Jasper:
IN GENERAL
Contrary to what may be expected given the scores on the test, Jasper was very knowledgeable in many of the areas that he answered incorrectly in the pre-screening. When questioned around his incorrect answers he did in fact seem to have a good knowledge. Jasper was a solid pass, I was impressed with his level of relevant experience, particularly in Javascript. He has his own projects at home that have helped him hone his skills beyond that of many of the candidates. In all of the sections he was keen to learn more, so his foundation here is perfect for the course.
JAVA & OBJECT ORIENTED PRINCIPLES
Jasper understands what .war files are and how they are used. He has not used many modern Java frameworks, only having used J2EE, which is rather old fashioned. Nonetheless, he was able to accurately describe how modern frameworks work, the purpose of interfaces, and the purpose of annotations, and that he had used them, thereby revealing that his knowledge was more up to date than first thought. We discussed design patterns which he was very comfortable with. He was almost able to answer the most difficult question I ask (about the persistence of singletons) - he was on the right track but didn't quite follow his thinking through. In summary he has a very solid and relevant amount of experience for the MEAN course. No problems here.
JAVASCRIPT
Jasper is aware of how modern javascript is used on the front end, having used the Angular.js framework extensively. In addition he uses javascript regularly and is familiar with the JQuery framework. Given his two incorrect answers to the Javascript questions on the pre-screening however, it's possible to conclude that he could do with a shade more training in this area - exactly what the MEAN course will provide. In summary, his ability in almost all of the sections was a solid intermediate, no significant problems.
BASIC TEST DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT (TDD)
Jasper knew exactly what TDD was, he is aware of the fundamentals and has tried it.He has not used it for a while however. When he was asked why the correct answer on the pre screening questions was the correct one, he was able to explain accurately and without issue. In addition Jasper is well aware of unit testing, it's role and is comfortable with the level of testing that is required in a modern software development team.
AGILE METHODOLOGY
Jasper's experience of Agile is imperfect. the organisations he has worked for did not fully utilise some of the important techniques involved in it. He has conducted regular deliveries of working software in "sprints". He mentioned pair programming and is familiar with what occurs at the daily "stand-ups". Jasper understands the fundamentals, has used some of them and is very keen to refine his working practices to be more agile. No problems here. A modern team at DWP / HMRC would be the ideal next step.
RESTFUL WEB SERVICES
Jasper understands REST and is able to identify verbs, what they are and how they operate. We discussed end points and he understood the concepts no problem and was able to describe a hypothetical scenario. Jasper's knowledge was however intermediate since his way of designing the end point was unusual but it still would have worked. In reality such decisions would be made in a team, so no problems here.
SOURCE CONTROL MANAGEMENT
CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION (JENKINS OR EQUIVALENT TOOL)
We discussed CI and source control management together. Jasper has used GitLab and git. He is aware of the commands and understands the relationship between CI and code streams. He has used Jenkins, he knows what it is for and has used it for the purpose of deployment. This level of knowledge is fine, no issues.
BUILD AUTOMATION (ANT, MAVEN, GRADLE)
Jasper has used ant for his Java projects. He understands its use and has used it extensively. In addition he has used Grunt and Bower for his Javascript projects. This puts Jasper's knowledge here at a much higher level than most candidates.
CSS + HTML5
Like the vast majority of the candidates. Jasper has used HTML and CSS, but NOT HTML5. So his knowledge here fits the "old fashioned" category. In mitigation of this, his knowledge of Javascript is not at all old fashioned. No p
Contrary to what may be expected given the scores on the test, Jasper was very knowledgeable in many of the areas that he answered incorrectly in the pre-screening. When questioned around his incorrect answers he did in fact seem to have a good knowledge. Jasper was a solid pass, I was impressed with his level of relevant experience, particularly in Javascript. He has his own projects at home that have helped him hone his skills beyond that of many of the candidates. In all of the sections he was keen to learn more, so his foundation here is perfect for the course.
JAVA & OBJECT ORIENTED PRINCIPLES
Jasper understands what .war files are and how they are used. He has not used many modern Java frameworks, only having used J2EE, which is rather old fashioned. Nonetheless, he was able to accurately describe how modern frameworks work, the purpose of interfaces, and the purpose of annotations, and that he had used them, thereby revealing that his knowledge was more up to date than first thought. We discussed design patterns which he was very comfortable with. He was almost able to answer the most difficult question I ask (about the persistence of singletons) - he was on the right track but didn't quite follow his thinking through. In summary he has a very solid and relevant amount of experience for the MEAN course. No problems here.
JAVASCRIPT
Jasper is aware of how modern javascript is used on the front end, having used the Angular.js framework extensively. In addition he uses javascript regularly and is familiar with the JQuery framework. Given his two incorrect answers to the Javascript questions on the pre-screening however, it's possible to conclude that he could do with a shade more training in this area - exactly what the MEAN course will provide. In summary, his ability in almost all of the sections was a solid intermediate, no significant problems.
BASIC TEST DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT (TDD)
Jasper knew exactly what TDD was, he is aware of the fundamentals and has tried it.He has not used it for a while however. When he was asked why the correct answer on the pre screening questions was the correct one, he was able to explain accurately and without issue. In addition Jasper is well aware of unit testing, it's role and is comfortable with the level of testing that is required in a modern software development team.
AGILE METHODOLOGY
Jasper's experience of Agile is imperfect. the organisations he has worked for did not fully utilise some of the important techniques involved in it. He has conducted regular deliveries of working software in "sprints". He mentioned pair programming and is familiar with what occurs at the daily "stand-ups". Jasper understands the fundamentals, has used some of them and is very keen to refine his working practices to be more agile. No problems here. A modern team at DWP / HMRC would be the ideal next step.
RESTFUL WEB SERVICES
Jasper understands REST and is able to identify verbs, what they are and how they operate. We discussed end points and he understood the concepts no problem and was able to describe a hypothetical scenario. Jasper's knowledge was however intermediate since his way of designing the end point was unusual but it still would have worked. In reality such decisions would be made in a team, so no problems here.
SOURCE CONTROL MANAGEMENT
CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION (JENKINS OR EQUIVALENT TOOL)
We discussed CI and source control management together. Jasper has used GitLab and git. He is aware of the commands and understands the relationship between CI and code streams. He has used Jenkins, he knows what it is for and has used it for the purpose of deployment. This level of knowledge is fine, no issues.
BUILD AUTOMATION (ANT, MAVEN, GRADLE)
Jasper has used ant for his Java projects. He understands its use and has used it extensively. In addition he has used Grunt and Bower for his Javascript projects. This puts Jasper's knowledge here at a much higher level than most candidates.
CSS + HTML5
Like the vast majority of the candidates. Jasper has used HTML and CSS, but NOT HTML5. So his knowledge here fits the "old fashioned" category. In mitigation of this, his knowledge of Javascript is not at all old fashioned. No p