This is a post from our #RemoteLife series, where the webapp.io team interviews tech employees and founders in various roles. This is a resource to share productivity tips and challenges of their roles during this adjustment period.
This interview features Claudia Guerreiro, a full-stack software developer from Bliinx who is currently working from home on May 14, 2020. Bliinx is a 500 Startups graduate that has created a collaborative tool that enables teams to share contacts and interactions over Office 365.
What is your work stack like?
What does your at-home work space look like?
What did your work day look like yesterday?
We have a new feature coming out soon, so much of my day was spent testing and refining things UI/UX wise. Yesterday was a lot of maintenance work, which is a different workflow that usual. Most other times, other people would check my work.
How do you work remotely with your team?
First, the management team (CEO, CTO, CMO) make big design decisions. As a software team, we use Gitkraken, user stories and screenshots to communicate our vision to the decision makers. As part of remote culture, we use Microsoft Teams to have a meeting once a day to sync up with the whole team.
Throughout the day, as software engineers we also use Teams, where we call directly there or send chat messages to each other if we get stuck or need feedback on something.
As a Software Engineer, what are the challenges of working remotely? Any advice for others?
The biggest challenge is being able to have flexibility in break time. It takes a lot of coordination to find time to chat, since you need to be considerate of everyone else in the company.
My advice is to be prepared for meetings and take the time to get to know your team to understand what their work habits are like.
Would you want to work remotely in the future? Why or why not?
Yes! I really enjoy managing my own time. I find that I’m more efficient and I can control when I can take a break. This is in contrast to being at an office, where time is controlled by the work hours. Although I really enjoy working remotely, I do miss the ability to have face-to-face meetings.