At 8:30 pm on a Thursday night I’m pondering the question as to why
some people consider IT (information technology) complicated!
In reality, I don’t think it is.
Yes, code can get complex, however that doesn’t mean it’s complicated.
Technology is here to provide our business with the tools to be efficient, and it’s definitely one of LIC’s assets. Everyone I work with comes from various backgrounds, different degrees, industries, and experiences. Surprisingly, I graduated as a biotechnology engineer and started my career as a software developer, but funnily enough, almost everyone here has a similar story. The passion and love of learning, and understanding technology to make people’s lives easier, is what drives us in the world we work in.
A team dedicated to MINDA
I’m part of LIC’s team ‘Pegasus’ (that’s what we call ourselves - the mobile App development team within the technology group).
The Pegasus team was formed to work on new features in the MINDA application suite for mobile devices. The way the world works today, using phones in almost everything we do, was largely why we needed a dedicated team to develop and enhance the app we have.
It’s amazing to see how the app provides so much value and flexibility to our farmers.
The team understands this vision and works hard to make the app simple, easy to use, yet visibly streamlined and functional. We are a cross-functional agile team with four developers, three testers, and two business analysts, supported by the product owner and everyone in the organisation.
Work isn’t divided up by job title for us. Rather, it’s the team that works toward a common goal. The idea that the smartest person in the room is not smarter than the whole team invokes collective wisdom to its best use.
We are a passionate bunch
I asked some of my team mates about their take on our team’s work, and here’s what they had to say:
Matt - “Coming from a family of farmers I’m proud to work at LIC to help grow the dairy industry and build software that will help farmers. I get to use cool new technologies, support New Zealand’s economy, and meet lots of awesome people. Development is like a puzzle, but there are many ways to solve it and the challenge is to find the best solution. That challenge is why I love being a software developer.”
Alex - “The enjoyment I get from crafting a mobile experience people use in their hands is incredible, seeing things I create being used is invigorating. Driving our software design from customer requests, and frequent customer feedback, definitely allows us more assurance that we’re writing things that people value, and work the way they work.
Traditional software design – where a large ‘requirements document’ is written over months, before testing assumptions with our users – always resulted in substandard outcomes. That's because it isn’t possible to know what the best experience is before starting the work. Iterating with our customers has got a much more friendly and targeted outcome.”
Barb - “Having started at LIC as a Contact Centre Rep more than 12 years ago, I never imagined I’d become a test analyst. It’s never too late to learn new things. It’s been an amazing experience being part of a team responsible for producing a product that’ll improve the prosperity and productivity of our farmers.”
Declan - “I love working in IT because I’m passionate about solving hard problems, and the small team environment suits my introverted personality well. Working at LIC is great because we get to closely work with experts on a daily basis, and I really feel like I'm making an impact on technology use in New Zealand's dairy industry.”
Jayvin - “What drives me in the IT industry is building easy-to-use software that solves real problems, and being able to look at what I’ve made and be proud of it.”
Customer connection
It’s an amazing feeling to know that we are contributing to New Zealand’s largest industry. We celebrate our successes in the features we deliver, as every small feature delivered is a team success. We’re fortunate to have a product owner who bakes us amazing goodies too!
Our work involves building software (writing code), testing and collaborating with everyone in the team to make sure we’re building the right thing, building it right, and building it fast. The agile way of working promotes the ability to manage constant change through continuous customer feedback. Importantly, this connection to the customer provides meaning for the software we develop and allows us to feel pride in the work we do.
Author: Jacqueline Joseph, LIC senior business analyst.
