Leading a team for our first INTEX project was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my academic journey. Our team of four developers was tasked with building a full-stack solution for The Turtle Shelter Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. This involved normalizing a dataset, implementing a database, and developing a website—all within a short timeframe.
This article explores the key challenges we faced and the lessons I learned while balancing leadership and development responsibilities.
Managing a Team of Developers
Taking on a leadership role in a technical project was a new challenge for me. With a diverse team of developers, ensuring effective collaboration was crucial.
- Task delegation: Assigning responsibilities based on each team member’s strengths and experience.
- Communication: Keeping everyone aligned through regular check-ins and clear documentation.
- Problem-solving: Navigating technical roadblocks while ensuring progress toward our deadlines.
Balancing these responsibilities with my own development tasks was a learning experience in time management and adaptability.
Data Normalization and Database Implementation
A major aspect of our project was structuring the dataset provided by The Turtle Shelter Project. The raw data was disorganized and redundant, requiring careful normalization to improve efficiency and integrity.
We designed and implemented a PostgreSQL database, focusing on:
- Optimized schema design to prevent redundancy.
- Efficient indexing to improve query performance.
- Scalability considerations to accommodate future data expansion.
Building the Website and Integrating Tableau Dashboards
With the backend in place, we shifted focus to developing a user-friendly web application. Our stack included:
- Node.js & Express to handle API requests.
- Live Tableau dashboards for real-time data visualization.
- AWS Beanstalk Environment for quick deployments.
One of the biggest technical challenges was integrating Tableau dashboards into the web app securely while ensuring they remained dynamic and accessible to different user roles.
Developing the Admin Portal
To empower The Turtle Shelter Project’s team, we built an admin site with key functionalities:
- User authentication & role-based access.
- Data management tools to allow updates without technical assistance.
- Reporting features to provide insights into key metrics.
This additional functionality ensured that the nonprofit could continue using and maintaining the system after our project concluded.
Lessons Learned
This project taught me valuable lessons about leadership, software development, and teamwork:
- Effective delegation prevents bottlenecks and improves efficiency.
- Clear communication is key to keeping a team aligned and productive.
- Technical leadership requires balancing coding with managing people and tasks.
- Always, always, always make it as easy as possible for your client to find what they need (we didn't have a direct link to the admin page)!
Conclusion
Leading the INTEX project was a challenging but rewarding experience. Seeing our project come together—a fully functional database-driven website with live dashboards and an admin portal—was incredibly fulfilling.
More than just a class assignment, this experience provided real-world insights into managing a team, architecting a full-stack application, and delivering a solution for a real nonprofit. These lessons will continue to shape my approach to future projects and professional endeavors.