We at Calcey consider ourselves to be different⁠—the square pegs in the round holes if you may. This is also reflected in our hiring practices. Most other software firms in the country choose to recruit only from the top universities, but not us . The way we see it, a talented problem solver is a much more valuable asset than an expensive degree.

Mohomed Thahsan is an Associate Tech lead at Calcey who joined us three and a half years ago. A proud self-taught coder, Thahsan is a living testament to how powerful a cocktail of passion and hard work can be. 

Q: What piqued your interest in coding?

Growing up, I was the less talented sibling in my family. In comparison, my brother was leagues ahead. In other words,a code-junkie through and through. Naturally, I didn’t want to be like him. In my mind, I crafted an imaginary future for myself away from brightly lit screens.

I grew up, did my Advanced Level exams, and just about managed to pass. As I sat at home, pondering my future–a fuzzy abstract I had no means of comprehending, a relative told me to give IT a shot. In the absence of any worthwhile alternatives, I decided to try my hand at coding. And so it all began.

Q: As with every story, did yours have an important turning point?

Of course, it did. I enrolled in a short course with the aim of learning Android app development. I don’t believe I gained much out of it, but it did give me the impetus to start experimenting on my own. I began trying to develop small apps. The breakthrough came when I managed to develop a basic calculator app and get it running. Observing my own creation come alive on the screen was all that it took to solidify my path as a coder.

As a coder, that first success is quite important. It is the fuel that keeps you going till you bag your next win.

Q: What brought you to Calcey?

While I was busy teaching myself Android app development, I obtained a job at a small-scale software development firm. There were only a handful of employees. Coupled with the flat structure, I was involved in all development efforts at the firm. As a result, I had the chance to frequently challenge my own capabilities. A seating position next to a colleague who was well-versed in Java proved to be advantageous. A client of that firm referred me to Calcey, and here I am.

Q: How has Calcey helped you grow?

Calcey is where I came into my own as a well-rounded developer. Of course, I had my fair share of struggles. The first few days at Calcey, I left work exhausted simply because I was learning so many new things in such a short timeframe. Fortunately Caley gave me a mentor, Pramuditha, who kindly showed me the ropes. Things were much better from thereon.

Q: Do you have any particular method you use to help you learn?

The most important thing is to break problems down into smaller pieces. Then I try to look for something I already understand very well, even a basic ‘Hello World’ function would do. Using that as a platform, I try to put the disparate pieces of the puzzle together, eventually solving whatever problem I originally faced.

Q: Did you ever think of giving up at any point?

I did, and most people will. That’s normal. But what I realised was that entertaining the notion of giving up, along with all the mental torment that comes with it, was part and parcel of every amateur coder’s journey towards becoming a professional. The ‘Learn-To-Code’ journey is perfectly illustrated by Thinkful’s blog post.

In essence, the journey towards becoming an accomplished coder can be divided into four parts.

1. The Hand-Holding Honeymoon: You get to make use of all the well-polished tutorials and learning material that is available to you. You will still be learning the basics, but you will feel good about your accomplishments.
2. The Cliff of Confusion: Stuck in a constant loop of debugging, you realise that coding is a much harder affair than you initially thought.
3. The Desert of Despair: A long and lonely journey through a pathless landscape where every new direction seems correct but you’re frequently going in circles and you’re starving for the resources to get you through it.
4. The Upswing of Awesome: Once you reach this stage, you realise that you’ve finally found a path through the desert and pulled together an understanding of how to build applications. But your code is still siloed and brittle, much like a house of cards. Now comes your search for a job.

Q: Any words of advice to an aspiring coder?

The best advice I can give anyone is to keep learning and keep experimenting. Follow your curiosity and start learning to code in the direction that your curiosity guides you. There will be times when you will be tempted to tear out your hair in frustration, but don’t. Spend your energy working through things, one step at a time.

Second, keep an eye out for new trends. I’ve subscribed to the Medium Daily Digest so that I can keep up with everything going on in the world of tech. It’s quite helpful and saves me a lot of time, which I would otherwise spend on mindless browsing.

Third, find a good environment to help you grow. For me, Calcey was the place which helped me improve my skills and become the proficient coder I am today. It’s an opportunity that I’m very grateful for.

Businesses in the service industry quite often depend on project managers to keep everything running smoothly. A project manager is often the face of the company to the client, as well as the troop leader of a platoon of developers. This applies at Calcey, too. 

Rajitha Egodaarachchi is one of Calcey’s senior most project managers. Having first joined us as a developer, Rajitha changed tracks to become a project manager. Today, he is one of two program managers at Calcey. In his role, he is essentially a project manager of project managers.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your role as program manager at Calcey?

