Interview with Domink, WebApp developer at Weslink
Hello Dominik!
Today we're talking about programming and taking a closer look at WebApps. But first: Why did you become a developer in the first place?
I think I still belong to the first generation of digital natives and was really interested in the Internet at a very early age. Even back then, I wanted to understand how THAT works and be part of this new world. Of course, I also had to have my own website and so I slowly slipped into it.
And what happened after that?
I wanted to do something with media after school, that was pretty much just before the first ".com bubble". I took a detour via design and then came to programming. I just wanted to be able to do everything to independently.
If you remember back.... what was your first development project?
My first project was an online design portal that I founded together with two other designers. The portal was called Datapop and we built it in 2002/2003. We presented design news and designs by other designers there.
That sounds exciting. And then at some point you ended up at Weslink. Which project did you start with?
An online portal where event agencies, theme parks and private individuals can publish events. It serves more as an information portal and not as a sales platform.
What particularly fascinates you about programming WebApps?
WebApps are platform independent and every computer has a browser to use them. I simply enjoy developing programmes that are not system-dependent, such as native apps from the well-known stores (Android, Apple). WebApps are easy to use and really anyone can use them right away.
Is there a topic or an area where you already wanted to implement a web app?
It's simply fun to deal with the different sectors and to keep learning new things. For example, the project with the customer OPC Münster (a shipping service provider), who needed a completely new shipping tool to send special goods such as live animals or bulky goods.
Which project steps do you enjoy the most?
I like the conceptualisation with the client at the beginning of the project. Here I can contribute my ideas and advise the client in detail. It also gives me a good insight into the company structure and the individual processes.
When I can present the final version to the client and he is thrilled, I am very proud of the result after all the hours of work.
Where do you see the biggest challenge when programming something new?
If there is no comparable solution on the market yet and we have to work out the development from scratch as a team. Then, during the conceptual design phase, we can intensively examine the customer's wishes from the very beginning in order to take into account everything that is important to the customer. This is exactly what makes it so exciting - to create solutions that do not yet exist on the market.
How do you deal with difficult customer requirements?
You break the problem into smaller pieces and try to put them together again bit by bit to form a big whole. That way, the individual pitfalls stand out better. Otherwise, I try to be friendly and understanding. Understanding our work as non-developers can be quite difficult. Many clients have no idea how extensive certain work steps can be.
Which developments do you find particularly exciting in general?
I find it exciting that the development steps are becoming more and more "headless". For example, separating the business logic part from the presentation level in order to gain much more security, but at the same time to be able to respond more flexibly to the needs of customers.
There is no longer just one type of development, but differentapplication techniques for application developers. But also different programming languages are becoming more and more interesting for certain use cases.
Thank you very much for your time and the exciting answers!
I would love to 🙂
