DEVELOPMENT WITH AN EYE FOR UX AND UI

Angular, React, Vue.js,... The list of available development frameworks is slowly becoming infinite. Knowing that each framework responds to different business needs, it matters to know which framework suits a particular case best. The key is that adequate application development is much more than just choosing the right framework and coding things. A good developer needs to think way beyond and has to take the end user experience in consideration. The latter implies gaining a deeper understanding in concepts such as User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI).

In order to deliver the best possible journey to our customers, it’s crucial to possess a thorough in-house knowledge. Not only on the way different platforms work, but also on the impact of the choice for a certain framework. After all, at Optis we aim to handle an agile approach. Which is just as well! For a developer, the introduction of a new framework always implies a welcome change. It’s a great way to broaden your horizons and challenge your development skills. Within the Optis team, there are a couple of developers who have recently started delving into the Vue.js world. Others immerse themselves into alternate technologies. At the end, we want to build a multidisciplinary team, where each member is expert in his or her field of interest.

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PUTTING BEST CODING PRACTICES INTO ACTION

Not only the number of available frameworks is increasing, also the amount of existing programming languages is quite extensive. Something which makes infinite combinations of platforms and languages possible. Once again, it’s all about choosing a combination of one or a couple of programming languages and frameworks that suits the present case best. Not a one-size-fits-all approach, but a solution that addresses the requirements and needs inherent to a specific project. In the current development landscape, knowing just Java as a Java Developer isn't enough anymore. In some cases you will rely just on Java, in other situations you will have to use a blend of multiple programming languages. Everything depends on the issue to be solved.

And that’s why, within Optis, we’re striving for a great diversity in both skills and knowledge. We want a team that is complementary, one in which everyone has their own expertise. On the other hand we want to avoid our developers’ knowledge being too narrow. Therefore, we attach a lot of importance to individual journeys. Each employee gets the opportunity to attend workshops and courses in order to become a real expert and to reinforce the Optis workforce in general.

SHIFT TOWARDS MANAGED SERVICES

Compared to the past, a developer’s responsibilities nowadays reach much further than just coding. Let’s say 80% of the job involves development work, the remaining 20% comprises optimizing the way of working and monitoring its impact (possible barriers, hidden opportunities,...). Easily explained, it’s much more than just writing code. Due to the growing amount of services and technologies, it becomes ever more important to have knowledge about the context in which the development is taking place. For example, if AWS is used for a certain assignment, it’s not sufficient to know how to deploy things in this environment. It’s important to know the advantages and possible repercussions of using this cloud provider as well.

All of the above implies that within Optis, we attach great importance to personal growth. On the one hand in the form of internal knowledge sharing, on the other hand by providing our employees with a training budget. The latter in order to follow courses, workshops or interesting business events. For example, some of our employees are currently focusing on obtaining an AWS (Amazon Web Services) certificate, where others are deepening their knowledge on other technologies. Our intention is to keep the knowledge within Optis as wide-ranging as possible.

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CONTINUOUS NEED FOR REAL-TIME DATA INSIGHTS

We probably don’t need to tell you that there is a huge data overload and influx nowadays. But far more important is how we deal with this data and how we are going to use it to make the right decisions. That’s why there’s an urgent need for real-time insights. And even though we’re not doing any data reporting or analytics as such at Optis, we’re facilitating it.

Easily explained, it’s much more than just writing code. Due to the growing amount of services and technologies, it becomes ever more important to have knowledge about the context in which the development is taking place.

We’re developing applications that can send dozens of data, merge data into databases or files and we provide appropriate maintenance and monitoring tools. For this purpose, we regularly rely on the use of Kafka, but also other stream-processing software. It matters to build app real-time streaming applications that are able to provide real-time data analytics, transform, react, aggregate, join real-time data flows, and perform complex event processing. Keeping things continuously tracked, that is what it is all about!