We created the program manager role at Calcey for one important reason, and that is to ensure that projects are kept on schedule—given the demanding nature of the clients we work with—and to help us initiate corrective actions as necessary, proactively.

As program manager, I have a team of project managers reporting to me. I mentor them and guide them as necessary so that they can do their job better. In a way, I’m here to help them help their clients. I also manage a couple of projects on a hands-on basis, which is another interesting part of my role.

Q: How did you get into project management? Is there a set path which others can follow?
As far as the path is concerned, a lot depends on the firm you work for. At some of the larger software engineering firms, project management is a dedicated career path. At boutique firms, such as Calcey, the role of a project manager is combined with that of a business analyst. I prefer the latter because for someone like me, the duality of the role is very stimulating.

As to how I got into project management, I was a developer when I first joined Calcey. Since Calcey has a relatively flat structure, it allowed me to try my hand at Project Management after spending a few years as a developer. There was no great epiphany or anything as such.

However, it does help to possess some personal attributes, like being methodical and organised. Not being in possession of such attributes may actually hurt your chances of becoming a project manager.

Q: What are the most challenging aspects of your job?

One of the biggest challenges is ensuring timely delivery of projects, while keeping what we call ‘scope creep’ at bay. We basically operate on an outsourced delivery model, and sometimes, clients try to squeeze in as many development needs as possible at every stage of the process. When this happens, there is a risk of the project exceeding its budget, cost, and time parameters. Obviously, that’s an undesirable outcome. So, it is my responsibility to prevent this from happening. 

In terms of everyday workload, it is the scrum planning day that is most hectic. Tools like Jira, Google Hangouts, Slack, and Evernote help me keep track of things, day in, day out.

In my opinion, what I would call the No. 1 challenge is managing people. Be it the developers or clients, I need to be empathetic, but also firm and decisive when necessary. It’s a balancing act, really. Being a program manager is no walk in the park, but it’s extremely rewarding when you see a project being executed on time, despite any challenges that come our way. 

Dhanushka Jayatilake is the Principal Software Architect at Calcey, and has been a very important part of the team for the last 10 years. We asked Dhanushka what advice he would give, if his present self was to meet his 22 year old self.

Here’s what Dhanushka had to say…

Dear Dhanushka,

You’ve put in a lot of work to get here. As you step out of the University of Peradeniya as a qualified software engineer, a world of opportunity awaits you. Those opportunities will only continue to grow, mark my words. But as your future self, I have a few words of advice for you. I hope they serve you well in time to come.

1. Master the basics
   
   Four years from now, a Californian in blue jeans and a black turtleneck will introduce a new type of device to the world. It will be a small rectangular slab of a device. But it will change the way people interact with computers. People around the world will spend hours on this device launching cute little birds at castles built by a bunch of evil green pigs (Hard to believe, I know). A great new world of possibilities will open up, and your favourite programming language of C++ will give way to newer and better programming languages, just like how COBOL and Fortran gave way to Basic, which in turn gave way to C++. This cycle will continue.
   
   So make sure you learn your basics, and learn them well. Lots of programming languages may come and go, but the basic principles will always remain the same. That’s how it has always been, and that’s how it’s always going to be.
   
   
2. Learn to learn
   
   This might confuse you, but hear me out. It is absolutely important that you continuously upgrade your skills. After all, you have chosen to work in a field where things change fast, very fast. That said, don’t rush to learn every new thing which sees the light of day.
   
   Whenever you come across something which piques your curiosity, take the time to understand it very well. See what it can do, and cannot do. Break it down into its essentials. Not only will this help you learn faster, but it will also help you appreciate the beauty of a new programming language for instance, while understanding its limitations. That is what wisdom is. In an era where knowledge is plentiful, wisdom is what will be in short supply, and thus, be valuable.
   
   
3. Think through problems
   
   As you start working, you will find yourself wrestling with programming problems. Don’t worry. Take a deep breath, and step back for a moment. You may be tempted to have a go at the problem right away, but don’t.
   
   Instead, think very carefully about the problem you’re facing, the outcome you need to achieve, and the tools available at your disposal. It is essential that you at least draw up a mental blueprint for how you plan to go about solving the problem at hand. This willingness to plan is what separates the pros from the rookies. Abe Lincoln put it best when he said “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”.

As you think about your future while roaming the beautiful lush green gardens of the University of Peradeniya, you may be filled with fear. Don’t fret too much though, it will all work out well. I can guarantee that.

A few years from now, your CV will find its way into the hands of a gentleman running a small company called Calcey. It will be your second home for the next 10-plus years. You will rise up the ranks and eventually, find yourself managing 80 other young developers. Congratulations!

