Samantha Roberts is the Product Manager of fu3e. – adaptive management reporting software, her role is to contribute to the strategy, build the product roadmap and prioritise the work that brings it all together.
1. What made you want to do your current job?
It was more discovering fu3e., than the job role specifically; the real-time dashboards for Business Impacts really caught my eye. It was impressive to see large amounts of complex data broken into different visuals on a single page. No more excel files with several tabs and the fear of that ‘page not responding’ message!
Often businesses miss out on so much of this rich insight because they manage their data across different workbooks, files, email trails, or odd bits of paper.
I wanted to be part of building a tool that brings all this unstructured information together to create dashboards that give meaningful snapshots. We can then explore exciting technologies like Decision Intelligence to then make the fu3e. system automate a lot of our processes.
2. How did you get there?
As a little girl, I always wanted to be an accountant; I loved counting copper coins from the piggy bank. Later, as an adult when the company I was working for merged with another company, the first system to be integrated was the finance platform. This was my first exposure to systems, codebases, and development. I was drawn to the collaboration, the problem-solving and its fast-paced nature.
3. What is a typical day at work like?
Every day starts with a strong black coffee. The team all message good morning with various emojis before our daily 9am stand up. This gives a quick update on what we’re all currently working on and any blockers we might be experiencing. A typical day involves prioritising the next important feature that’ll bring the most value to our fu3e. users.
4. What is the most challenging thing about your job?
Not being able to do everything at once – we’ve got an incredibly talented team with great ideas for improvements or new functionality to enhance the fu3e. system and we want to deliver all of it now.
5. What advice do you have for people who want to do what you do?
Don’t let self-doubt limit what you’re capable of.
fu3e. is made up of all sorts of people – from data scientists and management consultants, to rugby players, skiers, climbers, software engineers, designers and many more.
6. Who inspires you?
Marcus Rashford – it’s inspiring how much charity work he does and uses his platform to drive real change in our society.
7. How would you attract more women into tech?
Partnering with schools to showcase the many opportunities within STEM, offering diverse mentorship programmes and placements to gain experience while promoting support and confidence.
8. How have things changed since you first started working in this industry?
The acceleration of the digital world – the evolution of smartwatches and kindles shows how tech has become a lot more accessible now. For example, we’ve all become tech savvy consumers who have thoughts and ideas on the look and feel of a mobile app.
I am particularly interested to see the next cycle of changes with the rise of exciting technologies like Blockchain and its disruption to the finance sector.
9. Personal habits – A good book or going out?
I do like going out to a good restaurant – it is interesting to see how the hospitality industry has been influenced by tech with the rise of apps and QR codes for menus.
10. Trainers or Shoes?
Being blessed with size 9 feet means that boots are most certainly the preferred option.
#software #management #womenintech