February 2009 – Due to a previous job, I already knew the OTRS software and had met a couple of OTRS Group employees as we got admin and development training. At that time, I was already developing modules for OTRS, so it was a natural option to work directly for the OTRS Group.
It was very clear for me since elementary school that I like computers. I remember doing small code loops in my Commodore 64 back in the ‘80s just for fun. So, software development has been with me since I was a little kid.
OTRS Group has given me the opportunity to work on enterprise grade software where my contributions are very important. This responsibility and the trust the company has in me, makes me really love my job.
Our software at this point is complex and dynamic enough that there is no single person that knows it all. Also, different perspectives help to solve problems and develop new features more efficiently.
As part of our software development process, we do code reviews and pair programming. This helps a lot to create ties with the team members.
We have been able to develop a community among all developers and members of the solution management team where one feels free to ask any question or ask for help. There is always someone that can happily give you a hand.
There are special occasions where we do offsites, and we are all together in the same room sharing not only work-related stuff, but also having fun, enjoying a meal, visiting some places after working hours etc. Yes, we are usually working from home, but we are never working alone.
It starts with a good coffee; this cannot be missing ;-). Previous tasks are finished. All unit tests are green. Then, you can start a new task.
This is hard to say… I had the privilege to work on several projects, but I think about three of them that have been special.
iPhoneHandle package: It was the first project for which I got the full responsibility, and it also was my first approach to JSON as an interface between OTRS and our former iPhone app.
Generic Interface: It was a totally new feature that opened the door to integrate with other systems through web services. It was also our first try to implement an agile methodology for software development (we learned a lot).
OTRS Daemon: This is a critical component of OTRS due to its importance and the stability required. We had to stat from the scratch several times until we were satisfied with the results (It hasn’t changed so much since then… so I think we did a good job). In this project, I was able to work very closely with the head of the department.
Do not hesitate and ((enjoy)).