.
- Slack
- GitHub Tickets
- Reflections
Participation & Reflection
Need help async?
- Dhrumil/Aarushi - Always on Slack / by appt / hanging out in-person after classes or on weekends
- Hilea -
- Innocent -
- You can file a ticket in the 2024 repo: https://github.com/code4policy/2024/issues/new/choose
- You can ask in a Slack channel!
Office Hours
Stay glued to Slack
If we run into any technical issues, that is where I will be communicating with the class.
A Scrummy Class!
Let's talk about Agile and Scrum
User Stories Workshop
Agile J-term Expectations Setting
Instructor Intro (Harvard)
By Dhrumil Mehta
Instructor Intro (Harvard)
Saying hello to students
