Robert has been with IXTENT for ten years and has worked his way up from junior developer to team leader. In our interview, we talked about his beginnings, what he still enjoys about his work, and the projects he is rightly proud of.
What did you do before you joined IXTENT?
IXT is my first real career experience, until then, I only worked part-time jobs. I joined the company at the end of the first year of my master’s degree, which I completed in the following years while working concurrently at IXT. I enjoyed the work more than I had planned… so my studies were stretched to the limit and I defended my thesis at the last possible date. 😉
What was your career path to IXTENT?
There was a Career Market at the school (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University), where we had the opportunity once a year to see what companies were offering, what was new in the industry, and what we could expect from employers. Coincidentally, I was not hired by any of the companies represented, but by a skilled recruiter from Dunross. He managed to conduct the preliminary rounds with me, and got me an interview at IXT earlier than would have been possible with other companies.
I was interviewed by Vláďa Linke, who apparently wanted to ensure my hiring and arranged a second round with the managing director straight away… So instead of attending to a lecture on localization in robotics, I signed a contract with IXT… and I am still here today. 😊
How has your position at IXTENT changed since you joined?
I started as a junior developer with minimal previous experience, so quite a bit. 😃 As part of my studies we had several development projects, where you gain knowledge and certain teamwork habits, but it is not comparable to working for customers. Hence, at IXT I first worked on tickets and some minor development under the supervision of our team leader and learned how projects are managed here. Gradually, I became independent on projects as a developer and was given responsibility for one of our guaranteed technologies, which we wrote in Java. There I grew professionally, and as my project experience increased, I started to lead project teams and eventually moved up to become the head of one of our development teams. Basically, in these 10 years I have climbed the whole ladder of seniority.
What do you like about IXTENT?
I like working with people and I want my work to be meaningful, to see results. IXT does both for me. The team here is fantastic, colleagues across age groups and seniority categories are helpful and supportive, and a pleasure to work with. At the same time, I embraced the company’s vision of a paperless future and only in retrospect do I appreciate that IXT was “eco-friendly” even before going green became popular.
Where do you see IXTENT’s greatest contributions and what do you see as your own mission here?
The whole world is trying to figure out how to be as green as possible, as eco-friendly as possible, how to have the lowest impact on nature. We can’t impact internal combustion engines, but we can affect paper consumption. IXT has the elimination of unnecessary paperwork wired into the core of its business, even if it is a “mere” side effect of the essence of DMS. Documents and work with them will not just disappear, so effective collaboration will make sense for some time to come, and I think that is IXT’s strength. I try to help by proposing that customers migrate to our DMS and integrate their other applications to make the system as beneficial as possible for them.
What do you enjoy most about your current position?
Two things – firstly, when the project is completed and the customer appreciates the solution we have prepared for them.
Secondly, it’s working with people – seeing that my team is happy and can effectively do what they enjoy.
If you had to single out one or two projects that were a success for you/your team and that you are proud of, which would they be and why?
The last big completed project involving document migration for NN. It was a major challenge with a lot of unexpected work both on our side and the customer’s side, tens of millions of documents to process under a strict deadline with the risk of significant financial costs if it wasn’t completed in time… but we made it, the customer is happy and we can be proud of a job well done.
Then there’s Smart Document Flow, IXT’s in-house product, which we’ve managed to take from an unwanted pushover to a respected product. I didn’t write a single line for the project, joining it in a purely managerial role by then. I was called in at a moment when the number of tasks for development exceeded the standard manageable limits, no one could determine their degree of implementation or estimate the time needed to complete them. I changed the standard “waterfall” product development mode to hybrid management, which proved effective – the team is much easier to work with, they know what they’re working on and what is expected of them. The management likewise has an overview of the implementation process and development costs.
What is your biggest achievement at IXTENT?
This would probably be the aforementioned change to SDF development management.
If you were to recruit a newcomer to your team, how would you introduce the team and IXTENT as a whole?
It’s a great team to work with, you can rely on them and if the newcomer wants to, they can spend a lot of time with colleagues even during activities outside of work. We have sports, gaming, and music enthusiasts in the team and company, so there is always a common interest. 😊
From an IT perspective, where do you see the future?
In the digitization of everything. Even the things we used to think were sure to remain on paper are now moving into electronic format. All processes are being streamlined and accelerated. Unlike the government, we have a free hand in the commercial sector and can work with e.g., electronic signatures and DMS systems much more freely, however customers need.
What makes you happy in life?
Results, in various forms, actually. Books finished, Steam achievements, routes climbed, balls won, or projects completed. 😊
How do you like to relax?
Actively playing volleyball or climbing, passively with fantasy books, PC games, or Netflix. 😃
What is your motto in life?
It’s all good. 😉