The Coding Begins

Working with your Mentor

Once your project has been approved, you will be allocated a principal mentor and maybe supplementary mentors. One of the most valuable aspects of the ICF programme is consistent access to mentors. Your mentor will work with you throughout the ICF programme to ensure your success, but you must also ensure that you are contributing to and managing your mentor's relationship.

Community Interaction Period

The community bonding stage is when you finalize your project idea, organize frequent upcoming meetings with your mentor, set up your development environment, and begin to participate in the project. This is the moment to work with your mentor on establishing expectations for your interactions and determining how your success will be measured throughout the ICF programme. Hopefully, you and your mentor have had numerous meetings during the application period, clarifying the project and expectations, but now is the time to solidify your preparations.

Maintaining Consistency

You should have previously worked out a clear timetable with your mentor for frequent meetings, reports, code check-ins, and any planned time off. If you haven't already, do it right now!

Your mentors are also folks who have a lot on their plates. They already have a lot on their plates, and IFC is just one more. Your project is nearly certain to fail if you rely only on your mentor to keep track of and enforce the work schedule. Maintain a proactive approach to sticking to the timetable you've agreed on and suggesting changes before deadlines pass.

Be considerate of your mentor's time

Your mentor is assisting you with your ICF project at no cost to you. Your mentor is unlikely to want to continue assisting you with your project if you regularly miss scheduled sessions without prior notice and fail to come prepared to meetings. Remember that your mentor is your most valuable resource in completing your project, so respect them as such.

Making Use of Your Mentor

During the coding phase, you should continue to employ your mentor as much as possible. Ask your mentor for input on the code as you implement each element of your project plan. Avoid spending two weeks working on a piece of code that is going in the wrong direction.

Never be hesitant to ask questions, but keep in mind that you'll have a better chance of getting a good answer if you strive to be precise and conduct some preliminary research. Examine the logs and try to solve the issue or problem before seeking assistance. It's also crucial not to wait until you're considerably behind on your assignment before seeking assistance.

Requesting and Receiving Feedback

It's difficult to hear criticism. It's even more difficult not to react defensively. Getting critical feedback on your project from your mentor, the greater open source project community, and your peers is a useful exercise in helping you develop the best code possible.