Interview with Malin Lindbom
Malin has been a Quinyxer for 18 months, she lives in Stockholm with her husband and her two-year-old daughter. Her family is soon to grow even bigger as she is expecting her second child in April. When asked about her background, she said she doesn’t compare to other people in the IT world as she studied Behavioral Science with Psychology as her main subject. As soon as she graduated she shifted to tech companies, saying:“It’s always been what I’ve done, I’ve never worked as a therapist or anything like that”.
What is your role at Quinyx?
I am the product owner for the NEO team, which is working on the new platform. The new platform is about 2 years old and right now we are focusing a lot on scheduling, the scheduling application, and the daily view.
What does it mean being a product owner?
A product owner acts as the gatekeeper to what we are developing. My job is to prioritize things that we want to do or develop in the product. Those developments come from customer requirements, as well as us as a team, but also internally from the whole company. It’s my job to prioritize those requirements.
What was that attracted you to Quinyx as an employer in the first place?
Well, there were a number of different factors. First of all, in the previous places I’ve worked, I was the only product owner and that can be really fun but it’s also really demanding. I really wanted a team of product owners to be inspired by and share ideas with. After meeting with Carl, my manager, I came to a monthly meeting and the atmosphere was great. I had never been part of something similar because I have only worked in small startup companies. The monthly meetings at Quinyx are about celebrating what has been done and what has been achieved, so I thought that was really cool.
And, actually, when I arrived at the monthly meeting, Erik Fjellborg was the one who opened the door for me and said: “Hi Malin! Welcome!” and I was thinking: “You know my name?” (laughs) So I felt that it was really nice of him that he, as the CEO, knew everyone and he was so down to earth. I also heard about his story and since I do believe that the best products are produced when you are solving a real need, a real problem, I thought that it would be fascinating to work for such a company.
What makes you stay?
Well, I really like my product team. I really like being part of the transition that we are doing here, the product has a life cycle of many years, and now we are transforming it into something new, and I think that transition and building the new platform is really, really fun.
How would you describe a day at Quinyx?
Well, I arrive at the office and then we start with the daily stand-up, which is a common concept within IT companies; where you have small scrum teams and you have a daily stand up when you go through what you did the previous day, what you will do today and if you have any blockers. I would say that my calendar is pretty packed with bouncing around new ideas through team discussion, problem-solving, and then meeting with clients to hear about their needs and problems and trying to gather as much information as possible. That’s basically a day in my life at Quinyx.
What do you enjoy the most about your work?
I think the product owner role is really fun, that’s what drives me. Being a product owner but also being the spider in the web and being part of connecting everything, I think that’s what I enjoy the most.
As both a mom and a product owner which one do you think is the most demanding?
To be a mom! (laughs) That’s a lifelong achievement and the most important thing in life!
Thank you for your time, Malin! We wish the best of luck for you and your family!