Q Q&&A A with The Lab's Product Developers

ProductDevelopersareformerDevsandarechosenfromthe cohortsoftheInformationTechnologyandtheDigitalResearch Internshipteams.Theseinternshavestrongorganizational, projectmanagement,communication,andleadershipskillsand haveshownastrongcommitmenttothelab’sfeministethos DRI productdevelopersserveasprojectmanagersontheresearch projectofpartners/clients(facultyandcommunitymembers).IT productdevelopersserveasassistantfloormanagers,handling andinterveninginITinquiriesintheeventspaces,assistingthe GAsandAAPswithspecialprojects,andmanagingstudent workflowsandprojectsfortheITteam.

What’s your favorite part of being on the DRI/ITI team?

Naomi: "My favorite part of being on the ITI team is getting to work on both outside projects and on-site technical issues. I enjoy maintaining community partners’ websites because it allows me to engage with the community in a meaningful way while honing my software troubleshooting skills. On the other hand, troubleshooting on-site technical issues allows me to practice my customer service skills while learning about common hardware and system issues. In a nutshell, I enjoy working on both software and hardware issues while helping people both at Tulane and in the larger New Orleans community "

What’s your favorite project you have worked on?

Wendy: "My favorite project this year is the Nutrient Pollution project. Nutrient Pollution is the project I worked on last year as a DRI. It was great to finally meet the project partner Isabel in person and hear about her vision for the project. Nutrient pollution is such an important topic in environmental science and we always overlook it. While I worked as a PD, Nutrient Pollution was also the first project that we wrapped up, and it’s great to hear that the website is still sustainable since we handed the website back to the project partner."

What’s your biggest lesson learned this year?

Madeline: "The biggest lesson I learned this year was confidence. This was my first year on the IT team and there was a big learning curve that came along with that. In the fall I was really nervous when asked to enter a classroom to try to troubleshoot and issue Now I can walk into classrooms with confidence; I know that I can figure out the issue, and if not I know how to escalate problems as well as explain issues to the professor This growth stemmed from experience but also the great community the lab facilitates; I know there are so many people who can help if I need assistance."

What skill did you improve the most working as a PD?

Marisa: "Working as a PD this year taught me a lot about professional communication. This was my first time working directly with our project partners, which was both inspiring and eyeopening. I learned to communicate efficiently inside and outside meetings to make sure that we kept projects on task and moving forward. I also got to practice communicating both the bigpicture idea and the broken-down steps of a project to the interns on my team."

What’s the best part of working as a PD?

Marisa: "My favorite part of working as a PD is getting to work with such amazing people I have a lot more one-on-one or small group meetings as a PD, so I feel as if I have gotten to know the people on my team and the other PDs better than I have been able to before having this role. Everyone has such unique and creative perspectives, which keeps our work fun and interesting "

Naomi: "My favorite part of working as a PD is getting to work with like-minded individuals with a strong sense of community. It is nice to be able to collaborate with other students and talk about daily life at work It is likewise refreshing to have a tech space that is committed to intersectionality and inclusivity."

Madeline: "My favorite part of working as a PD is getting to see the lab’s disciplinary values physically displayed in deliverables Interns in our lab come from all different backgrounds and areas of study. When assigning tasks, Naomi and I, try to keep everyone’s strengths in mind. I love seeing what our team produces especially when the deliverables are a different but better version of what I was expecting!"

Wendy: "My favorite part of working as a PD is meeting with project partners and seeing the bigger picture of each project. It is a pleasure to meet with project partners and hear about their passions, ideas, and goals for their projects Looking back at what we have done as a team, it gives me a sense of achievement seeing how we started from scratch and ended up having a sophisticated deliverable!"