TechLead-Story: Günther Haslauer, Head of Software Engineering at COPA-DATA

TechLead-Story: Günther Haslauer, Head of Software Engineering at COPA-DATA
TechLeadStory

Günther Haslauer

Team

Size and Roles: The Dev/IT team, also known as the Product Team, consists of approximately 55 members. The team is divided into roles such as Product Managers, Developers, and Testers.

Organization and Structure: The Product Team is organized into seven Scrum teams. Adopting an agile development approach allows for seamless handling of large development tasks and quick adaptation to market needs.

Distinctiveness of the Team: The team stands out for its warm and familial atmosphere, characterized by a lack of significant performance pressure. This environment encourages team members to leverage their individual strengths and contribute their ideas freely.

Recruiting

Integration in Recruiting Process: Recruiting is primarily handled centrally by the HR department. However, the Scrum Team where the candidate will work also provides input and approval for the hiring decision.

Onboarding Procedure: The onboarding process includes a role-specific training program. Additionally, each Scrum Team assigns a Team Buddy – not necessarily the Scrum Master – to support new colleagues. The Team Buddy collaborates with the new team member to develop individualized training measures as needed.

Qualities Beyond Technical Skills: Apart from technical qualifications, a crucial criterion is the cultural fit of the candidate with the team. The emphasis is on finding individuals who align with the company culture, as a strict hierarchy and detailed instructions may not suit everyone.

Technologies

Technical Challenges: Global networking/distribution and the rapid evolution of web technologies pose significant challenges. Balancing these with customer expectations for product maintenance exceeding 10 years can be inherently contradictory.

Current Technologies: The predominant technologies include native Windows applications in C++/MFC/STL and C#/WPF. Some newer components feature a web front end (Angular) and a .NET Core back end, enabling platform-independent distribution. A small hardware-related portion involves platform-neutral ANSI C components for niche requirements.

Evolution of Technology Since Inception: The technologies currently employed are more diverse and complex than those used in the past. This complexity has led to a necessary specialization across all functions within the Product Team.

Technologies in this article

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