Imagine a self-confessed “otaku” who was one of the finalists for best-dressed male during our 2018 Villain-themed Dinner and Dance, who enjoys fine dining experiences and is really good at solving problems by writing code.
The story of how he got started in programming is a classic – involving math homework and an ingenuous mind that’s “ugh” about doing repetitive work. Eric, our once-fresh-graduate newcomer, just crossed the 1 year mark as a Product Developer in Titansoft (yays!) and this is his story.
- Share with us your passion for coding! How did you get started?
This is one story I always share: back during my Secondary School days, our math homework was a lot of repetitive questions where you just plug in formulas, and I got annoyed with having to do the same thing over and over again. I’m a very lazy person, so I created a program to do it for me!
I like programming because I can start with simple building blocks and combine them together to form complex systems that can achieve all kinds of things. Programming is a way to “concretize” knowledge, turning words on a screen into actions that impact the real world.
Optimization is something I came across during my University studies and I realized that it is a good way of thinking to solve problems. I am also a bit of a perfectionist and in Optimization, you would want to maximize the function – I like for things to be built and improved on to be as good as they could possibly be.
How optimization works is simply:
1. Having a goal in mind that you want to achieve,
2. Figuring out the constraints you have and variables you can change, and
3. Finding the best variables to generate the best results with
And you can pretty much apply it to almost anything.
- How do you see your passion for anime and cosplay? Is there any link to your work?
Both requires a lot of creativity. In anime, the fantastical worldbuilding and storylines often requires tons of creativity by the creators, finding new perspectives to tell the same story. To me, programming is similar, it is about coming up with new solutions to solve problems and there is always a new way to do something.
- In your opinion, what are the critical or important qualities & mindsets to be successful as a Product Developer in Titansoft?
Being willing to learn and having the ability to evaluate.
After all, you will never know everything so you have to always be ready to learn different things. And when you look at something – an idea, a proposed solution or a change, you have to evaluate whether this is a good or bad change. One way to do that is by having a model and based on it, making assumptions for what might happen. If it is worthwhile to attempt, you can also try and gain feedback to improve the model and assumptions made.
- Among V-CEPAT, which company value resonates with you the most and how do you apply it to your work to make a positive influence on others?
The V-CEPAT workshops provided me with new frameworks, which is good because those are different perspectives and that ties in with the way I do everything. The more ways I have to solve problems the better, I just try them all and see which is the most suitable. For the activity we did during the workshop on Transparency, “Johari Window”, there was a part where each person explains what you know but others’ do not. That was interesting to me, as you get to learn about the thought processes of other people.
Obviously, the value of Continuous Learning resonates with me the most. The simplest illustration I can give is from economics, the Production Possibility Curve. Everything you can produce is within the “quarter circle” enclosed by the curve, with the most efficient production on the curve itself. Improving your technology then allows you to expand the curve.
No matter how efficient you are, if you don’t improve, you will always stay within the same limits. Continuous Learning is how you to increase your limits.
I always tell others when I see something that can be improved upon, and try to teach them a better way of doing things.
- What advice do you have for other Titaners to enrich their work experience here in Titansoft?
When you have an idea, push it forward and see how it goes. You can always have a different way of thinking from others. Understand other people’s perspective, modify your own way of thinking and you will improve.
What about you? Start on your journey of exploration in Titansoft!
T.8ytes by Titansoft 