The summer 2020 co-op student experience
By: Mikeli Habash, Eleanor Rumsey, and Fiona Doomasia
This summer, internships and co-op placements were adapted to meet the needs of the globally changing workplace. Jumping Elephants brought on 3 of us students from the University of Ottawa to join the herd, virtually.
Here are 3 lessons we learned as co-op students working from home at Jumping Elephants during our Summer 2020 term:
Lesson #1: Never shy away from asking more questions
From Mikeli, Technical Business Analyst & Developer
Working at Jumping Elephants has been my first time working on the development side of the software life cycle. I was assigned to an internal project that was still in its early stages, meaning I was given the opportunity to work as the project manager, the software developer, and I also collaborated on the requirements side of the project. Although a hefty position, I now have so much more insight on what it’s like to learn so many new technologies in a short period of time, while collaborating with a client to gather proper requirements.
It’s very easy to get frustrated with software development, as some technologies require a very steep learning curve, and most of the time, a lot of work goes into the simplest feature. However, the folks at Jumping Elephants have been very understanding and really show that they are here to help, wanting us to grow and learn more. I think the most crucial part of any team is a mutual understanding and sense of empathy. JE really made this term a lot more enjoyable because of this.
Mikeli in her home office.
Lesson #2: The importance of collaboration in the testing process
From Eleanor, Technical Business Analyst & Developer
As a software engineering student, it is important to learn about all stages of product development. In my project at Jumping Elephants, I wrote scripts that tested the applications that the developers were creating. As one of the final steps of development, this gave me a unique insight into the importance of Quality Assurance (QA). I learned how test cases are written and how to implement these as scripts using the tool we acquired.
Throughout this process, it was crucial to have close collaboration with both my partner in QA and the development team. Testing is a process of asking “Is this supposed to be happening?”, “Is there a better way we could build this?”, and “Is this a better way we can test this?” almost constantly. I’m so glad I was able to work with such an approachable and enthusiastic team that wanted to help me (and the applications) succeed.
Eleanor in her home office.
Lesson #3: User experience is more than a website or app
From Fiona, User Experience & Marketing Strategy Consultant
When you Google search “user experience” (UX), you find a lot of information about digital UX, but my time at Jumping Elephants made me realize how important service design is. Working on a marketing strategy for the firm showed me that the importance of good design is not only relevant to our website, but also to our entire service as consultants. From the proposal, to the project work, to the final deliverable and beyond, the design of how clients experience our service process is crucial to success.
I learned that all our marketing activities, including the consulting service itself, contribute to the Jumping Elephants experience for clients and partners. Thinking about marketing from a holistic service design perspective has made me a better marketer and designer, and I look forward to using these learnings in my career.
Fiona in her home office.
Our experience at Jumping Elephants was about more than just our work. Watch this video to hear more about our time with the team!
All in all, we are thrilled to have learned so much during our summer at Jumping Elephants. We want to send a huge thank you to all our team members who have been such a great group of smart, fun, and kind people!