Behind the scenes of Software Developer Jane Saman
Published on: Author: Jane Saman Category: NewsHow do you work on an application together when everyone is working from home? It took some getting used to for Jane Saman, but now she is fully in the flow. Her focus? Developing systems for schools to track their students’ progress. She would love to tell you more.
Jane has worked at Qualogy Caribbean since 2011. She started as a Java Developer and made the transition to Oracle in 2015. Now, she knows all the ins and outs of the development tool Oracle APEX. With a team of 9 Developers, she builds applications for customers from various industries: construction companies, governments, educational institutions, consultancy companies and administrative agencies.
Putting her back into it
Jane usually works with 9 colleagues in one room. But because of the coronavirus, everyone has been working remotely for months. How does she manage it? Jane: “We work agile as a team, so we consult each other a lot and we work with a physical whiteboard. Now, everything has to be done remotely. This took some getting used to for some colleagues. But everyone put their backs into it from day one. Management offered to help set up our workplace at home, which was very nice. And the contact between colleagues is still excellent, though I do miss the coffee talk and eating lunch together. You don’t have that fun dynamic at home.”
Guarantee quality
Jane says that working remotely also had its benefits. “Everyone in our team is very focused on quality. We want the very best for our customers. The danger of working from home is that you forget everything else aside from finishing your project, which you might end up working on alone. It’s very easy to get stuck in your own bubble. To prevent this, we pay special attention to internal consultations and agreements. Especially for complex matters.
Currently, these efforts are bearing fruit. We can guarantee our quality level and maybe even surpass it. A situation like this brings colleagues closer together. And allows you to grow as a team.”
A system to track students’ progress
Jane’s projects haven’t been idle for the past couple of months. She talks about one of her most enjoyable projects. “I’ve been building an IT solution to streamline schedules and information flows since March. The solution is mainly about scheduling lessons and exams and registering academic results. Our intention is that students, as well as parents and caregivers, can look into these results in a cloud environment.”
Oracle APEX and Oracle Database
Jane explains which technologies she uses. “The application is build using Oracle APEX. And we use Oracle Database for the cloud environment. For the base functions, we used HTML / CSS and JavaScript. The more specific functions will follow shortly.”
Looking ahead
A few weeks ago, Jane and her colleagues could work at the office again. Now, another lockdown has been announced. Jane is disappointed, but she tries to stay positive. “Having to set up my workplace at home is not a problem. It’s more about the fear: how will Suriname survive the coronavirus? Especially in combination with the political and economic developments in the country. Luckily, we are here for each other at Qualogy: we help each other when necessary, so we can all get through this.”
