It’s been a year since I left federal government and jumped into the depths of the private sector. Polar opposites to say the least, but the journey I have been on so far has been exciting, challenging and rewarding.
After spending over eight years working in tech, writing about tech and immersed in tech transformation, I came to DiUS thinking that I had it covered. What I didn’t consider was that I had been working in a political and process driven environment where it can be difficult and expensive to implement process and technology change. I found myself on the steep part of the learning curve; no longer was I documenting process, writing briefs and working in projects delivered based on the waterfall methodology, I was working in a true agile environment.
My first week at DiUS is one that I remember well, and one that perhaps reignited my passion for tech. Robots and machine learning, Internet of Things, virtual reality and one of my favourites, next-generation analytics (sports related of course)! I also discovered very early on that I was surrounded by a group of very talented and passionate people who love what they do, and most importantly, get a kick out of sharing what they know.
Here I am at our daily stand up
What’s an MVP I found myself asking? This was a whole new concept for me, and one I didn’t quite understand in the beginning. 12 months on and I am proud to say that with plenty of help from my colleagues, we launched two internal MVP’s and have since delivered multiple iterations. I also work alongside my fellow marketing colleague in a more agile way – daily stand-ups at our agile wall are a bit of a highlight for me – treating our work as a project has made us more fluid and responsive in supporting the company’s objectives and priorities.
Ricky, Dom, myself and JC at Rails Girls
I have also been given many opportunities for professional and personal development. Six months ago I tried my hand at coding. After attempting to learn how to code Ruby on Rails, I think it’s safe to say I will never be a developer. However, being given the opportunity to learn and gain insight into what my colleagues do on a daily basis has only made me appreciate their craft even more.
Looking back over the last year, I can honestly say that joining DiUS was the right decision. I have learnt so much, meet many amazing people and I continue to get excited about what’s next and what the next big thing will be.