Oh, and one final word of advice. Try to find experienced mentors early on in your career. They will be able to show you the ropes and guide you, which will save you a lot of time, trouble, and late nights.

All the best!
Sincerely,
Dhanushka.

Good things come in small packages, they said. When we commenced operations nearly 17 years ago, we promised our clients first-rate software solutions built with love by resourceful, focused, and dedicated teams. Today, having grown into a much larger company with 140 employees, nothing much has changed, except for our size. Our founder, Mangala Karunaratne, was once a Project Manager in Silicon Valley and managed an offshore development team. Disappointed with the results of the traditional offshoring model, he set out to build a company which can tap into the rich talent pool in South Asia, while offering clients the personal touch, empathy, understanding and ownership, an onshore boutique development outfit can provide.

We’ve come a long way since, but we still continue to stick by our original vision. Hundreds of clients later, we’re convinced that we’re doing something right. We are proudly industry agnostic, and our structure enables us to work with firms of all sizes. Be it Fortune 500s or a little startup based in a garage in a corner of the world, we’re happy to put our technological prowess to good use without any discrimination. That is why we compete on quality and not on cost.

For anyone looking to understand how we go about our work at Calcey, this is what we have to say.

Our Rules
Rules are sometimes meant to be broken. But, like road rules, some rules exist to make things better for all of us. Think of these as our non-negotiables.

1. 1. Straight talk
      Frankness is under-rated. At Calcey, we believe that being candid is better for everyone and reduces misunderstandings. In the business that we’re in, good communication is key and misunderstandings are costly.
      
   2. Fairness
      The world may not always be a fair place, but our offices are. Calcey is a meritocracy, and we strive to do right by everyone. Whether we are dealing with employees, customers, or even the kind lady who runs our cafeteria, the rule of fairness is applied.

      

       

   3. Honesty
      We consider ourselves peddlers of honesty. Sometimes that means turning work down if it is not something we’re good at. At other times that means being open about how a given decision would affect the timelines of a project. Whatever it is, we’d rather tell the truth than try to save face by lying.
   4. Integrity
      A company is simply a group of people, and the way the people go, so does the company. That is precisely why we look for people with strong value and moral principles, because we believe that Calcey should also exhibit a strong moral code. We like people who are in touch with their conscience and know how to do what is right and ethical.
   5. Quality, always
      We take pride in providing our clients with world-class, defect-free products and services. It’s what has helped us become who we are today, and a quality-first mindset permeates all that we do.

      

   6. Be responsible
      We have a reasonably flat organisational structure at Calcey for a reason. We don’t want cumbersome, bureaucratic processes to get in the way of doing good work. All that we ask from our employees is to do their part and do it well.
   7. Respect everyone
      Treat everyone, regardless of their age, gender or status, as you would like to be treated. That doesn’t mean you can’t disagree, but don’t demean others just to get your point across. We don’t need that where we’re going.
   8. Always learn and adapt
      The industry we are in is like quicksand, continuously shifting underneath our feet. What’s in vogue today may be derided tomorrow as a huge no-no, but that’s not the point.The thing with knowledge is that it compounds, and as you learn more, you can make better sense of the world around you. That’s how you become better at solving problems, and no matter how you look at it, all of us are in the business of solving problems, really.

      

   9. No oversized egos please
      This is a no-brainer. We also think the late Anthony Bourdain did a great job of explaining this in a much better way than any of us ever could.

      It is truly a privilege to live by what I call the ‘no asshole’ rule. I don’t do business with assholes. I don’t care how much money they are offering me or what project. Life is too short. Quality of life is important. I’m fortunate to collaborate with a lot of people who I respect and like, and I’d like to keep it that way.

      Don’t get us wrong though. Sometimes, life works out better if you’re just brave enough to say what you really feel, even if it’s an unpopular opinion which goes against conventional wisdom. Mark Manson calls them ‘Ethical Assholes’. Labels notwithstanding, we’re okay with people who aren’t afraid to be unpopular, as long as they’re doing what’s right. If the Wright Brothers weren’t brave enough to think that they can build a flying machine despite being humble bicycle mechanics, the aviation industry would have never happened.

And that’s it.
At Calcey, we care deeply about creating a work culture which enables people to show up and do their best work. We’re proud to say that we’re a true meritocracy. Good performance should and will be rewarded handsomely. That’s a promise.
FYI though, there are times when things may not go as smoothly as we’d like them to. Every once in a while, there is the occasional all-nighter when prepping for a release. But those are few and far in between, and we work to minimise such instances through planning.

If you are interested in working with us, check out our open vacancies at https://calcey.com/careers/ and drop us an email at jobs@calcey.com.