Behind the scenes: Different career paths in tech at Unit4 part II
A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to meet three inspiring women from Unit4, each working in distinctly different tech-related roles. They shared valuable insights about their backgrounds, what a typical workday looks like, and their unique career paths. This month, we’re taking a deeper dive into the specifics of their roles, with targeted questions tailored to each of them. Let’s jump into the second part of the article!
As all of you have different tech related roles within Unit4, we would like to deep dive into some role specific insights, therefore we would like to start with Paulina Rothermel.
Our first question to you is: Technical writing seems like such a balancing act. How do you make sure your documentation is technically accurate while still being friendly and accessible to different kinds of users?
Paulina Rothermel: I can always rely on my team to help me explain the technical aspects that I need to first understand myself before making them clear to others. Once I understand what the new functionality does, I can describe it accurately, in the simplest terms I can think of. One thing I always focus on is that most of our users are not looking to be wowed with the language of our documentation, they are simply looking to quickly understand how our products work, and my job is to make it easy for them.
We are also curious to hear what skills have helped you succeed in documentation that might surprise someone considering this career path?
Paulina Rothermel: More than skills I believe that what helped me succeed in becoming a technical writer is a true passion for technology and a drive to understand how things work. However, what may surprise someone who wants to pursue technical writing is the fact that it’s more technical than writing. If you are not comfortable learning new tools, you definitely need to overcome this obstacle as you will spend a lot of time doing just that. And, last but not least, you will work independently but it’s the collaboration with your team, your Product Owners, your peers, Subject Matter Experts, managers and everyone else who will make you successful and happy in this line of work.
Thank you, Paulina Rothermel. It was really interesting to hear more insights from you!
Next, we would like to hear more about the role of a Test Analyst. Monika Jaguś, testing requires such a creative mindset.
Can you share some of your favorite approaches to finding those tricky issues that might otherwise slip through the cracks?
Monika Jaguś: Of course! I agree that testing requires creative thinking. The longer I work as a tester, the more I notice this. I love finding bugs, and to do this, I first ensure that the application covers all the required test cases. It’s crucial that the requirements are 100% met. Then it’s time to find the elusive bugs that often hide in edge cases and unexpected user behavior. At this stage, I no longer follow strict requirements but explore the application as an end user would – clicking, trying strange combinations and pushing the boundaries. This relaxed approach often reveals usability problems and hidden bugs. I often use boundary value analysis in my work. Bugs love to hide at the edges – whether it’s minimum/maximum input lengths, date ranges or quantity limits. I focus tests around these boundaries to catch logical errors. In my opinion, it is important to think like a “malicious” user. I deliberately input incorrect, unexpected or distorted data to see how the system handles it. Thanks to my experience with the application, I can predict potential error-prone areas and focus my testing on those, e.g. particularly where issues have frequently occurred or where users commonly make mistakes.
Wow, sounds like a very interesting mix of ensuring the quality and functionality as well as being able to work explorative to find out the user experience behind the technical setup!
Our next question for you is how has your role changed as Unit4 has adopted more agile ways of working? Has this shifted how you collaborate with the rest of the team?
Monika Jaguś: As our company has adopted more agile working methods, my role as a tester has evolved significantly. Now testing is important at every stage of the development process, so testing is not just the final stage, but is now a continuous activity. This means that I am involved from the beginning as a tester in the process, for example I attend sprint planning meetings to understand upcoming features and prepare test cases accordingly. I work closely with the developers. Daily meetings and regular retrospectives ensure constant communication and quick problem solving. So, if a developer encounters a bug, we can discuss it immediately and find a solution together, rather than waiting until the end of the development cycle. Of course, in agile, automation has become key, and this is the direction I would like to develop as a tester.
Thank you so much Monika for sharing these insights with us! It is really interesting to hear how you discover bugs and where they are most likely to appear. Our next questions are directed to Marta Szafraniec-Szpak.
We are really fascinated by the research behind good design. How do you gather insights about users and incorporate them into your design process here at Unit4?
Marta Szafraniec-Szpak: User research is an important part of my work. At Unit4, we often work with customers and internal stakeholders to understand real user needs, especially as business software needs to support a wide range of roles and workflows. I use a mix of methods – interviews, feedback sessions, user testing and sometimes data analysis – to gain insight. What’s important to me is not just gathering input, but translating it into clear, actionable design decisions. I also make sure that the research is visible to the whole team, so that everyone stays connected to the user perspective throughout the design process.
Enterprise software can be quite complex! What are some of the unique challenges you face when designing interfaces that need to handle complicated processes while still being user-friendly?