Week 100

The 100-Week Completion of the CS Program

This is it. My CSUMB Online Computer Science journey has come to an end. Looking back at my very first post, CST300 – Week 0 in December 2023, I wonder how time passed so quickly. 100 plus weeks later, this journey is complete filled with memorable moments, late study nights, challenges, and a lot of hard work.

I want to sincerely thank our program advisor, Kayla, for her tremendous efforts, guidance, and kindness throughout this program. She has been central to this success, and I am truly grateful for her support.

Over the past 2 years, we learned the foundation in computer science while gaining hands-on experience through individual and team projects in nearly every course. We learned to use modern software engineering tools to code, collaborate, and problem-solve effectively. The capstone project our team delivered brought together much of the theory and practice we learned across the program, serving as a meaningful real-world purpose for our client and the community.

I truly enjoyed every moment of this experience - except when my code wasn’t working 😊) - working alongside wonderful teammates in this cohort.

Finally, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the CSUMB faculty and everyone who supported me throughout this journey. This experience has been challenging, rewarding, and memorable.

CST499 - Week 7

 Week 7 Computer Science Capstone Project

This is week 7 of the Capstone project at CSUMB and the week before the final week. The team has completed the project and delivered everything according to the proposal, and more. This week, I focused on the testing phase by running the test report and coordinating with our client to demonstrate the final product. A Zoom session was recorded with the client while testing several use cases. The team was grateful to hear the client’s satisfaction and to receive constructive feedback. I also worked on making improvements based on that feedback.

My plan for next week is to package the source code, Capstone proposal, and testing report into a single offline folder. In addition, I will coordinate with the client to migrate the project to her GitHub account, which I helped her create this week. I will also update my ILP portfolio website to include the Capstone project. Finally, I will complete the final version of the video and slideshow for the Capstone Festival.

At this time, I am not facing any challenges or needing additional assistance.

CST499 - Week 6

Week 6 Computer Science Capstone Project

In week 6 of the CST499 Capstone project, the team is wrapping up the project by configuring the final modules and adding the last touches. I have been updating our Agile Gantt chart and confirmed that the following milestones were completed: Discovery & Planning, Architecture & Design, Authentication & Users Module, Scheduling & Booking, Content Hub & Educational Resources, Service Catalog, Product & Marketplace, Membership, and the Administration Dashboard. We also added two additional modules requested by the client: Events and Blogs.

This week, I worked on implementing the portal audit logs, the admin actions section, and the compliance report. I also configured the administrator dashboard statistics to display totals for users, newsletter sign-ups, appointments, products, blog posts, and audit logs. In addition, I worked with the team to finalize the Git branch merging into the main branch.

The plan for next week is to continue testing the portal and document any findings. We are also meeting with the client tomorrow evening to review the completed work and demo the portal. I will be working on the presentation video draft and preparing my final script to practice before the Capstone Festival. I am also glad I updated my ILP site content, as I was missing evidence for two of the courses. We are excited to deliver this project, and everyone involved is proud of the hard work and late nights that went into it. Thank you all for your efforts.

 

CST499 - Week 5

Week 5 Computer Science Capstone Project

This is week 5 of the CST499 Capstone project, and we are getting close to the final two weeks of the program. This project has been interesting and challenging, but I feel like this week was the best one so far. A lot of the tough issues were finally resolved, and we now have full bi-directional sync between Auth0 and the Render database. The central admin dashboard is also working without any cross-origin problems. In short, the admin panels are fully functional in production. Admins can manage users, update their info, and handle access control — all while keeping security in place.

My plan for next week is to review the limited-scope HIPAA compliance setup and verify CSRF protections. I will also configure access logs and audit logs once other team members submit their sections. On top of that, I will do functional testing and clean up some minor HTML/CSS issues.

Overall, I do not have any major concerns at this point. We are in a good position to develop the final requirements specification and deliver the solution as planned.

CST499 - Week 4

 

Week 4 Computer Science Capstone Project

The project is moving fast, and the team is really racing against time. Week four of the Capstone has ended, and the team started to see the results of the completed work. One of our team members handled the challenging Admin Dashboard, though there is still more to do to make admin functions fully complete. The site is now HTTPS (Render enforces it), with CSRF protection, separate database with admin verification, and admin privileges set up.

Next week, the plan is to finish adding content to all pages and create a database table to collect emails from the “Sign Up for Newsletter” section. I also want to improve the templates for verification emails and password reset notifications. On top of that, I need to figure out how to enable a password lockout policy in Auth0, make sure database external access is limited, and link the business social media accounts in the footer.

The biggest challenge so far is still the Admin Dashboard — turning it into a fully user-friendly portal which will take hours to finish.

CST499 - Week 3

 Week 3 Computer Science Capstone Project

This week, I focused on building the admin dashboard and connecting the database to several metrics and info cards. The portal structure is complete, but I ran into challenges with token refresh authentication from the Auth0 backend API. I spent most of the week working toward a solution; however, the issue is still under investigation, and another team member is now assisting with debugging.

In the meantime, I will move forward to build out the dashboard link functionality in the upcoming week.

I also finalized the About page and added a “404 – Page Not Found” page for Render, including a redirect back to the Home page. Additionally, I created a Contact Modal under Account Settings to give customers an easy way to access provider’s contact information.

My biggest challenge now is catching up on the remaining design and pushing toward a fully functional dashboard.

CST499 - Week 2

Week 2 Computer Science Capstone Project

This week, the project milestone was the completion of the authentication module. Integration with Render PostgreSQL was successfully completed to sync users by their auth0_id. A “Post Login” flow was configured to trigger an action from the library, sending the logged-in user information to the backend. One challenge during this integration was handling CORS to allow Auth0 to communicate with the backend during the Post Login process.

Additionally, I added a user account settings page where logged-in users can view their account information and the data provided during signup.

My plan for this week is to get the Admin Portal functioning, enabling an admin to manage users, subscriptions, and access to the educational hub. I will also upload the privacy policy and Terms & Conditions for the site. Furthermore, signup email verification, password reset, and email notifications will require custom html to reflect the correct custom domain.

Currently, there are no major challenges, as we received additional content from the client. Once this week’s goals are complete, I will report back on any further challenges.