Category Archives: Office Life

Events, Featured, Office Life

Board Games & Beer Nov 7th

FREE Beer. Need I say more?

Board GamesLooking for a place to flex your logical prowess? Leave Life at home. Believe me I’ve tried. That one is a no-go. (No matter how hard I advocate, for some reason that board game always goes missing…weird.) And settle in for some good old-fashioned fun with the SoftArtisans and Riparian Data crew. We’re opening our game night to the community (aka you). So come enjoy pizza and beer on us Wednesday, November 7th at 6pm. We can arrange transportation if needed – just drop me a line at the email address below.

The Details:
When: 
Wednesday, Nov. 7th, 6 p.m.
Where:
SoftArtisans
3 Brook Street
Watertown, MA 02472

RSVP: http://boardgamesandbeernov7.eventbrite.com/ So we know how much food/drink to supply.

What’s in it for us? Well, if you’re a quick-thinking, risk-taking team player, we probably want you on Continue reading Board Games & Beer Nov 7th →

Events, Office Life

Google + Hangout with 2 Red Chairs Recap: Soundbites & Such

Thanks for tuning in to our live chat on G+ Hangout last week with Ben Wilkoff and Dave Workman from Two Red Chairs. In case you missed it, you can catch a recorded version on Youtube. In the hangout, we touched on B2B marketing, challenges we’ve faced as a startup and beginning a new venture (Riparian Data), along with ways we’ve found to overcome those hurdles. For the full discussion, click on the picture above or visit the Youtube channel to see if any of our personal experiences and observations resonate with your company’s own personal challenges.

Admittedly, on-the-spot discussions always leave me thinking about what I wish I would have said or added to the discussion. Don’t you hate when you have that feeling of “Oh, that would have been great to bring up,” or “Oh, that would have made me sound much more intelligent.” Well, thanks to the power of blogging and technology I now have that chance. Here are 3 takeaways and soundbites from our Hangout.

1) Move from a B2B and B2C market to a B2D market: In the words of TechCrunch, the B2D market includes “software and hardware startups that cater specifically to developers.” Dave brought this up toward the end of the discussion as a trend to watch. I’ll admit this trend wasn’t at the forefront of my mind, but it’s definitely on my radar now. Basically the idea is Continue reading Google + Hangout with 2 Red Chairs Recap: Soundbites & Such →

Featured, Office Life, Staff Picks

Staff Picks: This Week’s News

Once a week I snoop around the office, bothering my coworkers with questions on what they’re reading, listening to, consuming, or any other random inquiries I’d like to subject them to. Sometimes they even respond.

The questions:
  1. What was one thing you read/watched this week?
  2. What do you wish you would have read/watched this week?

The answers:

David, CEO of Riparian Data
1. Watched the debates and fell asleep, woke up an hour later and don’t think I missed much of substance since I saw Romney firing Jim Lehrer and Big Bird. Watched The Avengers on blu-ray and did not fall asleep.
2. “Git from the bottom up” and J.K. Rowling’s new book, “The Casual Vacancy”

Kristen, Sales Rep
1. Watched the debate
2. Missed watching The Voice this week

Claire, Marketing & Development Manager
1. I watched the debate until I got too annoyed, and then I read John Cassidy’s level-headed response and felt a bit better.
2. What I want to read: The Writing Revolution, about one formerly failing highschool’s successful revamp of its writing program.  Continue reading Staff Picks: This Week’s News →

Agile, Enterprise Software, Office Life, Programming

Agile Development: 5 Lessons Learned

Working in software development can be challenging and tricky without the right plan in place, especially without a plan that caters to your employees’ work styles. Here at SoftArtisans our development team follows the agile dogma and we’ve discovered several lessons along the way. Wondering if agile development is right for your team? See below for 5 things to keep in mind when implementing this work style.

1. You absolutely need backup from higher-ups.

Too often I have seen or heard of departments that were “going agile,” but management was not behind them. No matter how enthusiastic about it the developers were, their plans were ruined every time management expected something to be “like it used to.” Managers who don’t give things time to adjust create developers who don’t give things time to adjust, and then everything is doomed to fail.

