A new year, a new beginning
This new year see’s a few very hectic months draw to a close. I’m now half way through my Masters degree. The Agile project was an eye-opener and a chance to try out things that I’d only read about. The contrast between this project & Software Process Improvement (with CMMI)was interesting, though I’m not sure I fully appreciate how they may be applied together as yet. The biggest gap between the two in my opinion lies in their motivations, Agile aims to address the software development lifecycle only, while CMMI is focused on the bigger picture or the software organisation as a whole. This is probably why one tends to find that Agile is driven by developers, while the implementation of a more formal model like CMMI would invariably be initiated by middle to high management (I’m generalising heavily, please feel free to comment if you disagree here).
Getting back to the title of my post, the new year has brought a major change to my life. I will be moving on from cvMail after 2 very exciting years.
I’ve accepted a position at a company that’s into Agile Development in a big way, specifically they use Extreme Programming. This comes on the heels of the Agile Project and it’s the perfect opportunity to keep learning more about the area. It’s also an opportunity to work with and learn from some of the best. As you might guess, I’m positively ecstatic!
Of course saying goodbye is never easy, especially as my role at cvMail is my first full-time position out of uni and I’ve grown incredibly attached to the wonderful people at this young & energetic company. I’ve learnt many things while at cvMail, some expected and others unexpected. I’ve learnt how much one can achieve if they are passionate about what they do and I’ve learnt to push myself harder and further than I previously thought I could. Most importantly though, I have made many friends here and they have in a way been like a family away from home.
I find it difficult to articulate reasons for choosing the new opportunity without making an unfair and in my opinion unneccesary comparison between the two organisations. The new opportunity offers a chance to learn about things that I feel passionately about right now and that too directly from people who share this passion and know so much more about these things than I.
I believe relationships exist between people so in a sense I’m not moving on at all, just moving forward.
