Our friends over at Promapp are doing some great work with a wide range of customers helping them to improve and manage their business processes. Their process management software helps companies build, improve and share their process knowledge from a central online repository. Check out their website and have a look at the video to see Promapp in action www.promapp.com
Welcome Promapp!
Another new recruit at Flow….
We are pleased to introduce Rusul McGillan as a Senior QA Tester.
Rusul’s role at Flow is to help set up a more structured approach to testing our build releases. Test the functionality of all the products that we support including bug fixes, maintenance and new features. Implement an automated set of tests to perform regression testing, and save time on re-tests and confirmation testing. Contribute to setting up a more robust software development life cycle through process improvement and introduction of supporting tools.
- Where were you were previously? I worked for Fidelity Life insurance as a senior Test Analyst contractor.
- Experience? I have 5 years of software testing experience. And a total of 6 years working in IT (I worked as a technical consultant for the Ministry of Education in the UAE for a year).
- Why you joined Flow? Flow software feels like a great closely knit family. There is lots of potential for me to learn more about data integration as it is an exciting new area for me.
- Any other interesting thing we should know about you? I’m a fantastic baker, and I absolutely love dogs of all shapes, breeds and sizes
Welcome to the Flow team Rus!!
Flow accolade….
We at Flow love receiving great feedback from our many satisfied customers to our sensational staff! We couldn’t resist sharing and blowing our own trumpet with this one.
“I am unsure whether Flow Software has an employee rewards and recognition programme, I would like to nominate Kevin Tobias for special recognition if such a programme exists.
Through our interactions with Kevin, not only has he always been courteous and patient with those of us who are not technical, he makes the process of dealing with integration between our systems easy to understand. In particular I would like to recognise Kevin for assisting us with the automated upload of orders in to our website, wherein he was quickly able to understand our requirements and using his experience deliver a solution which has enabled us to cope with a growing volume of orders without having to increase the scale of our operation. Furthermore Kevin’s input has been crucial in allowing us to see where further time savings could be made downstream in our Accounting system. All in all, we believe that we are now prepared for the volumes of these orders to grow..
Well Done and Thank you – Kevin”
We are pleased to announce the new Flow training course….
Flow Software currently runs monthly, two day training courses to educate customers on configuring Flow using our Flow Designer interface for a cost of $1,495 per person.
Our Flow training team are now excited to offer a new service where Flow will visit your premises for either a half or full day training session, priced at $700 or $1400 respectively.
The benefits of this training course are:
- Reduced cost – The cost is the same for one or two trainees
- Reduced time – The course can progress at a faster pace to suit two trainees
- We can tailor the course content to suit your business or project
Terms and conditions:
- If you require additional hours, Flow will charge these at the normal hourly rate
- Excludes travel and any incidental costs
- If you would like to book a training session with us, please, where possible give at least two weeks’ notice and any specific course content you would like covered
You can familiarize yourself with the concept of Flow using information available on our website: www.flowsoftware.co.nz
Don’t hesitate to contact myself on 09 476 3569 or email if you would like to book a session or have any questions at all.
Introducing our newest recruit….
Jackson Gomes!
We are pleased to introduce our newest recruit Jackson Gomes who came to us all the way from Brazil!
Welcome to the Flow family Jackson, we are so pleased to have you join us….
- Where were you were previously?
I previously worked for a Cyprus based company called Atozed, which develops framework for building web applications with Delphi. While their HQ is in Cyprus, I worked for them remotely (telecommuting)
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and 17 experience in programming, databases and application design and training.
- Why you joined Flow?
We (my family) were looking for a nice place to live outside Brazil and New Zealand has been our focus for the past 2 years. We’ve been preparing for this change since then. In December 2011 I started looking more seriously for a job in New Zealand and Flow Software appeared to me as “magic”. The work developed at Flow Software attracted me mainly because it is a company that works on Core Technology instead of generic commercial software, which I enjoy working on the most.