2. Retros are vital.

One important thing about agile is that you can change things quickly when you need to. This applies to the direction the software is taking, but it also applies to the processes and mindsets of team members. This is what retrospectives are for. A good team will be able to be honest about what’s working and what isn’t and subsequently make changes for future sprints.
This whole process is much easier when…

3. Retros don’t include higher-ups.

Management usually wants to know what’s going on, and that’s great, but retros are not the place for it. Continue reading Agile Development: 5 Lessons Learned →

Events, Office Life

Google + Hangout with 2 Red Chairs Monday, 10/1 at 1pm EST

Google + Hangout

We’re hanging out with 2 Red Chairs Monday, October 1, at 1 p.m. EST to talk about the challenges and accomplishments associated with being a small business. Plus, we’ll give you a deeper glimpse into the inner workings of SoftArtisans and our newly incubated company Riparian Data.

What: Google + Hangout with Two Red Chairs

The Topic: Breakthroughs and Barriers

When: Monday, October 1st, at 1 p.m. EST

Details: Link to join the discussion: http://artsn.in/OXI8Ub 

Who: 

SoftArtisans & Riparian Data
Claire Willett – Marketing and Development
Elise Kovi – Social Media and Content Manager

2 Red Chairs
David Workman – Owner at Northstar Knowledge, Inc
Ben Wilkoff – Learning Experience Designer

You

Who is 2 Red Chairs? 2RC is an Innovation and Learning company focused on working with growth-oriented businesses. You can find more information on their company and what they aim to do through their G+ account, Youtube channel, and Twitter.

**If you saw binary code when you looked at this date, then you definitely need to tune in. Even if you didn’t, we’d love to see you there.

Meet the Team, Office Life

Meet the Team: Christiana

Hello and welcome to our Meet the Team series, in which we aim to give you deeper insight into the minds and personalities of those who make up this eclectic, close-knit group. We are developers, marketers, and technical support engineers, and at work we craft everything from Microsoft reporting APIs to mobile email applications. And outside of work? Let’s just say racing against the machine during hackathons, building architecturally sound beer towers during retros, and paddling down the Charles during the warmer months are simply the beginning.Christiana

Meet Christiana – our Illustrator pen-wielding, master of design, making things beautiful on the daily (see the recent website redesign) and bringing a lightness to the office with her sparkling wit.

1.What do you do?

I’m the graphic/web designer for the company.

2. What are you listening to right now?

The iTunes Festival

3. When you were 5 what did you want to be and why?

I probably wanted to be the only member of an adult Fisher-Price marching band, but who remembers 5? Sometime after 5 I wanted to be a news reporter, because I always loved when breaking news came on. And I’m not talking about being an anchorwoman. Nope, I wanted to be the live-on-scene person interrupting your TV shows. That was until the realizations hit that in no way did I want to be in front of a camera, I hated the idea of driving around in a van, and was highly opposed to writing any kind of reports. I reassessed.

4.What is your favorite tech blog and why?

Smashing Magazine. They have so many design and code-related tips, tricks, and inspirational goodies.

5. What is your worst nightmare?

Web-weaving terrorists tethering down and air-bombing me as I sleep….Spiders.

Continue reading Meet the Team: Christiana →

Meet the Team, Office Life

Meet the Team: Alison

Hello and welcome to our Meet the Team series, in which we aim to give you deeper insight into the minds and personalities of those who make up this eclectic, close-knit group. We are developers, marketers, and technical support engineers, and at work we craft everything from Microsoft reporting APIs to mobile email applications. And outside of work? Let’s just say racing against the machine during hackathons, building architecturally sound beer towers during retros, and paddling down the Charles during the warmer months are simply the beginning.

Say hello to Product Manager Alison – belovedly known as author of the Pitan the Pivot Mage series. When she’s not supplying delicious office treats, you can find her scrumming in Trello, pumping out Pitan posts, or answering your questions on the OfficeWriter Answers site.

