Supporting ELi Technology in Kista, Stockholm Sweden has afforded the opportunity for our team to be exposed to organizations that work in Sweden to build and concentrate innovation, smart cities, engineering progress and collaboration with people who are at the forefront of information, communication and technology (ICT).
Our teams were deployed to Kista to produce an “out of lab” testing environment for augmenting the location information that your mobile phone delivers when you dial 112 / 911 in need of help. While doing parallel functional testing in Halifax, NS – we gathered information and context that got us out of the “North American” mindset. We were dealing with street addresses we couldn’t pronounce. The lack of familiarity of where we were standing boosted our understanding of the challenges people can have when calling for help in a foreign place.
Learning the importance of Fika in Sweden is something that I personally saw as a powerful way to boost understanding of my co-workers and founders in developing relationships and discussing topics by breaking down formal barriers.
While working at the IBM Client Centre in Kista, we were able to enjoy the “Fat Tuesday” treat of Semla. Not only was it the best way to consume marzipan I’ve encountered, it revealed to me a number of key findings from engaged clients that just weren’t going to come up during our formal workshop.
Working with a customer is not just about meeting project timelines and budget – it is about shared experiences, teaching each other and forming relationships and connections that cannot be had over PPT and Git Commits.