The 2021 Year in Review at Studio Software

Year summaries seem to be slowly becoming our tradition! Last year was very intense for us, as we introduced many new ideas to our organization and participated in some inspiring events, so it’s time to recapture all those good memories and compile a brief summary. 

So, how will we remember the last year? Well, it was a time filled with many positive changes at Studio Software, accompanied by our constant growth. We welcomed new team members and modernized some of our internal processes, thanks to which we can maintain fruitful cooperation with both clients and the team. Interested in the details? Keep on reading to learn more about our 2021 and all of our reasons to celebrate!

28% Team Growth and New Internal Processes

The Studio Software team has grown by 28%. At the moment, we have almost 40 team members onboard (counting with some external ones), and we are still recruiting. It’s a great time to join us, as we’re looking for many specialists, such as Fullstack Developer, IT Project Manager, Senior Frontend Developer, and UI/Graphic Designer.

What do we offer? A perks package, the opportunity to work with industry leaders and develop innovative products, flexible and open-minded partnership, and last but not least, a great, supportive atmosphere. If you want to learn more about the way we work, visit our career page.

After all, it’s not only about the numbers 🙂 A bigger organization means more challenges with internal processes. This is why we constantly focus on improving and modernizing the way we work to increase efficiency and work satisfaction.

One of the areas we put on watch was our onboarding. There was a need to introduce better solutions for our newcomers, so we carefully analyzed our onboarding process and implemented many improvements to fit it to our team’s needs. This resulted in modernizing all the rules regarding initial meetings, making some changes in Buddy’s role and his responsibilities, boosting our feedback meetings, and creating some rules to ensure that people join the project smoothly and in the right way. Now, every newcomer enters a better-organized, more structured process that helps him or her adapt quickly to the new environment. 

Product Workshops Gained in Popularity

Our product workshops bring value to our client’s businesses, and we’ve focused on improving our offerings to make them more fitted to their needs. To achieve our goal and gain new skills, we participated in some trainings focused on the Event Storming method and its potential. That was undoubtedly worthwhile.

Now we run diverse product workshops, both offline and online, and so far we have spent more than 240 hours on the workshops with our clients. We have developed a number of methods to facilitate efficient online workshops – by using proven tools, such as the Miro Board, we ensure that every participant can actively participate in the meeting, even on the other side of the world. Recently, we had a great opportunity to share our knowledge and organize a remote workshop for a client from the USA.

Remote Work Officially Became Part of Our Culture

Remote work has become an integral part of our company in 2021. Although every employee can get the most out of this benefit, we can also work from the office to spend some time together and meet face-to-face. At Studio Software, there’s a wide range of possibilities – you can work 100% remotely, choose a hybrid model or visit the office as often as you wish. In the case of remote work, we use a number of tools and processes to ensure the best quality output.

A flexible approach helps us not only to achieve more successful results but also to get more opportunities when it comes to recruitment. Currently, we have open positions for candidates across Poland, so if you want to join us, just visit our career page and apply for the offer of your choice.

Introducing New Perks and Internal Events

Although remote work has become part of our culture, we haven’t forgotten about regular company meetings and team-building events to maintain good relationships within the team. In 2021, we incorporated many ideas for team integration. One of the important ones was our company retreat in Szczyrk, where we were able to celebrate our 6th birthday and spend some time on activities. What a great time it was! We participated in a well-planned outdoor game, threw a birthday party, organized a barbecue, and took advantage of the mountain surroundings. And of course, the most important thing – we really enjoyed ourselves!

How about other events? Our list was quite long – we had fun during Programmers’ Day and gathered all together to play FIFA, and we organized occasional internal meetups, plus some special ones.

We value long-term partnerships, so we decided to introduce a new benefit called Jubilee for anyone reaching the 3- or 5-year mark with the company. How do we celebrate this special occasion and appreciate our employees’ commitment? We organize a unique event, along with giving personalized gifts. Additionally, every 3- and 5-year employee can spin our wheel of fortune and win some surprises. Exciting, isn’t it?

Another Clutch Award

Another exciting news that happened in 2021 is that we received the Clutch Award for the third year in a row, and we were recognized as one of the 100 top-performing development companies in Poland for 2021. It proves the high quality of our services and ability to build long-term and successful relationships with clients, which helps them achieve their business goals.

The list of companies is based on the reviews, ability to deliver, and industry expertise. We are glad to be listed among the best ones! And that’s not all – we achieved a 5.0 Average Review Rating in 2021 on our Clutch.co account 🙂 Our clients appreciate us for our expertise in custom software development, great communication skills, and commitment to the project. Check out our reviews on Clutch.

Cooperation with 202 Procent, AWS Training

At Studio Software, we’re always looking for opportunities to improve work progress and ensure the quality of our delivered projects. Recently, we have started a very fruitful cooperation with a consulting and training company, 202 Procent. Under the guidance of an experienced Agile practitioner, Jacek Wieczorek, we analyzed the difficulties and challenges in project delivery and looked for solutions to our more problematic issues.

We focused primarily on improving the team’s predictability in software delivery and taking the processes related to planning and collecting project requirements to the next level. We are very delighted with the results we achieved. Stay tuned, as we will share the best takeaways of this initiative soon! In 2021, we also had a great occasion to develop our skills – we participated in AWS training to broaden our practical knowledge in this area.

We enter 2022 with heads full of ideas, a positive attitude, and many plans for further development and new cooperation!