1. What do you do?
That depends on which hat I’m wearing. On Monday, I write tutorials. On Tuesday, I shift to designing sales demo or web site content. By Wednesday I’m managing a product backlog. Thursday is all about answering technical support questions and writing sample code. I wrap it up on Friday with some PivotTable blog posts.

2. What are you listening to right now?
I’m oscillating between the action theme from Doctor Who and the opening to an anime, Aquarion Evol.

3. If you could build any app, what would it be and why?
I would definitely want to build a mobile app that could analyze a reference picture of a character and generate a list of color swatches from the images. On top of that, it would allow you to switch between ‘picture colors’ and ‘real life colors’. For example, a bright yellow in a cartoon image would correspond to a golden blonde in real life.

4. When you were 5 what did you want to be and why?
I wanted to be a marine biologist because that was the perquisite for training Orcas at Sea World.

5. If you were a beer what would you be and why?
Apple juice – because I don’t drink and no one would be able to tell the difference visually.

6. What is your favorite tech blog and why?
Contextures has all my answers when PivotTables stump me. Continue reading Meet the Team: Alison →

Office Life, Staff Picks

Staff Picks: Friday News You Ought to be Reading

Once a week I snoop around the office, bothering my coworkers with questions on what they’re reading, listening to, consuming, or any other random inquiries I’d like to subject them to. Sometimes they even respond.

The question:
 1. What did you read today?
 
The answers:

David, CEO

Time U.S. – Iraq: How the CIA Says it Blew it on Sadaam’s WMD

Claire, Marketing & Development Manager

New York Times – What Restaurants Know (About You)

Seth, Software Engineer
Stevesouders.com – Keys to a Fast Web App
 
Steve, Director of Sales
Gizmodo – Kindle Fire HD Hands On: Pretty Impressive for the Price
NBC News – CEO Says ‘Stupid’ Consumers Deserve Hefty Fees
 

Dan, VP of Operations

First Things – Good Grammar is Credibility

Harvard Business Review – I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar

Continue reading Staff Picks: Friday News You Ought to be Reading →

Meet the Team, Office Life

Meet the Team: Paula

Hello and welcome to our Meet the Team series, in which we aim to give you deeper insight into the minds and personalities of those who make up this eclectic, close-knit group. We are developers, marketers, and technical support engineers, and at work we craft everything from Microsoft reporting APIs to mobile email applications. And outside of work? Let’s just say racing against the machine during hackathons, building architecturally sound beer towers during retros, and paddling down the Charles during the warmer months are simply the beginning.

Meet Paula – Our Talent Acquisition Manager (creator of Networking on PAR) with a knack for Twitter and crafting the tastiest pasta salad (among other delectable BBQ treats) you’ll ever eat.

1. What do you do?
As Senior Talent Acquisition Manager for SoftArtisans and Riparian Data, I am responsible for sourcing talent to match the needs of my team.  You can find me on social media (ln|t), attending events and getting ready for our next board game night!

2. When you were 5 what did you want to be and why?
A vet because I thought you could have as many puppies as you wanted.

3. Fill in the blank. Contrary to popular belief I ____.
Am not Katara.

4. Describe your perfect Saturday afternoon in 10 words or less.
Cooking a big meal to share with family and friends.

5. Describe your personal style in one word.
Tall.

6. What is your worst nightmare?
Getting taller.

Continue reading Meet the Team: Paula →

Office Life, The Intern Diaries

Thank You and Bidding Adieu!!

A big thank you to our talented crew of summer interns for forming an integral part of the team and providing valuable outside perspective about the company. We can’t thank you enough for the contributions you’ve made and the hours of hard work you’ve put in. Thank you for bringing your vibrant personalities, sparkling wit, intellect, and fresh insights to SoftArtisans and Riparian Data. We are going to miss you! Good luck in your studies during the Fall!

2012 Summer Interns: Thank you to Shane, Julian, Grace, Ingrid, and Josh!