Although thanks to today’s technical possibilities most of our project work can be managed remotely, it’s always beneficial to be able to meet other participants in the project and work together in person. For this reason, travelling and working abroad is not unusual for developers at Pronovix.
As part of our projects with Acquia and the Saïd Business School, two of our software engineers, Péter Arató and Attila Fekete spent two weeks in Oxford for the user testing phase of the Saïd Business School Goto development.
I asked them about their experiences upon their return.
How was your trip and stay in Oxford? Did you have a good time?
Péter: Yes, Acquia and Pronovix arranged everything for us, the trip was well-organized, the accommodation very nice. We had all the comfort to be able to concentrate on work. I often work abroad, I spend in fact more time in Oxford and London than at home.
Attila: This was my first time travelling to Oxford, so I was very excited. There wasn’t much time for sightseeing, but I really enjoyed the whole trip.
When did you start working on this project?
Péter: We joined the project in the beginning of November, but planning started about half a year earlier.
What was the actual work you were invited for?
Péter: We took part in the user testing phase of the development. 2 or 3 groups of 8 people tested the product daily based on testing scripts. They took notes about anything that they thought could be improved, anything they had ideas for. We were available to make all the required changes and correct all issues.
Did you work with people you already know from the project?
Attila: We worked with eight colleagues from Acquia, we knew about half of them from earlier phases of the project.
What was your impression about working there?
Péter: It’s very impressive how much is invested into the project, a lot of energy and workforce, mini-presentations, invitees, heavy testing. It was great to meet the decision makers and have an insight into the whole process.
Attila: Yes, it was good to see how the capacity is reserved and scheduled, and how the project is managed.
Péter: I really liked that they all have a very positive work attitude.
Did you have the chance to meet other Drupal developers outside of work and look around?
Péter: As Attila mentioned earlier, there wasn’t much time for sightseeing, but we could go to a Drupal User Pub Meetup in London to meet fellow Drupal developers, and we also took some time to look around the shopping street of Oxford.
Attila: We also had a great time at the university, we met some Hungarians, even one of the chefs came from Hungary.
