From zero to hero

3 minute read

I dived into the software world purely with my interest after a short rotation with the Software Factory. As much as I knew that I enjoyed coding, I also knew that I had a lot to learn. It was a little intimidating at first, but I was able to learn and grow with the help of my team and the resources that were available to me. Here is the picture of me when I just started learning how to code. I was struggling to debug my code, and it was 2 A.M.

Exponential Growth and Contributions 📈

With the full support of the Software factory team, I was able to explore different areas of development and absorb as much as I could.

Contribution 1 ✅: Backend Development
What Does This Do? 🙋: Building APIs is critical for the digital transformation of the company. APIs allow us to connect different systems and provide a way to access data. This way, we can eliminate the need for repeated data entry and provide a single source of truth.
Note 🗒️: 3DT (Dynamic Data Deliverable Tracker), SAF (Safety Assurance Framework), H&V (Health and Vitality), SD (Supply Demand), exVibe, etc..

Contribution 2 ✅: Frontend Development
What Does This Do? 🙋: The frontend serves as the user-facing interface of a web project, where you can effortlessly perform tasks like creating, reading, updating, and deleting data with just a few clicks. This minimizes the need for extensive training or repetitive work.
Note 🗒️: 3DT (Dynamic Data Deliverable Tracker), SAF (Safety Assurance Framework), H&V (Health and Vitality), SD (Supply Demand), exVibe, etc..

Contribution 3 ✅: Core Support for Citizen Developer Projects
What Does This Do? 🙋: Enable citizen developers to create their own applications by providing support for the core features. This allows us to empower business users to create their own applications and automate their daily tasks.
Note 🗒️: H&V (Health and Vitality), Dex (Database for AE), SD (Supply Demand)

————————🔥 Breaking Change 🔥————————-

🔥 Breaking Change 🔥: With the full stack development experience, I gained a deeper understanding of the software development life cycle. As the Software Factory moved fast, and we started to have more and more projects, we needed to focus on the building infrastructure and platforms to support the continuous delivery of the projects. My knowledge and experience in full stack development with my passion for automation and efficiency led me to become a platform lead, owning the platform development and infrastructure.

Contribution 4 ✅: Platform Development — Workflow
What Does This Do? 🙋: Aiming to shorten the systems development life cycle and provide continuous delivery with high software quality.
Description 🗒️:

Implemented SAST - Static Application Security Testing
Implemented DAST - Dynamic Application Security Testing
Centralized workflow management
Reduced the total time of the workflow by ~20%

Contribution 5 ✅: Platform Development — Kubernetes
What Does This Do? 🙋: Enabling deployment automation and continuous delivery with Kubernetes.
Description 🗒️:

Learning and adopting Kubernetes suggested by our intern Dennis!
Deploying 3DT (Dynamic Data Deliverable Tracker), Pulse (Part and Timeline Tracker for US Defense Programs), Whoami with Kubernetes
Improving security by sealed secrets
Working with the development team to troubleshoot and resolve issues
Studying for CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator) and CKS (Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist) certification

Contribution 6 ✅: Platform Development — Infrastructure as Code
What Does This Do? 🙋: Enabling effective management and provisioning of resources with Terraform.
Description 🗒️:

Automating the (Azure Kubernetes Service) AKS deployment with Terraform
Building the “accidental deletion” protection and record-keeping environment
Enabling consistent and reusable infrastructure
Reducing the cost of the infrastructure by automating the deletion of unused resources completely.

Is Amy Qualified for the Next Level? 🤔

Requirement for GG10	Fulfillment	Evidence
Playing a key role in a specific field within an engineering discipline	✅	Platform Development
Solving problems with evaluative judgment	✅	Providing guidance to multiple citizen-developing apps
Understanding company business objectives	✅	Working closely with dev team to meet the stakeholders’ needs
Increased in breadth of the projects or technical package	✅	Experience from full-stack development to platform development
Working autonomously across a broader more ambiguous scope of work	✅	Working without “assignments” given by the manager
Able to exchange complex technical ideas and information	✅	Writing multiple technical documents and being able to work cross-functional and cross-organizational