Developers Attiya and Heveen, who are both based in Mauritius, form part of our global team of technology experts. They share with us their career journeys to date and talk about life as a software developer at IDR, including piecing together the puzzle little by little, meeting business requirements with tech–based solutions and the opportunities associated with immersing yourself in a rapidly evolving field with no end.
What inspired you to become a developer and how has your career evolved
A – For me it was all about coding at college, so I went for it and embarked on a degree in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Mauritius. Before I even completed the third year, I had an interview and was offered a job. I’d thought about taking a break between finishing studying and starting work, but I entered the working world very naturally.
H – I finished high school and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. IT jobs seemed to be the most in demand and both challenging and interesting, which is why I chose it. I dived headfirst into the IT world and it was the right choice. It’s been great!
What type of projects have you been involved with at IDR?
A – I didn’t expect to go straight into projects but from day one I was fully involved and very hands on, so that was a good challenge and I’ve learnt a lot. I’ve worked on a range of projects including tasks and utilisation, client reporting and enhancing our KYC module. I am now also responsible for bug fixing across the system.
H – Similarly, when I joined IDR it was straight to a range of projects which provided a fantastic opportunity to use my coding skills whilst getting to grips with the overall system and the different modules within it. I’m now also looking after deployment – Azure DevOps, which is an exciting new challenge. So, my time is now split between 50% deployment and 50% coding.What guides your development decisions?
What guides your development decisions?
H – When I’m assigned a user story everything is there from a requirement perspective but we don’t always fully understand the requirements. The first step is to set up a call with the business analysts (who act as a bridge between the developers and the client service teams). We can then provide the technical ideas and build a solution to meet the requirements of the business. We also have development squad meetings to share ideas and help each other tackle problems.
A – Over time, I’ve learnt a lot about the different aspects of the system. For example, I’ve learnt what KYC is all about and I’ve also worked on reporting, so the puzzle is being built little by little. This helps with my understanding of how the system is being used and so it’s then easier to look for improvements. I must say that the business analysts play an important role in helping me to understand the functional side of things better, enabling me to create workable and efficient technical solutions.
Describe your typical day as part of the IDR Development team.
A – I start and finish my day early, so frequently I’m the first one in. After grabbing a coffee, I will go through the Rockaway (bug fixing team) Dashboard and plan my day based on the severity of each bug raised. We’re a close-knit team, we’ll often eat lunch together and have regular Teams meetings with our colleagues in other offices.
H – I get started by either picking up on the previous day’s work or starting a new project. Additionally, now I’m working on deployment I will also check on all the developers’ work, then review and approve it. After this, I start coding!
What do you enjoy most about your work?
H – Now that I have taken up a new role as DevOps, I have the opportunity to review almost all the work of the Dev team. DevOps is completely new to me and I’m loving this new world. It’s getting more exciting as I am working on our new UI/UX project which is based entirely in Angular, a web development platform.
A – As a developer it’s great doing new things and making enhancements. Coding is always enjoyable as it’s what I love to do, but when you see what you’ve developed go live that’s really satisfying. It’s especially satisfying to know that our clients no longer need to undertake tasks manually, all because of our development work. In addition, with the bug fixing responsibility, I love communicating with different people from different teams across all our locations. It is so enriching talking to all our beautiful people out there.
What advice would you give someone who is just starting out in a developer role?
A – Anyone wanting to go into development needs to understand that any technology you’re using is evolving and therefore you always need to be learning new things, keeping up to date and stepping outside your comfort zone. You’ve got to keep evolving with the technology.
H – First you need to understand what the development world is because as soon as you enter the world of IT you discover it’s a world in itself. Explore everything as there are so many elements, for example – developing, testing, coding, AI and networking. You have to immerse yourself in it to really understand where you want to create a career path.
A – That’s definitely true, it’s a field with no end!
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
A – “Take one thing at a time”: This is a piece advice from our former Development Manager, which I will always cherish and I put it into practice in both my professional and personal life. In each and every aspect I use it, it brings new meaning and it continues to help me a lot.
H – “Plan everything before starting”: that’s from our CEO, Tim Andrews! If you don’t plan and you just start, you can lose the whole day. Whereas with a plan, 8 hours could be 6 or even less.
Want to be a part of IDR Development Team? We’re recruiting for talented developers which a different way of thinking to help us pioneer the future of investor onboarding in the private markets.
