2020 – itakeunconf.com

Software craftswomen: Franziska Sauerwein

Mar 08, 2016

In celebration of Women’s Day, this March we salute yesterday & today women’s contribution to the development of the technology and IT fields. Follow #famousITwomen to find interesting stories. They might motivate and encourage you to do something out of the ordinary in your career.

We’ve sat down with Franziska Sauwerwein, software craftswoman. Learn more about her professional journey and lessons learned in the IT field. She will speak at I T.A.K.E Unconference 2016.

#1. What’s your professional story?

Please share with us about your journey in the IT field.

Hey, my name is Franziska Sauerwein and I’m a Software Craftswoman. Puzzles have always amazed me and that’s how I got interested in Computer Science. After completing my degree I worked as a software developer and consultant for three years in Germany. I then moved to London to join Codurance in the summer of 2015.

My passions include Test Driven Development, Refactoring, XP techniques and high quality software development. I’m always trying to improve my skills and share knowledge. As an active member of the European Software Craftsmanship community I love to participate in unconferences and organise code retreats, hackathons, coding dojos as well as tech talks. I aim to use my skills and creativity to develop software that is reliable, easy to adapt and doing what it is supposed to do.

#2. What would be a lesson you’ve learned so far as practitioners in this field?

I learned that software development is much more about people than about sitting alone at a desk in a room and coding in isolation, which is great! I do enjoy coding at a high quality level but people have always fascinated me.

As developers, we have a profound influence on our society and people’s everyday lives. How we write software and what we write has an impact and with great power comes great responsibility. And how people act when developing software has a great influence on how that software turns out. For example, a team that does not have a good team culture or a lacking relationship with the business will most probably have code quality problems that stem from misunderstandings and lack of communication. And sometimes products are developed just from a developer’s perspective without the user’s needs in mind when the teams are too homogenous. This is something that should definitely be changed.

#3. Whom do you admire as a women IT practitioner? Why?

Please share with our audience about great women you think they make a difference in this domain.

There are so many women in IT that I admire. If I had to choose one, I’d point out Rachel Davies, an expert practitioner and coach of eXtreme Programming. If you search online for “Rachel Davies xp” (without quotes) you’ll find a lot of content, including videos of her inspiring talks. Talking to her has given me lots of insights and she keeps on inspiring me.

What women in IT inspire you? Let us know in a comment!

Curious to meet Franziska? Join her @ I T.A.K.E Unconference 2016!

Meet Rebeca Wirfs-Brock, Keynote @ I T.A.K.E. Unconference

Apr 23, 2020

Rebecca is an internationally recognized object design pioneer who invented the set of design practices known as Responsibility-Driven Design (RDD). By accident, she started the x-Driven Design meme. Along the way, she authored two popular object design books that are still in print and was the design columnist for IEEE Software.

Software craftswomen: Claudia Rosu

Mar 29, 2016

In celebration of Women’s Day, this March we salute yesterday & today women’s contribution to the development of the technology and IT fields. Follow #famousITwomen to find interesting stories. They might motivate and encourage you to do something out of the ordinary in your career.

The importance of women in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math has been gaining a momentum in the last years. At I T.A.K.E. Unconference, we value women’s contribution in IT and we believe their dedication to the software craft can be an inspiration for other practitioners.

In the latest posts we invited you to learn more about the contribution women have in IT as Fransizka Sauerwein, Alexandra Marin and Grace Hopper.

Now it’s time to introduce you Claudia Rosu, software craftswoman speaking @ I T.A.K.E Unconference 2016.

#1. What’s your professional story?

Why did you choose to develop a career in this domain?

First, I will say that I am proud to be a software developer. Since primary school I loved to solve math problems. Later, during high school, I was encouraged to follow Computer Science, as I had good logical and analytical thinking skills. Looking back, I would follow the same path, and I would change just a few things.

What I would do differently is to rely more on my skills and spend more time reading. One story that changed my professional growth for the better: early in my career, my senior developer colleague told me that it is great to have a girl in the team as we pay more attention to details and we don’t leave bugs in the code :).

On the reading side, I would include technical and non-technical books, which help us develop skills to: write quality code, communicate and collaborate better, focus on continuous improvement. With confidence in my skills and discipline in reading, I can now deliver quality software that helps the users in their activity. Extra, I am organizing and facilitating community events, speak at various gatherings to share my experience & learn others.

#2. Share with us a lesson you’ve learned since you’ve been working in IT

It is said that to be a great programmer you need strong technical skills. This is what I have learned during university. And it is true. What I didn’t know is that this is not enough. Having other skills like creativity, courage, openness and initiative is even more important. Since realizing it, it is easier for me to improve as a professional, on both soft and technical skills.

#3. Whom do you admire as a women IT practitioner? Why?

I admire most Rebecca Wirfs-Brock. I believe she can be a true inspiration for all women working or want to work in technology. I’ve met Rebecca 3 years ago at the first I.T.A.K.E. Unconference and since then I have learned a lot from her knowledge and experience. Improving the way I am doing software design is easier because of her insights on this topic.

Want to meet Claudia? Join her & other amazing speakers at I T.A.K.E Unconference 2016!