Imperial Graduate Work Shadowing – Arran

Zaizi

My Brief

I am in my first year of studying Biological Sciences at Imperial College. Whilst Biology may seem like a subject well removed from IT services, computing is making its way into all parts of business and science. I signed up to the work shadowing scheme to see inside a functioning business and to explore possible routes for a career in business.

First Impression

On entering the Zaizi offices I was seated with Mark Rogers, a very friendly man and one of the people responsible for some of the many IT projects that the company is involved in. Mark told me about the complex issues involved with coordinating database management and explained that I should be able to get a chance to move through the office and have a talk with members of the different departments of the company. 

The office is designed much like the workflow of a project, starting at PR and sales where a customer is introduced to the services of the company before running through development and QA teams up to support where the customer is cared for after they have received the product. I started my round by sitting in on a couple of stand-up meetings in which the achievements of the previous day and the goals of the coming day are efficiently discussed. I then spoke to a project manager who told me about the agile development method that the company uses enabling it to adapt to changes in the customer’s needs. 

My Day at Zaizi Offices

Moving through the office I spoke to sales and PR members who are faced with the task of locating customers and securing sales. I moved to the developers who build the projects using the Alfresco framework and then to the QA team who use automated testing to check for bugs in the software which allows the product to be constantly improved whilst in the customer’s hands. I spoke to members of the customer support department who explained the numerous challenges with solving a problem for a customer. 

Final Thoughts

I found my work shadowing experience to be a very fulfilling one, leaving the offices with a head full of technical information as well as a great understanding of how an organisation like this is structured and how I may fit into the world of business. The people of Zaizi were all very welcoming and interesting so I would highly recommend attending work shadowing here!

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