Aleksandra Filus

Stallingweek 78

Briefed 1 h agoSignals 1 h ago

Situation

Aleksandra is talking a lot and building nothing. Over the past two weeks she raised a genuine doubt in the 1:1 — whether a project she finishes in ~5 months will still be worth anything years from now when she next job-hunts — and two coaches talked her through it; she said she understood and agreed, then pivoted to "where do I start" on a new app idea. Alexandros steered her back to writing an MVP scoping document, and she delivered one on Sun 30 Aug at 22:23, but the Google Doc has no access granted and is currently blocked on that as of this morning. Against that: no commits from her in the 21-day window, her last own commit was 182 days ago, and Trello still has her on "08 - Quiz maker" after 384 days with a self-reported time entry from 433 days ago.

Concerns

Six months without a commit in her own repos while the conversation stays at the planning/justification level. The visible work right now is a document, not code.
The doubt she voiced on 19 Aug ("couple/few years from now I will not remember what I did") was answered by coaches but not clearly resolved by her beyond 'I understand and agree' — it may resurface, especially if the new app idea takes months to scope.
This is at least the second project design cycle ("Last time you were designing your project and you had a document about it... Let's do that again since you are changing to a different app"). A repeated restart-at-planning pattern is the thing to watch.
Trello is out of sync with reality: still on '08 - Quiz maker' after 384 days while the 1:1 is entirely about a self-directed app project.
Trivial but blocking: the doc link has no permissions, so nobody can review the one piece of work she has produced.

Drafts

Edit freely, then copy. pokAI never sends anything — you paste it into WhatsApp yourself.

immediate unblock

why this, now

The one concrete deliverable she produced is sitting behind a permissions wall and Alexandros already asked once this morning. Fastest possible win and it signals the doc is actually going to be read.

technical follow-up / push toward code

why this, now

Names the real gap (182 days without a commit) without moralising, and gives her a concrete, small definition of done so scoping does not expand into another month.

honest check on the doubt

why this, now

She raised a substantive doubt on 19 Aug and closed it quickly with 'I understand and agree'. Reopening it deliberately is safer than assuming it is settled, given the pattern of restarting at the design stage.

Open questions

What the data does not answer.

What is actually in the MVP document — it cannot be opened, so its scope and quality are unknown.
What the new app idea is and why she moved off the previous project design.
Whether '08 - Quiz maker' is formally abandoned in favour of the self-directed project, or still expected to be finished.
Whether any work has happened in a private or untracked repo during the 182-day gap.
Michael is the assigned coach but the last two weeks of the 1:1 were run by Florian and Alexandros — unclear who owns the next step with her.

Evidence

Client raised an explicit doubt about the long-term value of finishing the project, framed around not job-hunting for a few years and skills becoming obsoleteWhatsApp 19 Aug 18:07
Two coaches (Florian, Alexandros) pushed back on the obsolescence argument; client replied that she understood and agreedWhatsApp 17 Aug 09:54–19 Aug 21:19
Client is changing to a different app idea and asked where to start, web vs appWhatsApp 19 Aug 23:29 and coach reply 21 Aug 07:14 ("since you are changing to a different app")
Agreed next step is an MVP functionality document, not layout/designWhatsApp 21 Aug 07:13–07:14
Client said she was working on the document and sent a link the same eveningWhatsApp 30 Aug 21:28 and 22:23
The doc is currently unreadable by the coach — access not shared; asked this morning and not yet resolvedWhatsApp 31 Aug 07:24
No commits by the client in the 21-day window; last own commit 182 days ago across 8 reposGitHub
Trello shows her on '08 - Quiz maker' for 384 daysTrello current exercise
Self-reported time tracking is 433 days stale, last entry '6/23 - 1,5h TTT'Trello time-tracking
Conversation is active — last message in the chat was todayWhatsApp 31 Aug

Signals

Gathered 1 h ago, looking back to 10 Aug 2026.

WhatsApp — 1:1 - Aleksandra Filus 18 in window, 23 seen

Florian Rakete 17 Aug 09:54
@CLIENT Aleksandra Filus (ehem. Salamonska) I agree with @RAK Alexandros Kapniaris here pretty much 100%
Florian Rakete 17 Aug 09:56
in the end, even if your app becomes obsolete in the future, doesn't take away from the experience and skill you pick up along the way. Who do you think is going to be more productive? somebody that has built a proper piece of sofware and has knowledge + AI or some dude that types "i want to make an app" into chatgpt?
Florian Rakete 19 Aug 09:15
@CLIENT Aleksandra Filus (ehem. Salamonska) ??
CLIENT Aleksandra Filus (ehem. Salamonska) 19 Aug 18:07
I understand and agree. The thing is that my concern is that assuming I would complete this project within the next 5 months (just an example timeline), I will not be looking for another role or another company. Seems like I will be in my current role for a while. So my concern is that couple/few years from now, when I do want to look for something else, I will first of all, not remember what I did, secondly - the things that I did might be obsolete. Thoughts?
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 19 Aug 21:16
To be honest,you are missing the point. You are currently mastering a skill. What you learn is not the language or the variables, etc. it's the programing way of thinking, it's the experience, it's the ability to resolve problems. Building your own project will not just help you learn blazor but it will also teach you all these things which are way more important.
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 19 Aug 21:16
An example
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 19 Aug 21:19
I have been working with java and spring boot for about 8 years now. And I the next 15 days I am starting on a new position on a new company which doesn't work with java. Does that mean that I am obsolete or what I was working on or what I am currently working on with java is obsolete? No. It means that these people saw the experience that I have and chose me. Similar to your case. Even if you finish in the next 5 months and you don't even write a simple line of code for 1.5 years, that doesn't mean that you don't know how to tackle problems that you faced while building your own project
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 19 Aug 21:19
That's my view here. What do you think
CLIENT Aleksandra Filus (ehem. Salamonska) 19 Aug 23:29
How do I make this project the most valuable? I don’t just want to create a website but work with an app. Do I just create an app? Or do I create both? Since it’s a service I feel like I should mostly focus on a website, but personally, I would like to work on an app. Where do I start?
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 20 Aug 11:27
you will be building a web application, so essentially including both.
CLIENT Aleksandra Filus (ehem. Salamonska) 20 Aug 14:45
What do you need me to do first? Design the layout for the website and app?
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 21 Aug 07:13
the most important thing is to have your mvp sorted put functionality wise
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 21 Aug 07:14
Last time you were designing your project and you had a document about it. That is important work
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 21 Aug 07:14
Let's do that again since you are changing to a different app. Sorting out the layout is for later imo
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 30 Aug 08:22
hey hey @CLIENT Aleksandra Filus (ehem. Salamonska) what's up?
CLIENT Aleksandra Filus (ehem. Salamonska) 30 Aug 21:28
Hi there! Working on the document now. Will send something today
CLIENT Aleksandra Filus (ehem. Salamonska) 30 Aug 22:23
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CuIX_YINauf4bFvF_gYC1qvt1On_JO510Y5f_h9XPZ4/edit?usp=sharing
RAK Alexandros Kapniaris 31 Aug 07:24
please provide access to the doc, I don't have at the moment. Thanks @CLIENT Aleksandra Filus (ehem. Salamonska)

GitHub 0 commits, 0 active of 8 repos

No commits inside the window. Last push 217 days ago.

Trello 08 - Quiz maker, 384d

No time tracking inside the window. Last entry 433 days ago.