TechLead-Story: Christian Stoss, Head of Software Development at illwerke vkw

TechLeadStory

Christian Stoss

Team

Size and Roles: The IT and Process Management service function consists of around 100 colleagues with diverse competencies in all IT-related issues. The Software Development and Applications team currently has 9 members. Additionally, there are decentralized individuals in specific departments handling specialized, domain-specific developments.

Organization and Structure: The central IT team has a corporate-wide view of software development processes and is well-connected. Development teams for third-party software involve cross-competency teams with roles such as Front End, Back End, Full Stack, UX/UI, Test/QA, Database, and Architecture.

Distinctive Aspect - Diverse Perspective: Illwerke vkw offers a combination of centralized IT with a corporation-wide perspective and development teams in different departments, bringing diversity to their activities.

Recruiting

Integration in Recruiting Process: Illwerke vkw emphasizes early interaction between applicants and teams to ensure a cultural fit. Applicants get to know the team, and on request, may spend a day working with the team.

Onboarding Procedure: After an initial meeting, candidates go through multiple interviews. If there is mutual interest, candidates get to spend time with the team to ensure compatibility. Once confirmed, details are clarified, and the new members are welcomed.

Qualities Beyond Technical Skills: Apart from technical skills, emphasis is on the individual's personality. Illwerke vkw values a respectful and open approach among team members. They look for individuals comfortable in fast-paced environments, eager to self-develop, and possessing a high level of quality consciousness.

Technologies

Technical Challenges: As illwerke vkw transitions to developing professional software solutions, they face challenges in creating the necessary frameworks and structures. This involves aspects like professional business analysis, modern DevOps structures, Microservice environments, integration layers, CI/CD, and quality assurance processes.

Current Technologies: Illwerke vkw uses a broad tech stack, including containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), collaboration and management tools (Azure DevOps, Microsoft Teams), development languages (C#, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, Python), frameworks/platforms (.NET Core, React), and testing/quality assurance tools (SonarQube, Ranorex), among others.

Evolution of Technology Since Inception: Technologies have constantly evolved, particularly in web development. Initially, the focus was on solutions for internal use, using .NET, WPF, and ASP.NET. As illwerke vkw now develops solutions for customers and invests in modernizing internal software, they increasingly rely on web and mobile technologies like React, Node.js, WebAssembly, Electron, Ionic, Xamarin, and are also exploring Augmented and Mixed Reality solutions.