The secrets behind successful IT teams and client partnerships
There is a unifying approach behind all the projects that the IT teams of Resolute Software are dedicated to. This approach is in the ambition to achieve a perfect synchronicity between characters, skills, and work style — both internally and with customers. To build successful relationships and sustainable business, you need a team environment in which each of the professionals can freely contribute with their talent and qualities. Chavdar Stoenchev (team leader of one of the engineering teams) and Gergana Milusheva (UX / UI designer), who are part of one of the Resolute Software IT teams, will tell us about the main components of teamwork such as open communication, trust, established clear goals, respect for differences and responsibility. From them we will learn more about the challenges in their work and the necessary qualities.
When the client becomes a partner
Working in any consulting tech company has been associated with time spent rewriting codes and communicating with the client, which can sometimes be challenging. For the IT team of Resolute Software, these moments are almost completely minimized and very often they manage to achieve the desired result from the first time. Chavdar, the team leader, shares how important it is from the very beginning to communicate with the client as well as possible so that the work can go smoothly and without misunderstandings. “We strive to extract the information in such a way that we are able to get into the shoes of the other party in order to most adequately implement what is required. This approach makes us think about our task, set by the client, as if this is a business that we ourselves are developing, “ added Chavdar.
To a large extent, for him the key to such an approach is in the ability to ask the right questions, as well as in the imagination, through which to put yourself in the place of the other.
“We do everything possible to get into the smallest details of each new business domain we will work on. In this way we avoid the mechanical “delegation” of tasks. We are trying to involve our partners to actively participate in the work, because only in this way can both parties save valuable time and achieve a high result,” said the team.
Despite the dynamics and the change of different projects, the team has achieved universal synchrony, which helps them with new tasks and makes them adaptable.
Imagination machine: To work without final elements
Among the projects of Resolute Software, there are those that have required to a large extent the rich experience of specialists to be accompanied by a rich imagination. Many of these projects have an extremely high level of confidentiality and some of the final elements that must be present in the finished products cannot be disclosed. For that reason, the experience must be backed up by imagination, so the teams can do their job flawlessly, even though they do not have all the information available.
“One of the projects we are working on is in the field of military defense, which includes visualization of devices, real-time transmission of objects, location and their status. We use different technologies such as Reddis and SignalR “, said the IT team. In terms of visualization, Resolute Software is increasingly relying on Blazor (Microsoft). In the case of the military industry project, which was submitted for work without the final elements, the UX / UI design team has developed components to use as a replacement to maintain the necessary confidentiality.
“This is a very complex but also very interesting project for us. When you have the final data, it is easy to predict how to design the components. In this case, however, we had to use only examples,” said Gergana, who is part of the UI / UX department, which we have already described here. For her, the challenges are an opportunity for improvement and an additional field for development, especially in situations where she has to build a design presented in the form of a drawing on a napkin (real situation).
“Collaboration between teams as well as internal teamwork is extremely important. We respect each point of view and solve the cases together,” Gergana shares.
In Resolute Software, work on a project begins when a design is submitted. This optimizes the work and makes it much easier for developers, because they have an idea of what should happen and what the product will look like for the end user.
Trust and support
For every professional in an IT team, access to complete information and the ability to communicate directly with the client is extremely important. In companies with a heavier hierarchical system, these two circumstances are either more difficult to achieve or generally impossible. The team shares that, at Resolute Software, the case is quite different, and it is clear as soon as you enter the company.
In addition to clear communication and access to the necessary information, the IT team also emphasizes on building and maintaining motivation, in which Chavdar as a team leader plays a key role. Despite his leadership position, he is one of those people for whom imposing one’s opinion on others is not the right approach. For him, building a strong team consists of each participant discussing on a par with others the most important ideas and problems, and together looking for the best solution.
“Two weeks ago, I was on vacation and left everything in the hands of my team. After reviewing the records of the meetings with the clients, I was convinced once again that even when I’m not there, things are in safe hands,” Chavdar shares.
Remote work and live cohesion
At Resolute Software, working remotely is a basic practice. The office is not mandatory, and some developers work entirely outside the capital. At the same time, however, the culture of live contact is present convincingly. Meetings with the team are organized in working and non-working hours, working in parks, team buildings, sports activities, and many others.
Another key factor is embedded in the company’s culture — the support that the company provides to its specialists and the support that the specialists themselves show to each other. The team shares how invaluable for them is to feel that there is someone to help and to lend a hand in a moment of difficulty. “Ultimately, everyone should continue to learn and help those who follow the same golden rule,” Chavdar added.
The latest technology on the market
Resolute Software programmers use a wide range of programming languages. On the one hand, they try to build diverse teams, as consulting in the IT industry confronts them with various projects and cases, and on the other hand to master the latest programming languages. “We work with the latest technologies on the market. Among them — .NET, Entityframework Core, Reddis, Blazor, MSSQL, Razor, Angular, React and many others. Resolute is an innovative company and we are often entrusted with projects written in an outdated language that needs to be modernized or a completely new product built according to current programming trends,” said Chavdar.
In addition to using innovative technologies, the Resolute team has a lot of experience in putting the right people in the right positions. During job interviews, the person is very carefully assessed in order to understand the position and the level they are suitable for. If there are times when a person applies for a mid-level position, but it turns out that they have more knowledge and experience, then in that case, the company will give the person the chance to step into a higher role. The help that the team provides in the adaptation and development of colleagues is not just a coincidence, but a harmony achieved to some extent with the brilliant algorithm in the selection of personnel, which not accidentally put the company at the top of the TOP 10 in the happiest organizations.
From what Chavdar and Geri told us, we understood why Resolute Software tops this world ranking. The IT team, as well as other teams in the company are built based on several ingredients, without which such synchrony and results would not be possible. The feeling of freedom in communication, the ability to understand the work of the client, clearly defined goals, professionalism, backed by support and responsibility to others — these are some of the advantages that the team and the company have. As a result, each Dream Team’s path to success seems more than feasible.
Author: Nadezhda Petrova, Marketing Specialist @ Resolute Software
