Blog: August 2009

Welcome to my first blog post! I never thought I'd be writing a blog, but here I am, desperately attempting to write a blog. It’s not that writing is out of character for me, even though I spend my days writing code in front of a computer screen. I enjoy writing about events and people who never existed and will probably never exist. But I’ve never found the same excitement in non-fiction. Nonetheless, here it goes, a bit about me. I'm a recent graduate from Computer Science (and microbiology) at UBC, who took one directed studies course in web development and have been hooked from then on. Which is what led me to applying for a developer job here at Function Point a scant few months ago now.

And as I delve deeper into work here, there are 2 events on the horizon that are worth more than a passing glance. First is the progress of the newest version of Function Point, and the very cool new features that I get to help develop. Every feature is a puzzle to solve, and I enjoy almost every minute of it (enjoying *every* minute of it would be too exhausting, so I’m sticking to almost). The second event is more of a non-event. It is that for the first time since I started Kindergarten many, many years ago, I am not going back to school in September. I imagine it will be a bit of a shock to the system—I wouldn’t be surprised if I wound up at UBC before I realized I was supposed to be heading in the opposite direction!

End of blog post. (Thanks for putting up with it)

Sarah

Web developer

It’s been almost 6 months since I joined the Function Point team, and what an experience it has been. As a recent SFU graduate majoring in Business and Economics with plenty of experience in large financial corporations, I have been fortunate to find a unique position that allows me to apply my knowledge while meeting a wide range of professional minds in the creative and architectural industries. As a deployment manager I have met many top level CEOs and creative minds that have a wealth of experience and wisdom to tap into.

I have entered the workforce at a most interesting time in our economic history. It’s been over 30 years since we have experienced such an economic contraction, with foreclosures and banks failures an almost regular news story, it appears everyone is re-thinking how they do business and are ready for a change. With flashes of opportunity breaking through the dark clouds of recession, firms are more focused on monitoring themselves. I have definitely found value in SAAS products such as our own that help companies police themselves, and become more efficient and productive in the way they do business. I am very excited to see where the next 6 months take us. With a new version on the horizon with many new features like our Client Extranet and revamped user capabilities combined with this new philosophy of efficiency, time-tracking, and responsible business, there are no limits to where this product can attain.

When I’m not out saving the world from certain time-tracking dangers, I usually spend my time playing some kind of sport, usually basketball and volleyball, the ones that aren’t weather dependent. I am an advent runner as well, and you can usually catch me running anywhere from False Creek to Grouse Mountain. Here on the “Left” Coast, summers are amazing, but short, so I try and soak as much sun before the rainy season returns. (By rainy season I mean Spring, Fall, and Winter). So far you’ve met the snowboarder, the climber, and combined with the office “pooch” Levi, we’re definitely an eclectic bunch here and we definitely look forward to getting to know you.

Ryan
Deployment Manager

Labels: agency software, Architect, Creative, project management, SaaS, timesheets advertising

It's been almost 2 years since I started at Function Point and it's been quite a ride. I've been lucky enough to work with some of the top minds in the creative industries and I'm always eager to learn more about their business. Because FP is such a flat organization, I've had the opportunity to work in a training and deployment role while maintaining my primary role as a sales associate. While this is very rewarding for me, it's also very valuable to our clients. I learn a lot about an organization during their evaluation of Function Point and I'm able to use that knowledge to assist our training team in a smooth and easy deployment. I also get to learn a lot about the type of work they do and I'm always excited to see the amazing creative that our clients produce.

When I'm not in the office, you can find me searching for new trails on my bike in the summer, or riding Whistler on my snowboard in the winter. We're an interesting and eclectic bunch here at FP and we all have our "thing" that we're into. Tate's a climber, I'm a snowboarder and I'm sure you'll learn more about the FP Team with the posts to come.

Cheers,
Marc Wilson
Account Manager

Labels: advertising, agency software, introduction, project management

It has been a year and a half since I joined Function Point and what a year and a half it’s been! After running my own business (an indoor rock climbing gym) for 4 years I had the itch to get back into the high tech realm (my background prior to the climbing gym was in marketing and channel management at a large Telco/ISP in Western Canada). With my entrepreneurial spirit and desire to work with a small, dedicated, client-centric organization, the opportunity at Function Point jumped right out at me. I love the fact that I get to work with so many creative individuals and that we’re able to truly help our clients become more efficient and more profitable.

It is an exciting time here at Function Point. An increasing number of design firms, web development companies and architects are adopting software as a service (SaaS) as a model for their software needs. Because of this we find ourselves growing (both as a team and with our product) and have been working hard over the last 6 months to come up with the strategic direction of the company and plan for the system. Stay tuned, we’ve got some pretty cool enhancements coming, starting with the new fp Extranet launching within the next 2 months (this will also give our clients a sneak preview of what to expect with our new interface that we’re working on).

Enjoy the brief introductions that each of our team members will be giving over the next few weeks. It’ll be a great opportunity for you to get to know a bit more about Function Point and the personalities on our team. Also, as always, feel free to give any one of us a call – we believe in a flat organization and make sure we’re all available to answer any of your questions.

Tate
VP Business Operations

Labels: Architect, Creative, project management, SaaS, timesheets