From psychology to information design
Márton Rakovszky left his career as a psychologist for technical writing. As an information designer at Aleido, he is now partnering with software developers from all around the world. Learn more about what it means to design information and how Márton builds relationships with people around the world.
As a child, I had a lot of different career ideas, such as an astronaut, video game designer or herpetologist, but information designer was not really one of them. In university, I studied psychology and even worked as a psychologist for a bit before joining Aleido. When I made a career change, I thought that other than my university degree, my most useful skill is English, so I started looking for something where I could use that.
Aleido, and more broadly, technical writing was recommended to me by a friend from University. She recommended Aleido mainly because I was looking for this kind of work, and she felt that the company culture would fit me well. This turned out to be true, even if she could not foresee the change to fully remote work that came the same day I joined, when the pandemic made us close down our society.
Designing information for a greater user experience
As an information designer, I manage information at a higher level. That means that I design product information descriptions, and I am responsible for specific products overall. When our customer starts developing a new feature or improvement for these products, my responsibility is to analyse the necessary updates in the customer documentation. Later on in the process, I provide support for the Technical Writers working on the updates.
It’s common to overlook the importance of information design. Yet, those who have encountered a poorly structured user manual understand how crucial the presentation of vital information is for the user experience. Organising high-complexity information effectively can be challenging, but it’s an interesting challenge.
At its core, my role involves developing processes and structures to support the hands-on tasks of our writers. While I may not be directly involved in document writing, I focus on planning content and structure. Additionally, I drive improvements to existing documents, striving to enhance accuracy and user-friendliness. Our goal is to create customer documentation that our customers, and their customers in turn, can easily use in their daily work.
My extensive product knowledge in software documentation for telecommunications is a key asset in this process. With years of experience in this product group, I have a clear understanding of the documentation and technical aspects. This enables me to provide valuable support to my Technical Writer colleagues as they navigate the area I oversee in their daily tasks.
"My role at Aleido involves extensive interaction with Software Developers, Release Managers, and various other colleagues across the software workflow. From the initial pre-study phase to the final release and maintenance, I serve as the primary point of contact for product information within my specific area."
Building relationships with customers
In addition to collaborating closely with Technical Writers, my role at Aleido involves extensive interaction with Software Developers, Release Managers, and various other colleagues across the software workflow. From the initial pre-study phase to the final release and maintenance, I serve as the primary point of contact for product information within my specific area. This responsibility entails representing both my team and Aleido in numerous situations.
Since I work in a multi-site operation, most of my meetings are held online. As a result, I participate in several virtual teams, both internally at Aleido and on the customer side. Working with product information throughout its entire life cycle requires collaboration with numerous stakeholders, and a lot of organizational skills. Over the years, I have developed in these areas, and I’ve really enjoyed it.
I am fortunate to have a role that allows for long-term collaboration with colleagues across different teams, both internally and externally. This continuity enables us to establish effective ways of working together and ensures the best possible products. Collaboration is truly a two-way street, and I am grateful for the willingness and commitment demonstrated by all parties involved.
Being a partner, not just a supplier
One thing I enjoy about my work is the international environment we have. I am in daily contact with Swedish, Croatian, Polish, and Chinese colleagues. Most of the technical writer colleagues I work with are also Hungarian, so the international colleagues I have the most contact with come from vastly different backgrounds and different roles, such as Software Engineers, Project Managers and Release Responsibles. We are responsible for different parts of the process that make up the full product and contribute different things to the process. I really enjoy this cooperation and find it fascinating to see other parts of the workflow. I’m a psychologist by education, so I never expected to learn this much about how an advanced software product comes to be.
Building meaningful relationship with my international colleagues is a different kind of relationship than with colleagues I share an office with, Despite the physical distance, years of collaboration and problem-solving have strengthened our bonds. My feeling from the beginning is that I’m treated by the customer I work with more like a partner than just a supplier, and the attitude of individual colleagues is a big part of this. In turn, I do my best to bring a similar attitude and dedication.
FACTS
Title: Information designer
Education: Masters in Psychology
Worked at Aleido since: 2020
What kind of possibilitarian are you: Driven to improve and cooperate
About Aleido Voices
A series of articles for everyone wondering what it’s like to work at Aleido. With Aleido Voices our employees get to highlight certain exciting aspects of their jobs.
Contribute with your perspectives
Join a people-oriented, collaborative, and forward-thinking environment where your skills and perspectives are valued. We are the people who make the advanced simply understood.
