MARCIN LISTKOWSKI: “COMBINING SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT WITH BUSINESS ANALYSIS”

Marcin Listkowski, back-end .Net Developer at ITDS Poland, started working for ITDS about one year ago, with a challenging job. Something he has never done before: to extend a part of our client’s insurance system. The trick was to implement the extension and not ruin anything that is working so far. So, combining software development with business analysis challenges. Sounds exciting, right? We asked Marcin all about is work at ITDS, his future goals and his vision on the financial services industry.

The human side of business

My first project for ITDS was an integration project for a top digital bank in Poland, which was totally different than my previous assignments. This was something I’ve never did before: combining software development with business analysis and let’s say, the more ‘human side of business.’ Since I’m more of a straight to point technical person, this was a challenge. ITDS really supported me and I learned a lot about this part from ITDS colleagues. The meetings with non-technical people helped me to look at the problem from a different perspective, instead of just focusing on programming.

Getting things done

My current project is at another top banking player in Poland. The focus of that project is the development and maintenance of an internal app for customer service employees. Really exciting. I’m doing full stack development there with mostly backend and integration tasks. The challenge is to understand whoever wrote that code before and make it even better, faster and more reliable. One of the most important parts in my work is getting things done. I can help people working with those apps to do their job, for example by making some new, cool features. In a project like that, I can really make a difference.

Dream job

I studied informatics at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. During my studies I focused on 2D/3D image processing. The subject of my master thesis was facial reconstruction using 3D computer tomography images of skull. But as a kid I dreamed of being a jet pilot. When life verified my expectations and I studied to become a programmer, my first dream job was game development. Who would like to develop some puny websites for banks…? I clearly wasn’t aware how complicated it can be. And I ended up in developing systems for the banking industry. Exiting moments for me are when I’m trying to design some feature that no one would do or believed was possible, and after deployment it’s working perfectly. Comparing to the gaming industry the financial industry is more structured. To write a code for systems that would be maintain for years I need to focus on different aspects: not only to make things work but also provide the best quality of code. In the gaming industry it’s more like: make things and never look at them again. That’s not my way of working.

Working for major brands

Through working in this financial industry, I realized that it’s not just a matter of digging through thousands of lines of code. Actually, this is not the case at all. There is a person behind every number, account and system I maintain. The banking industry gives a wide spectrum of cases where all kinds of different people and their problems need to be solved. At ITDS I have the opportunity to work on many different projects for major brands in the financial industry. And the best part: we don’t just deliver a study or report, we also manage the implementation.

Read more about ITDS growth: ITDS Poland one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe according to Financial Times

What’s next?

What I have really learnt at ITDS is, that even though I might think I am not able to handle an assignment, with the right support and team we can get everything done. In the financial sector, I see the main challenge in everything that has to do with processing, decision making, access granting corporate chain of acceptance paths. The interpersonal skills to get things done are more important than ever. Which is also typical for ITDS. I am looking forward to more exciting projects with some of the major players in the financial industry.

How would you like to work with Marcin and his team? ITDS Poland is always looking for talented people to join in their mission to help financials reach their full potential. Click here to find out about the latest job opportunities.