- Any other interesting thing we should know about you?
I’m an amateur (sort of musician, love to play electric guitar, bass guitar and you probably will see me playing on some gigs in Auckland pubs very soon. Stay tuned!!!
In fact, I’m in a group which will play Brazilian music June 1st see below….
Its official…
It’s official – The Flow Paper Jet fly-off is scheduled for take off on Wednesday 16th May from Noon until 2pm at Netball North Harbour Arena in Auckland. Join us for nibbles, drinks and some fly-off fun. You can make your own version of our best-flyer (see below) or create your own. The rules are posted below and we can assure you the prizes will be worth winning. If you can’t make it to the fly-off, post in your entry and we will ensure it gets a start so long as it meets the rules.
Download pdf here to fold your own Flow Flyer and view our easy to follow video.
Flow Paper Jet fly-off rules
1. Up to 6 planes per entry – and up to six attendees (kids are welcome aboard as ‘passengers’ and not included in the ticket count!)
2. Your plane must be clearly identifiable with your name and email address written on the wings or body to be eligible for a prize.
3. No mechanical modifications are allowed but nose-weights are permitted.
4. Cutting or tearing is permitted but your plane must be able to be created from a single sheet of A4 paper.
5. Flight must be purely activated by an arm throw; no other means of propelling the plane forward are permitted e.g. slingshots.
6. Your plane must ‘take-off’ behind the designated start line.
7. Thanks to Chip Dawson and Trevor Foster- our two independent judges – their ruling will be final.
8. There are three categories:
a. Furthest flight – the plane that flies the greatest distance, overall
b. Longest flight – the plane that stays in the air the longest, seconds
c. Best looking plane – the plane the judges assess to be the ‘smartest, fastest’ looking craft on the day.
4 more hours in one day…
Well! I was very impressed with the variety of responses regarding “what would you do with four more hours in one day”
Unlike my answer which I am now embarrassed to say would probably be to develop more software, I was very impressed with the amount of people looking to improve their work like balance by taking on a completely new challenge to them. Some of the responses varied from:
* Go swimming
* get fit
* lie on the couch
* cooking course
* study
* spend more time with the family
* renovating
* we even had someone want to teach a course at UNI!
Not only was I impressed at the variety of choices I was also VERY impressed that none of them involved using paper!
What would you do with 4 hours more per week?
It used to be that automating processes was viewed as a threat to workers and in some industries that perception still prevails. But for the vast majority of us it should look like an opportunity. A chance to make someone’s job more interesting, give them the time to train and enable us as a business to grow faster through being able focus on research and business development projects instead of tracking pieces of paper (or throwing them around the office as paper planes as we have been doing lately).
So if I was able to give you 4hours more per week; what would you do with it? I bet most of us would want to spend more time with family and friends but if we limit it to the workplace, what would 4 hours more time mean to you?
I am canvassing our customers directly on this one with you and look forward to sharing their ideas as well.
Here is one of the many “models” we have in our office!
The best use of paper is to definitely fly it…
Having issued the challenge to find the ultimate paper plane I couldn’t stop the guys here having another go. Normally mild mannered software developers are now aggressively guarding their paper plane designs. The varying merits of paper clips versus blue tack as nose weights are being widely discussed and even the qualities of new versus used paper as base material is up for debate.
I can highly recommend paper plane building as a team building exercise! In the last few Special Offer Flyer weeks we have also had some other designs come to light and that has spurred us into turning this into a real paper plane challenge with a view to holding the ultimate Flow Paper Jet fly-off. Full details will be published shortly but in the meantime email with pics of your plane and/or your intention to enter. The fly-off will be in May and will be judged on the longest flights (by distance and time) with prizes for the best looking craft!
And if you are still wondering how so many people are justifying spending the time and paper to make paper planes during business hours then you had also better check out Flow EDI.
Click here to view our special offer and Andrey’s paper plane design!