Who are you and what do you do at INFORM?

My name is Ruth, I’m 38 years old and I joined INFORM at the beginning of 2009 after studying Computer Science. At that time, our software for personnel deployment planning was just being redeveloped, at that time still in the aviation sector. As a developer, I still program new software functionalities today and, as a UX designer, I am also responsible for the design of interfaces and the user-friendliness of our workforce management tool.

What makes your job exciting?

On the one hand, the interesting and challenging mix between user experience and software development. In UX design, my creativity is required, while pure development tasks are about logical concepts and the technical implementation. On the other hand, there is always something new to do or learn in my job. Designing new solutions and writing really good code is my passion. I have enough ideas for our product to keep me busy for the next five years.

What is your typical working day like?

First, I talk to other front-end developers about where we stand with our tasks and whether someone needs support. Usually there are also smaller meetings – be it to discuss an implementation concept or to clarify questions regarding a UX concept. As a team, we check each other's code. If I have a colleague's code review with me, I try to process it quickly. Then I devote myself to my own tasks that I want to advance. If it is a UX topic, this means, for example, familiarizing myself with the customer's requirements, creating appropriate concepts or designing a prototype. For development tasks, on the other hand, I create and implement concepts and write software tests.

What has been your noteworthy work experience in the past six months?

In our area, we always end the year with a hackathon. Here we have the chance to try things out for a few weeks that we think are useful and have always wanted to do. This creates fantastic things that really help us. At a hackathon, for example, I created a completely new design for our planning client and then implemented it. Another time our team made the main component of the planning client over 95% faster.

What have you learned at INFORM?

I’ve developed a lot personally through my working life. In addition to teamwork and efficient discussion, I’ve learned to take responsibility and I am proud to be able to make my contribution to making our product even better for the users. We have a lot of experienced colleagues whose knowledge rubs off on others, especially during code reviews. This enabled me to acquire broader technical know-how and sharpen my quality awareness. In addition, I’ve found the balance of taking my work seriously, but not taking it to heart if something does not go as I imagined it to be at the beginning.

What would you advise INFORM beginners?

Show personal commitment, i.e. try something new, make mistakes if necessary and learn from them instead of holding back. My experience in our team is that everyone is open to new ideas and ready to change established things if there is a better solution. We have an excellent error culture: no one blames you for making mistakes and it is an opportunity for you to learn. Also, don't be afraid to ask for support. We leave no one behind. The helpfulness of the colleagues is enormous, also across teams.