Today we’re talking with Igor Kaczor, a Project Manager working at Unikie Poland. Igor’s team works for Unikie’s international customer in a truly global project that spans across continents and time zones, potentially reaching tens of millions of end-users.
Jumping on a Moving Train
Before joining Unikie, Igor worked nearly 12 years for a company that provides cloud platform services. At the company, Igor learned pretty much everything there is to know: he started as a sales person, moved to customer support, then to a business analyst position, a manager of a development team and eventually the COO of the whole company.
“After the ownership of the company changed, I felt it was my time to move on. Joining Unikie Poland was a lucky accident, really – we were having dinner and someone mentioned that this company was looking for a Project Manager. I got interested, got an interview and here I am today,” Igor says.
Igor joined the Unikie Poland team in 2022 and started in a project for Unikie’s global customer. Little did he know, there was some turbulence ahead.
“Our team had to jump on a fast-moving train with this customer project. To be honest, the first months were challenging and complex – there was so much to learn, we didn’t have the information we needed and we felt we were not meeting what the customer expected from us.”
Luckily, the customer saw the potential of the team and the team got time to make an action plan to clarify the situation.
“Six months later, we were called the best team working on that huge project. Turning that initial complexity into order was truly a team effort; as a non-technical manager I was able to rely on the ideas and expertise of our developers and together we adjusted the course of our work.”
Communication is Everything
Today, Igor still works for the same customer, even though his role has evolved to leading and supporting several teams working in various projects. Cooperation with the customer has been fruitful: the original 8-person team in Poland has grown to several development teams and 25+ people, working from Poland, Romania, Turkey, Estonia, Tunisia and Finland.
“Together with our Team Leads, we’re working closely with customer stakeholders to meet and exceed their expectations, and to find more opportunities to develop our cooperation and support for our customer’s business. I’m a people person and enjoy interacting with others, solving problems together.”
The turbulence Igor’s team faced at the beginning of the project taught him the importance of clarity and mutual understanding. As a non-technical person, the input from experienced developers helps to solve and identify any potential problems quickly.
“Gathering as much information as possible, as early as possible, gives the seeds to success. When we truly understand what our mission and tasks are, who the stakeholders are and what kind of timelines we are working with, we can craft a realistic plan of action for the customer.”
Well-planned communication is essential in this customer project for a very practical reason: differences in time zones. In fact, one of the reasons Unikie was selected for the project was the company’s location in Europe, acting as a gateway between customer teams in the USA and China.
“Our working day starts when teams in Shanghai are still working. And when our day is ending, people in the US are about to start working. This is definitely a challenge but also an opportunity – the project as a whole is productive around the clock.”
The global setup requires careful planning – communicating progress, priorities and important findings, for example. In Igor’s experience, ad hoc meetings are a bit of hit or miss: it’s better to book regular time slots for discussions and demos. This practice provides recurring opportunities to ask new questions, get answers, demonstrate progress, get feedback and make the required decisions.
Interesting Work with High Impact
Igor’s team works for a global personal computer company that develops, manufactures and sells PCs, laptops, printers, IoT devices and solutions globally to both consumers and businesses.
Unikie has contributed to building a cloud management platform that aims at serving tens of millions of end-users, prioritizing security, safety and scalability. In addition, Unikie’s team is working on an AI solution that utilizes a Large Language Model (LLM) that will eventually help end-users to be more productive with their devices.
“Working with top technologies and scalable, global infrastructures that reach millions of people is definitely interesting for developers. While we are all motivated by different things, being able to perform well in your work is something that keeps us going.”
According to Igor, Unikie is a good company for experienced experts and great developers who want to do new things. The customers are demanding and rightfully so – they require Unikie experts to have opinions on their area of expertise and even challenge the customer when needed.
“Today, many Unikie roles come with a leadership twist. We’re not just body leasing developers; we’re providing teams that deliver solutions and individuals who take initiative, build relationships and trust.”
Even though remote work has become the new normal in software development, Igor still appreciates the possibility of meeting colleagues face to face at the Unikie Poland office.
“Looking back to the complex project start, a big part of turning that challenge into success was the possibility of talking to skilled and experienced colleagues at the Szczecin office. Together, the more expertise we have, the more we can do.”
