Project Albert: Ondřej Hobza

The project went through several changes over 3 years. We experienced tough times, but also many successes. Could you describe some of the biggest / most interesting changes that occurred during the project?

The biggest change was that we shifted the mindset on both sides in the relationship between Etnetera and Logio. Namely in the sense that if we do not cooperate unconditionally, the project cannot turn out well. The second change was the way we operated in the relationship with Albert after the project was completed. The decision to transition to agile methodologies was also very crucial.

What did the project teach you personally and what benefit did the cooperation have for the whole Etnetera company?

I confirmed to myself that human relationships are important for every project, but for a project in not such a good state, they are even more important. And that it is worth dedicating a lot of effort to this area. What I learned – continuous reporting on the status of the project and its individual parts. At a certain point, it was not easy for the PM to plan for the future because the necessary information was not available or was very unreliable. And then regular reporting was the only way to at least somehow manage the project in cooperation with all parties.

For Etnetera as such, I can't completely judge; the points of view change really a lot depending on the position in the company. The owners see it differently, the management differently, and for example, the developers differently. And I think those differences will be really huge. We learned a lot, and we firmly believe that from all phases of the project, Etnetera will take really serious lessons on how not to do things next time and what to do differently and better.

When someone says Logio, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? What feelings did our joint operation (hopefully cooperation) leave in you?

The first thing that comes to my mind are the new offices and the fact that they make super‑looking snacks for the employees there. 😊 But seriously now. That cooperation shouldn't be in parentheses. That is one of the key things that we managed to change – the relationship between Etnetera and Logio into a cooperation.

Otherwise, the feelings are mixed. It was a really hellish 18 months, a lot of stress, ruined holidays, problems at home associated with both physical and mental absence. But also positive ones: we achieved something, we overcame a lot of obstacles, the feeling that it made sense, because it works for the customer and brings what was promised. Even a few compliments arrived in the end.

What do you personally appreciate most about our cooperation?

That is probably the most difficult question of the entire interview. I appreciate most that I got to know Oto Hausmann, got to know better how he operates, and that I was (hopefully) able to at least keep up with him a bit.