10 people you'll meet working with a software house

Before I begin, let me give you a little disclaimer. Every software house is obviously different, does various things, and offers an array of employments. That’s why I’m going to describe everything based on where I work. So don’t come at me if you see some discrepancies! With that in mind, let’s start at the very top of the ladder.

Who is who in a software house

#1 CEO

You may think that everyone knows who CEO is, but don’t be so sure about that - I personally was asked what this enigmatic abbreviation means. Well CEO is Chief Executive Officer, the “Person in charge” that supervises and controls every aspect of the company.

Being responsible for EVERYTHING, however, sounds like a great recipe for chaos, therefore there’s a bunch of managers that make sure everything on the ground level is running smoothly. Because of that the majority of CEO’s day is dedicated to meetings regarding business strategy, further develop the company, as well putting out fires. In short - CEO makes sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible (and pays you salary:)).

#2 COO

Replace E with O in with CEO, and you will get Chief Operating Officer - boss’ right hand and a crucial participant in the creation of business strategy. Their duties are related to managing the day-to-day life of the software house, helping employees with their queries, as well as a delegation of tasks and taking care of the undergoing project.

COOs are usually the ones that have the broadest knowledge about everything that is happening in the software house - they are often the go-to people when there’s a problem to solve, and thanks to close cooperation with CEO are aware of any upcoming changes and plans. So if you want to get information about something, go to the Chief Operating Officer!

#3 Business Developers

Business Developers, as the name suggests, are responsible for the development of the business, which means that they coordinate and implement the entire process of creating the future of a company, its brand, and products. Sounds a bit broad, so let’s make it more specific.

The company’s development is possible through market research, analyzing the preferences of target groups, verifying the company's sales results, as well as modifying the financial and marketing strategies of the firm. You will find Business Developers either on a call with someone, on some event, or browsing Linkedin, which is one of their main tools at work. At Merixstudio, Business Developers also dabble in content marketing, sales, research - you name it!

#4 Public relations & marketing

Once again, you won’t guess what Public Relations department does. It takes care of relations with the public! Duties of PR managers consist of creating a desirable image of a company both in the media and among employees.

PR people are the ones that publish articles and post on social media, set up and manage events, and prepare promotional materials. They also plan, develop, and implement company’s communication and marketing strategies including goals and budget. PR Managers need to know who would be interested in their business and what to do to make those people interested. That’s why even the seemingly simplest thing (like writing a post on Facebook) is planned and well thought out. Let me tell you, the smallest mistake in the public eye can turn into a disaster! In a nutshell, if you’ve ever heard of Merixstudio, it’s probably thanks to our PR & Marketing Managers.

#5 Web Developers

Developers make websites, applications, and games. There, that seems to cover the subject, right? ;) Well, there are Front-end Developers, Back-end Developers, Full-stack Developers, Game Developers... The last ones are rather self-explanatory, but what about the rest? Now we’re talking about the confusion!

Front-end Developer

Front-end Developers are the ones that take care of “the front of the product” - everything users actually see. It means the way the content is displayed, including every tiny element of user interface (for instance menus, dropdowns, transitions, or modals). However, working on the front doesn’t mean focusing on the aesthetics (that’s Designer’s job) but on the effective display of information as well as making user’s interaction with the website as smooth as possible. When working with Angular or React, Front-end Developers are also responsible for the apps' logic and make sure that it communicates with the back-end API.

Back-end Developers

Since Front-end Developers are responsible for website’s front, then it’s only logical that Back-end Programmers take care of the backstage on the server. They put the emphasis on making sure that the proper data is being sent to the browsers. Users don’t SEE their work, but they definitely use it - the code created by Back-end Devs allows the work of Front-end Programmers to function properly. Without the backstage guys, for instance, the websites you browse would be filled with lorem ipsum and fleeting data! Back-enders develop the database based on the specific requirements of the customer and then manipulate the data so that it’s readable on the front-end side of the project.
Full-stack DevelopersBut what about the Full-stack Devs? They are the ones that don’t want to be associated with only one group and are skilled in both of the branches of web development. They understand the perks and disadvantages of both front and back-end, therefore they are the perfect teammate! And it seems like being a know-it-all is all the rage now - at least that what the Stack Overflow Survey says in in their summary of 2016.

#6 Graphic Designers

Designers are those people that yearn for something creative - just make them work on something they don’t like and see the squirm on their faces! Despite the name of the profession, designer’s skills are not (or at least shouldn’t be) limited to only designing. They know a thing or two about colors, composition, fonts, layouts, but if they are serious about creating great web projects, they should master at least the basics of coding - our Graphic Designer Paweł even wrote an article about it! Such knowledge is also useful when Graphic Designer collaborates with a Front-end Developer. They can both communicate without unnecessary misunderstandings and are more likely to quickly come up with ideas that both look great and work properly.

#7 Project Managers

PM's involvement in the project is a great factor that determines whether it will be success or failure - a big part of their day is spent on helping clients to shape their business vision for the product, meetings with the team, and sprints (but not the running ones!). Their day-to-day responsibilities include communication with the both clients and developers, planning/execution of tasks, and closing the projects. They coordinate the development works as well as make sure the project fits into the budget and estimation of time. Each of Project Managers in our software house is also a Scrum Master, so they know a thing or two about agile projects (which is great for startups). But what about Product Owners? Well, there’s an article on our blog that describes the difference between those two positions, so check it out if you don’t know what this means.

#8 Quality Assurance

QA team is the group of people that not only point out every mistake but are even expected to do so! They inspect graphic templates, check whether implemented solutions are user-friendly, and suggest UX patches. A Quality Assurance Specialist makes tests basing on documentation or User Stories and performs manual tests on desktop and mobile. They also perform functional tests, go over the logical processes in applications, and write automated tests in Python with the use of Pytest and Behave. They are the people that care the most about the end user, simulate their actions, and wonder what their expectations are.

#9 User Experience

Just like the QA team, UX people put an emphasis on users and testing. They, however, do it BEFORE the project is in development. There are two kinds of roles in user experience, which sometimes interweave - researchers and designers. While researchers test how the targeted group wants to interact with the project, UX Designers create the project during workshops with the client. They analyze the processes, design the architecture information and then sketch the views. The other thing our UX team does is the auditing, during which they analyze websites when it comes to its usability and whether it fulfills the business objectives. They also use such tools as Google Analytics and Hotjar, which generates heat maps of what is clicked - the collected data shows what is to improve. So, in summary, they are the ones responsible for the way users feel when they use the website.

#10 Human Resources

All those people described above had to be recruited to start working. That's the job of HR Managers, who rummage through the nooks and crannies of the Internet searching for the best of the best in their fields. Sometimes they are even headhunting, which means that they identify and approach suitable candidates employed elsewhere to fill business positions - talk about being sneaky! But people working in Human Resources do not only search for people - they let people find them by creating whole recruitment campaigns and look after the ones that are already employed by taking care of company alignment.

And with that would be all for this list! Obviously, there may be some responsibilities that I didn’t include here, but just keep in mind that if I describe absolutely EVERYTHING, you would get fed up with reading after half of the article! It’s all about KISS - Keep It Short And Simple! :)