GSoC Weeks 2–3: Refactoring, Realizations & Running Behind (But Still Moving!)

🤯 Chaos, Clarity & Communication — CBP Rollercoaster

While the plan was to finalize the proposal and all documents by May 25th (as per Oppia’s official timeline), things didn’t exactly go to plan.

My proposal had several comments that needed proper attention, and just as I rolled up my sleeves to work on them… final exams started on May 26th — every alternate day. Add to that a confusing refactoring direction, and it was chaos. Nothing was fully done. Everything felt like it was slipping out of control.

To make things worse, the code refactor I’d initially worked on wasn’t aligned with what the tech lead actually expected. I was asking questions — again and again — but still felt stuck. That’s when Amy, my mentor, gently pointed out the real issue: ➡️ I wasn’t communicating with enough context.

I was shooting one-liner questions under the assumption that the tech lead knew exactly what I was referring to. But, as Amy and Nikhil explained, a tech lead handles a lot — and they may not have full context every time. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t have understood those questions either.

That hit hard — but in the best way.

To top it off, I was grappling with another major blocker: How do you define the final state of a service without even refactoring the code?

That question had me going in circles — until I got some advice from the tech lead that changed everything: 👉 “Don’t think of it like a refactor — think of it like you’re designing a new feature from scratch.”

And boom, that perspective unlocked it for me.

I realized I had been heading down the wrong path during CBP, thinking I needed to analyze and propose the exact code refactor, when all that was actually needed was a high-level view: 👉 the public methods, states, and service responsibilities, not a deep dive.

Now that I understand the expectations clearly, I’ve gone back to rewrite the service analysis and am gradually catching up.

🧠 Key Takeaways

• Effective communication isn’t about what you ask — it’s how you provide context.
• It’s okay to ask questions — but take a moment to put yourself in the other person’s shoes first.
• It’s fine to be behind — what matters is owning it and moving forward.

🛠️ Weeks 2 & 3: Progress Update

In Weeks 2 and 3, my focus shifted to refining the proposal, aligning expectations with mentors, and clearing the path for development. Here’s what I accomplished:

• ✅ Clarified Proposal Expectations After some initial confusion, I realigned my understanding of the service analysis. With guidance from mentors, I now focus on defining public methods, states, and responsibilities — not deep code refactors — helping prevent unnecessary complexity during implementation.
• 🧩 Completed CUJ Documentation Finalized the Critical User Journeys in the updated format to support better feature planning and testing alignment.
• 🗂️ Restarted Service Analysis Initiated a new, context-aware service breakdown based on the current architecture.
• 📝 Addressed Proposal Comments Managed to address most of the review comments, with a few remaining that are actively being worked on.

While I fell a bit behind the official May 25th documentation deadline due to finals and rework, the clarity I gained during this period was invaluable. I might be behind, but I’m not backing down. Let’s keep going 🚀

Stay tuned for more updates on my journey with Oppia Foundation in GSoC’25…

Find me on social media:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardikgoyal2003/
• GitHub: https://github.com/hardikgoyal2003/