Gretchen Heinel, a software engineer at Kargo, recently took time to share her to do list with us. We asked her which task on her list gets her out of bed in the morning, how she tackles it and what she does to celebrate the completion of that task.
WHAT KARGO DOES: Provides a brand advertising network that enables marketers to reach mobile tech users. It has an editorial alliance of 70 publishers, reaching 100 percent of U.S. smartphone users.
FAVORITE TASK ON HER LIST: Currently, I’m working on a story that involves parts of the code base I’ve never seen before, which is exciting for me. By “story,” I mean a task that has an impact on usability that we can complete in a two-week sprint. Typically my work involves primarily front-end stories using Angular, HTML and Sass, but the story I have this sprint involves database migrations, updating existing APIs and pushing data to DoubleClick for Publishers.
HOW SHE TACKLES IT: I first familiarize myself with the existing code and see how other folks have solved similar problems. I assess what infrastructure is already in place, what’s missing, what can be repurposed or extended and what would need to be written from scratch.
In the process, I’m learning how different pieces of our code base fit together. Our code base is mature enough that I often find the solutions to my problems just by studying what already exists.
If I have questions or concerns about existing code, then I’ll reach out to other folks who develop in that part of the code base. Things become much more collaborative in that case, which I always enjoy.
HOW HER JOB HAS CHANGED: When we first created the application I'm working on, we had fewer examples. So I had to spend a lot more time researching and trying out multiple solutions for the same problem. I sometimes miss the “a ha” feeling of figuring out something new, but I now have a deeper understanding of our project and the technologies we’re using, and a more holistic understanding of our code base and how our product actually works end-to-end.
HOW SHE CELEBRATES: It’s not the act of completing a task that I celebrate. Rather, I celebrate that I am trusted by my team to complete these tasks, even when they’re beyond the scope of my abilities. That trust exists because of our collaborative and growth-oriented mindsets. We’re encouraged to take risks, step into the unknown and try new things. I’m happy that I work in this kind of environment, where roles are fluid and every day I get to both learn and teach.
