Name: Ibrahim Ali

Company: The Retail Data Partnership

How long have you been with the company: 10 Months

Job Role: Junior Developer

Where did you find the job advertisement to apply for the role?

I found the job advertisement online.

Why did you want to work for the company?

The company allowed me to use skills which I have learned at university.

I had the chance to learn a new programming language like Perl and the opportunity to work on team projects.

What interested you about the industry?

The chance to work on an EPOS (electric point of sale) system.

I would get the opportunity to help shop owners in managing products and making transactions easier for them.

An the chance to work on complex systems like managing stock, loyalty and shelf edge labels.

Can you describe a typical day for you?

The day starts with a team Kanban where the team is updated on the progress of issues currently being worked on. If a person has finished they would be delegated a new bug or issue. I would usually be given a ShopMate bug. Once Kanban is finished, I would study how the bug currently works and discuss with the creator of the bug on how ShopMate should work. Next a SVN branch would be created to work on the bug as this allows multiple developers to code in the same area. I would then try to find where the code is placed on the system. Once I found where the code is placed, I would place debugging around the code to make sure I was in the right area. Next I would work on a solution to the bug. Depending on the complexity of the bug this could take a while. Once I have fixed the bug I would commit the code. The work is now waiting to be tested by the testers. Once I have finished I am available to help other members on their work until another piece of work becomes available. New work can also be a new feature which adds more functionality to ShopMate or a new report making it easier for customers to see their data.

What qualities do you bring to the role?

• Hard working
• Keen to learn
• Quick at learning new skills
• Willing to help others in team with issues
• I have experience using MySQL and programming languages like HTML and CSS

What is difficult about your role?

Finding a solution to a bug problem especially if it requires rewriting of old code.

Also, working to tight deadlines to output new releases of ShopMate.

What is the best thing about working at the company?

• Flexible working hours.
• Learn to program in different languages.
• Exposure to many different areas of ShopMate.
• Working in pairs on problems can help if you do not understand or get stuck.
• Team members always willing to help when they have more experience in an area.

Why would you recommend working in the industry?

It is a large industry and you get to work on range of different areas.

TRDP is always expanding giving you to the chance to work on new and exciting software.