Admit it. You think that all a developer does is sit in a dark room with headphones on and code without interruption. The reality is developers interact with almost everyone within the organization and also the end customers. At least that’s how it is with our team. Yes, some of the stereotypical things are true. I do spend a lot of time in front of the computer with headphones on. I’m usually doing everything from loading a simple data file all the way to creating a detailed reporting analysis and even troubleshooting.
Today for example I worked on a new clients’ punchout catalog. This punchout catalog is for a DNA sequencing company and is a little more complex than most since we’re integrating with not only the client system for automation, but also their customers’ procurement platform. The customer spec may be missing a few things so either our customer success manager or I may need to reach out to them to get more details.
Then I participated in a joint call with one of our customers needing some updates on their reporting engine. The client wanted some additional information shown on the chart that we were already collecting but not displaying.
After lunch I will usually load some product data files for customers and address some more challenging issues. These usually involve troubleshooting purchase orders that have failed due to a cXML transmission error or a post-process failure due to mapping. Once these have been resolved I will send an update to the end customer to let them know that everything is alright now.
By the end of the day it’s time to go into our project management system for cleanup. I will close out any ticket that is now complete and ask for any additional information that I may need to continue on with any open tickets. This let’s not only our end customers know what’s going on but also our team so that we can all be update to date on any ticket.
As you can see, I work on a variety of issues that at times can leave my head spinning. However, all the work gets done, just in time to start over again the next day.