Starting from scratch

A lot has been happening lately with my career and the team that I belong to in Accenture. Last Wednesday, the portals group just had its yearend party at the Essensa Tower at The Fort. It was also my final stint as on organizer in those kinds of events. The thing about this party was that it was not your usual company party where people actually have it just because there’s a budget or just so the team can eat and drink. This yearend party really meant the end for most us. From a total number of around 90 people, our group will be trimmed down to 50 this coming fiscal year (starts September 1). That means that almost half of the team will be rolled-off/assigned to different projects. The remaining 50 will be ‘reshuffled’ and assigned to different teams within the group.

This is a BIG change for all of us. For most people, including myself, the team that was their comfort zone and where they were good at will cease to exist. A lot of friends that makes my stay in this company feel a little bit like home will be gone to work in other floors or buildings. The knowledge and expertise that I hold that helped past releases to become successful will just be documented and transitioned to other people. In short, I am left with…. well nothing… just experiences probably…..

Added to this, I was informed weeks earlier that I will be part of the Operations team only to find out at the very first day of the fiscal that I have been moved to another team. And the move was drastic. I will not be part of the development team anymore since all the slots are filled. I will be part of QA/Testing team. Say what?!?! I am a hard core programmer suddenly thrown to a testing role! Wow! What a change. Now that made me think… a lot…..

But then I realized something: I have been part of this group for more than three years now. I’ve been through two solid years of all-around Operations experience, 4 major application releases, and considerable involvement in project planning, analysis, design, build, deployment and support. I’ve been with this team from the time that there were only 8 of us working to about the time that we increased to 80 resources. And through it all, I was OK. I do not only survive changes, I thrive in them! And this one should not be an exception. With a new title comes a new role in a new team on a new fiscal year. This is another opportunity for me to learn something new, be exposed to a different work function, contribute more to the team and step up to the challenge. I know I need a lot of catching up to do especially when I assume the Testing Lead role but I am not afraid. I’m actually more excited. It’s like going to the first day of your first job after graduating from college. It’s quite unnerving but more so exciting. Besides, I should be coming back to my Development roots on my second team after this application release effort gets deployed.

So for all the many new things that lie ahead this fiscal year… well bring it on! As for me, well… just watch.. and learn…. hehehe…..