TechLead-Story: Alexander Urbanec, CTO at SobIT
TechLeadStory
Alexander Urbanec
Team
Size and Roles:
- Vienna team: 10 members, focusing on WPF Desktop applications, Windows Services, REST interfaces.
- Klagenfurt team: 6 members, specializing in web and mobile frontends, responsive web design, and offline capability.
- Almost all developers are functionally full-stack.
- Supported by an requirements manager and a tester.
- Technical leads (Product Owners) and a manager responsible for resources and priorities.
Organizational Structure:
- Agile work methodology, a blend of Scrum and Kanban.
- Flexibility and adaptability within the process, allowing for minimal bureaucratic overhead.
Distinctive Aspects:
- High individual responsibility, teamwork, and a focus on the big picture.
- Culture of self-directed learning, technical and domain specialization, and collaborative problem-solving.
- SobIT operates as a nonprofit, emphasizing cost-effectiveness and high value for customers through collaboration and user partnerships.
Recruiting
Integration in Recruiting Process:
- Dev team members actively participate in the recruitment process.
- External recruiters assist in the search, while internal HR supports the initial interview.
- Evaluation is not only based on technical skills but also on team and process fit.
Onboarding Procedure:
- Guided self-learning with mentor support.
- Tasks are chosen to facilitate gradual familiarization with the solution and specific areas.
- Open communication culture for addressing questions or problems without formal meetings.
Qualities Beyond Technical Skills:
- Emphasis on independence, result orientation, and fitting into the team culture.
- Soft skills, organizational, and communication abilities are valued.
- Human compatibility, a positive work attitude, and alignment with the team's collaborative approach.
Technologies
Technical Challenges:
- Balancing utilization of new technologies with the need for stable and viable solutions.
- Transitioning a stand-alone WPF, C#, Entity Framework application to a modern, service-oriented client-server solution with multiple UIs or service consumers.
Technologies in Use:
- Vienna: C#, WPF (.NET Framework 4.8, .NET Core 3.0), ASP.NET Core, gRPC, Entity Framework 5, EF Core, Visual Studio 2019.
- Klagenfurt: C#, ASP.NET, Angular, Android Studio, Git Extensions, Visual Studio 2019, Visual Studio Code.
- External Frameworks: Telerik, Stimulsoft, Autofac, NLog, PostSharp, FluentValidation, Stateless, NewtonSoft MEF.
- Toolings: ReSharper.
- Environment: Azure DevOps with Git, MS SQL-Server.
Evolution of Technology:
- Founded as an internal development department in 2009, transformed into SobIT in 2012.
- Started with .NET, WPF, and Entity Framework in 2009.
- Evolved architecture more than specific technologies.
- Introduced Clean Code practices, code reviews, and ReSharper for formatting.
- Shifted development processes to Azure DevOps for work package management, build, and release management.
Dev Interview Info
