WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIALS OF GREAT SOFTWARE?

It’s been 30 years since I started out in the software industry. At that time, FORTRAN programmers were a highly sought-after bunch and Marvin Minsky was the trendiest guru around. Following a brief battle with SQL in 2002, I’ve spent the past few years writing about technology rather than creating it. Snow Software recently hired me as their tech copy and even after just a few short months, it feels like I’ve come home.

I believe that sound technology decisions and creative, passionate people are the two essentials of good software. To test my convictions, I decided to take a look under the hood of software development, to discover the people and the strategy behind the products. So, I talked to some of my colleagues at Snow R&D. Here’s what they had to say...

Martin Roth, Snow’s Technology Operations Manager, has a passion for automating his home with the least possible user interaction. He’s been at Snow for 5 years, and lives and breathes tech. Martin asked me to say the following words out loud: “Multi-platform, full-stack, enterprise software products.” What those words translate to in my head is massive scope for technical evolution. Everything from UX to efficient data modeling.

Martin has the enviable responsibility of keeping Snow’s development track in line with current trends and innovation. He says that “our technical strategy is a vital tool for us to achieve that. It ensures our technical decisions translate into continued competitive advantage.”

”The best way to tackle ever-moving goalposts is to design for constantly changing business needs and technical preconditions – to maximize flexibility. By taking inspiration from concepts such as Domain Driven Design, which put the business first, we can reduce technical complexity through clear module contracts and boundaries, and by building solutions that are easy to prove and test through automation. The aim is to build and deliver sustainable, platform-independent products that are easy to maintain and have a low entry barrier for new talents joining Snow.”

“What I see in the R&D team at Snow is a lot of pride and a passion for technology. I’m proud to have been part of building that. We have a strong culture.”

Daniel Furtado has been a System Developer at Snow for nearly three years and has a passion for open-source software development.

Daniel says that one of the best things about Snow is freedom. During his time at Snow, he has worked on a couple of different products, and today, he is part of the development team for Snow Automation Platform. A developer since the late 1990s, he has seen a lot of change. Daniel says that agile and web are two of the most significant movements that have had a lasting impact on the software industry.

“Apart from the freedom, what I like about Snow is the open atmosphere. We talk about technology, a lot. I feel we have managed to maintain our start-up feeling, which contributes to good energy in the office.”

When Daniel talks about what he does and how he developed the Level Up game – a code challenge he designed for Snow recruitment events – it’s impossible not to get swept away by his passion. So, of course I had to try the game. It was tough, especially since I haven’t written a line of code for years. But in true Snow spirit, I succeeded with a little help from my friends – thanks Martin!

“That’s the thing about Snow, no two days are the same, there are always new challenges. Developing the game was great for my creativity.”

Vidak Mijailovic has a passion for distributed computing. He’s been with Snow as a System Developer for six months, and is a recent ICT graduate from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.

Despite his apparent rookie status, Vidak is no stranger to developing enterprise software. As a teenager, he started out in web development, and later while studying at KTH, he began his own company producing tools for video game development. At Snow, he is part of the dev team for Snow Device Manager. He is a core server developer, responsible for a complex piece of the overall product – the part which manages communication for a wide range of device types, as well as all other cloud-based or on-premise servers and services (such as VPP, WSB, DEP, a few IIS web services, and more).

“And that’s what I like about Snow as a developer. I feel comfortable with the level of responsibility that has been entrusted to me. I have complete control over my area – I have full freedom to develop. Keeping up to date with technology is important, so I read a lot of tech blogs and track the latest features. I have amazing colleagues, some of whom have worked with the likes of Apple and Microsoft – they have great insight.”

What strikes me most about Vidak is his confidence that anything is possible!

Emil Flink, a football and ice hockey enthusiast, who has been with Snow for four years. As a Software Recognition Analyst, he is one of a rapidly growing team building intelligence in Snow’s products.

Software development is often regarded as a dark art. And if that’s the case, the heart of that art lies in building the brains that enable the software to provide value. Snow’s products rely on several intelligence sources, including constantly evolving licensing agreements, efficient discovery of software, and what Emil and his team do: identify what that software is.

“It might sound simple, but identifying a piece of software, or a mobile application is more complex than it might seem. Descriptions vary from platform to platform, and depending on the terms of licensing, additional information like downgrade applicability paths might be useful. A lot has happened, just in the time I’ve been at Snow, we have evolved from providing pure recognition to delivering a deeper level of intelligence.”

Emil studied IT and Communication Science at Stockholm’s University, and like Vidak, he came to Snow as a graduate. He says what he likes about Snow is the variation. “It can be hard work, but my colleagues have become good friends. There’s always a moment in the day, when we can let off some steam, and have a laugh at the ping-pong table. The environment at Snow is open.” 

Anna Karlsson is a Test and QA Technician, with the Snow License Manager dev team at Snow. Anna’s passion is American Football, she spends most of her free time at practice.

Anna came to Snow two years ago, shortly after graduating from Data and System Science at Stockholm’s University. She’s currently honing her Swift skills, which she says “is an iOS programming language that is fun to learn and use.”

When you sit in the same room as Anna, the air rapidly becomes energized by her presence. She says that the art of programming is somewhat like learning a language, “you have to keep your skills fresh.”

Her area of expertise is test automation, making sure that this process and the way that the team work together is the best it can be.

“There is certainly a dark-art aspect to what we do”, says Anna “but unlike development, we are not bound to system requirements, there is a lot more freedom to find the solution that best fits the problem. There are so many ways to automate testing, that’s where the challenge lies, and that’s what makes my job so interesting.”

Having spoken to just a handful of my amazing colleagues, my conviction remains: creative, passionate people make great things. The enthusiasm, energy, and drive at Snow Software, is I am sure, the reason why I feel so at home here.

If you are in Stockholm January 30-31, 2017 why not come and meet them for yourself at SWETUGG – the conference for .NET developers by .NET developers. Or why not become a colleague? Check out careers at Snow.