Between the business and the system.

As an application analyst I am responsible for running a manufacturing execution system connected to SAP. I pick up what the operation needs and turn it into requirements for the supplier. What comes back, I test, agree with the key users and put into production.

The interesting part is rarely the technology alone. It sits in between: understanding what a process actually needs, and simplifying it so that less of the working day is spent on software.

• Keep the applications I am responsible for running and available
• Gather requirements, write them down and agree them with the supplier
• Test changes, have key users accept them, and release them
• Look after interfaces and data flows between systems
• Turn production data into reporting people can use
• Lead sub-projects: migrations, rollouts, introductions
• Coordinate AI topics within the unit and contribute to the ICT working group

Building software is not the main part of this role — day to day it means smaller tools and analyses. I learned to develop alongside my job, in a higher diploma course specialising in application development, and I keep it alive in projects of my own.

This platform is one of them: requirements, architecture, code, server and delivery — all built by hand and documented in the open.