Full Stack Deep Dive and Building User-centred UIs
PWiC Partner Event at Xgrid Highlights
On December 31st, 2019 Pakistani Women in Computing and Xgrid were gearing up for an energetic event focused on shedding light on the importance of building products with great UX (User Experience) as well as a thorough explanation of Full Stack Development in its various shapes and forms.
The partner event took place at Xgrid’s office space in Gulberg Greens Islamabad on 31st December 2019. Among the attendees were students, faculty, Xgrid’s employees and members of PWiC including Samrah Sajid, Bisma Zia, Zeba Ramzan, and Umar Tariq. The event started with an introduction of PWiC by Sidra Irshad— the Chapter Lead of PWiC Islamabad. She iterated the vision and various types of events held by PWiC including career guidance and technical knowledge workshops. She also shed light on PWiC’s various established global chapters (Seattle, Silicon Valley, Dubai among others) as well some chapters that are currently under works (Toronto, Lahore, Karachi among others). She then passed on the mic to the first speaker of the talk.
Waqas Khalil — Director of MarCom and Design at Xgrid — shed light on building user-centered user interfaces. His talk started the event on a high note as he gave multiple sarcastic examples of poor user experiences. The focus and purpose was to emphasize why a good UX can make or break your product. The more user friendly the product is, the more desirable, useful, accessible and usable it is — all of which add value.
The second speaker, Abdullah Khan Wazir — Director of Core Engineering — gave an overview of the technology stack and its three main layers: frontend, middleware, and backend.
The third and final speaker was Full Stack Developer Syeda Urooj Fatima. She dove into Full Stack and gave a thorough exploration of the various layers of the stack along with the technologies used at each layer as well as a high-level overview of Xgrid’s development process which is inspired by Agile. After the explanation, Urooj gave a demo of a feature that was implemented using the tools and techniques that were explained, bringing the talk full circle by pointing out minor details which led to great UX.
The event concluded with refreshments, goodie bags and all the attendees networking over warms cups of coffee. All in all, it was a great talk for UX and Full Stack enthusiasts to know more about both fields so they can better prepare themselves for a job or academically. It was also beneficial for the attendees to witness an office environment on a working day for exposure. Add onto those networking and you get PWiC’s vision of connecting, learning and growing in full motion.
“That’s how we enter the new year, not with presumed promises rather through substantial actions.”
- Saba Rasheed (Global Lead, PWiC)
Meeting With Jannet Faiz
Later on, all the female employees of Xgrid met with Jannet Faiz — Global Lead for Chapters Success in PWiC who used to work at Xgrid. The employees included technical writers, HR executives, interaction designers, quality assurance engineers, and software engineers. Jannet gave her introduction and shared her experience working in PWiC as something which was unexpected but wholesome — more than about just giving back to the community but also sharing diverse stories and finding solutions to women’s problems with nuance through knowledge and exposure. She then asked all the girls whether they had any questions regarding PWiC or about professional matters in general. She received a number of queries of a wide variety and shared her wisdom and experience regarding each.
Industry Collaborations: Why Are They Necessary?
The above-mentioned meeting was a continuation of some held a few months back between the same employees along with a few of the leaders of Xgrid including Safwan Khan (CEO), Waqas Khalil and Maryam Nizakat (HR and MarCom Manager) and PWiC leads Saba Rasheed Malik and Sidra Irshad in which Xgrid’s partnership with PWiC was discussed. These meetings were focussed on why PWiC is necessary for Pakistani women in technology all across the globe and how Xgrid could contribute to this noble and innovative cause. Through industry partnerships, PWiC participants will get access to experienced professionals from the local industry. Participants may get a walkthrough in the journey of professionals in various roles which may open doors to opportunities of learning and growth to leverage in the future. Participants will also get to meet and network with professionals in their office space during their working hours leading to healthy exposure. They will also get to observe the company’s environment and work culture. Therefore, industry collaboration will be an extensive learning and networking opportunity for the event’s participants.
“Experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.”
About the Author
Mufleha Ovais is a graduate of FAST NUCES Islamabad who is currently serving at Xgrid as an iOS developer. An advocate for education in Pakistan, she has taken part in various such social services projects including Sila School and Hunehar Welfare School. In her free time, she enjoys photography and traveling.
