Montevideo, July 5th, 2023

Octobot is a software boutique specialized in design, develop and grow Web and Mobile apps using Python Django, Angular.js, React and iOS technologies. Its small and highly innovative team of designers and engineers works on crafting ideas into software products, using some of the latest technologies, while keeping a close and personal relationship with clients.

Micaela Martinez is a Delivery Lead at Octobot, based in Uruguay. In an interview with TIA, she listed the elements that make the agency stand out and shared some of the strategies she uses to foster a collaborative work environment. Martinez also explained her approach to engage with clients and how she ensures projects meet deadlines.

To kick things off, what do you like the most about Montevideo?

I love the fact that Montevideo, being one of South America’s most important and notorious capitals, still manages to maintain a “small city” environment; everything within reach, and if not, your nextdoor neighbor has your back.

You can’t miss taking a stroll around our diverse neighborhoods and getting to know our locals; all the way from “Ciudad Vieja”, our history-filled neighborhood, to Carrasco, one of Montevideo’s most fashionable areas.

What does a typical workday look like for you?

My workday begins before my duties as one of Octobot’s Delivery Leads start; I get breakfast and go on a power walk with my dog, getting ready for the day. As soon as I’m settled down at my desk, the Daily meetings for the projects I manage begin. I get together with my teams and go over our projects’ status, detect if there are any blockers I might be able to help them out with, and discuss overall project progress.

I also try to make sure I always set some time aside to go over my portfolio’s status on budget and scope restrictions, enabling financial tracking and invoicing as well as triggering project and resources’ strategy discussions in weekly leadership meetings.

What makes Octobot stand out?

Most definitely; its people. The professional and human quality of each Octoboter is unmatched (kudos to our Talent Team for always making sure potential team members fit Octobot’s culture).

Another thing I always like to highlight is our founders’ vision of controlled growth; we’re constantly getting bigger and better, but always trying to maintain Octobot’s core values and essence, ultimately being successful at it.

Can you share your strategies for fostering a collaborative work environment among cross-functional teams?

I think empathy is key; basically understanding where other colleagues are coming from and trying to align on what we’re working towards and how we’re going to accomplish that.

Having diverse teams, each with members with diverse backgrounds and strengths, and being able to not only acknowledge this, but also get proactive and dig deep into their shared knowledge and experience, and in result leverage that, is what ultimately drives success.

At the end of the day, forging strong relationships is one of Octobot’s values and we love putting it into practice!

How do you balance the need for innovation and experimentation with the practical requirements of meeting client expectations and delivering successful projects?

One of our tougher tasks within our role is being able to identify “which battles to fight”. We always work alongside the innovation bug, but there are times in which we need to be realistic and practical if we want to meet tight deadlines. It’s all about finding the right balance; we try to be transparent with our customers from the start and share the beneficial impacts of experimentation and innovation, but always being clear on the fact that, if they need practicality and find a traditional approach to be more suitable, we have their backs.

Is there a specific approach or methodology that you use to assist others in achieving their objectives?

My fellow Delivery Leads and I have been working (which I still consider a work in progress) on a conversational approach to 1) setting objectives and then 2) tracking progress of each collaborator’s goals. We set up recurring monthly meetings with each team member to go over their individual needs and progress, and see how we can work alongside each other to achieve their objectives, whether it’s detecting strengths or even deficiencies and finding suitable training courses or experiences for them, or simply being there for them and just listening. We always try to follow a smooth, but clear dynamic.

How do you ensure that projects stay within budget and meet the allocated timelines?

It helps to have an internal tracking system in place. For us, specifically, we work with financial and operational dashboards that help us see the evolution of our projects and detect any potential risks in budget or scope.

Another tool, and maybe even more important than the first, is fluent communication with our teams. They’re the experts within the project, and they will be able to communicate better than anyone if they see any threats to the successful execution of the project.

Once we have those risks and threats identified, we just have to inform our partners as soon as possible and work on an action plan to mitigate them.

Can you share any upcoming projects at the agency that you’re excited about?

We always have a few projects in the pipeline; we’re trying to expand our portfolio and reach new industries and audiences, as well as maintain the strong and lasting relationships we have with our current partners.

How much time do you spend with customers?

A lot; and I love every second of it. Being a sort of middleman between our development teams and our customers, we, as Delivery Leads, are in constant communication with them; from day-to-day slack chats, to having weekly calls to go over project progress and also getting together on demand to go over potential ways of growing our relationship.

Has the agency worked with any exciting AI technologies in its latest projects?

Not yet, but we expect to have a few AI-based projects pretty soon! In the thrill of constantly outgrowing and outperforming ourselves, we’re getting more and more curious about new technologies and how we can leverage them. You can learn more about our journey in our recent blogpost “Artificial Intelligence to Create Better Real Experiences“.

How would you describe the interactive industry in Uruguay?

Filled with talent. This is a high demanded industry for which finding the suitable people to form teams is the biggest challenge. It definitely came in as a disruptive industry and I believe it’s here to stay in the long run. The light environment, flexibility and trust that’s deposited into the talent is what I believe makes it so successful in our country.

What do you like doing in your free time?

I really value my free time and try to dedicate a lot of it to decompress and refresh. I love going on long walks around my neighborhood with my fiance and my dog, house watching and just absorbing the beauty of the little things that surround us.

From your personal standpoint, what is the greatest challenge of our time?

I think it’s getting harder and harder for us to just be present. Growing up with technology all around us, it makes sense to make the most of it and leverage it for bigger purposes, but we need to be careful with not getting lost in it and just be able to find happiness in the simplest things in life.

Please share a fun-fact that not many people know about you.

I consider myself to be a gaming nerd, but not the type you would imagine. I just love interactive, brain-teasing or just simply light and fun games to play in groups, and, intentionally or not, I always find myself bringing this passion into my personal and professional life.

Thanks Micaela!

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