If you would kindly say your name again.
Ariful Islam.
What is your position?
I am a senior UI/UX designer.
Okay, senior UI/UX.
Who do you report to?
I report to the project manager, pretty much everyone. Like Arif sir, then there is our Ferdous vai. I mean, the PMs.
Yes, yes, the PM.
Okay.
How many years have you been in this role?
Almost five years.
With JM? Or separate?
No, in total.
How many years have you been with JM? With Monon... with JM, it's a little more than three and a half years.
Okay, okay. Three and a half years.
Okay. I will ask you some questions.
And I will rate your answers. If you don't know something, there's no problem. We are doing this exercise specifically so that we can think about how to proceed with you in the future, for your career development. Basically, this conversation is about how we can make a versatile team, how we can support you in your career development. Okay? So if you don't know something, there's no problem. Because there's no such thing that we will know everything, or your track or training or the way you work, some things may not align with that. Okay?
You said you are a front-end developer. Do you only do design or do you also do coding? By coding, I mean specifically front-end coding.
Yes, sir. Actually, at the beginning of my career, I was more focused on web design and front-end. So now, I work on it partially. Suddenly, when support is needed, in those cases.
Okay. So if we talk about front-end or back-end development, what would you rate yourself overall? How much would you give for back-end and how much for front-end?
Actually, my knowledge of back-end is zero. But in front-end, I... five star or ten star...
This is on a scale of one to five.
Then I will give three for front-end.
Okay, you'll give three for front-end. Okay.
Do you have any idea about API development and integration?
I know the API concept, but I have never done it practically.
You haven't done it. Okay. So, if I say you have knowledge but if I ask you to rate yourself, how much would you give yourself for this?
I can give one for this.
You'll give one. Okay. Database management. Do you have any idea about databases?
Yes sir. I have an idea about it, but I haven't worked on it practically either, since I have mostly worked on the front-end.
Okay. In database management, if I ask you, what rating would you give yourself?
Here, for basic knowledge, I can give a one.
Okay. Thank you.
So since you don't have knowledge of databases, the possibility of you having knowledge here is very low. Database optimization and query tuning. Here too, you probably have a basic idea but you've never worked on it, right?
Yes sir.
Okay, I'm giving a one here.
Okay, do you have an idea about DevOps?
A very basic idea.
Okay.
I just know the term.
Okay, you just know the term. That means I'm giving a zero here.
In terms of understanding system architecture, what is your role? Do you understand or know system architecture? Or try to understand it?
In the case of product development, while working with developers, I know as much as I need to know or understand. But I don't have deep knowledge or the knowledge to actually work on it here.
Okay, so if I ask you to rate yourself on a scale of one to five, what rating would you give?
Here sir, I will give a zero.
Debug and troubleshooting. This is something you have to do specifically. Do you understand the concept of debug and troubleshooting?
Yes, I have a pretty good idea about it in the context of front-end work.
Okay. Because when you do coding on the front-end, you have to do this.
Yes, this troubleshooting has to be done.
Okay. So how much would you give yourself for this? Your understanding and your expertise?
For this, I will give a two.
You'll give a two. Okay. In terms of document quality or document preparation, what is your role like, or how much do you know?
Yes, I have expertise in technical documentation and I have written technical documents for almost two products. So, for this, I can give myself a three.
You can give a three. Okay. That means you have extended knowledge here. Okay.
We will now talk about behavioral skills. That is, time management. In terms of time management, how would you rate yourself on a scale of one to five?
Actually, in this case, since my focus is on design, I can give a five.
In time management? Can you deliver work on time? Do you come to the office on time? How are you with these tasks?
I am a bit weak when it comes to being on time for the office, but on-time delivery is a strong point of mine.
Okay, so we are talking about overall time management here. In all aspects.
Overall, then I'll give a four.
Okay.
How is your communication? Communicating with people? In Bangla and English?
Good in Bangla. In English, I can have a conversation.
What would you give yourself for Bangla?
I can give five for Bangla.
English?
Three in English.
Team work and collaboration. Are you a team player?
Yes sir.
Okay. So, in terms of being a team player or in collaboration, what things do you keep in mind when you play as a team?
At first, it's listening. I try to listen to what the person I'm having a conversation with, or the people I'm having a conversation with, are saying. Second is understanding. Third is sharing; if there's a situation to share my thoughts, I share them. And finally, it's about bringing the communication to a final conclusion and maintaining respect with the team members.
If I give you a scenario where your manager told you to do a task. You understand logically that the task you've been asked to do is not logically right. In that case, do you give him constructive criticism or constructive feedback? Or do you try to do the task that he's asking you to do even after knowing it's not right and fail in the end? What are your characteristics in this case?
In this case, I mostly try to focus on the possible drawback and present it, so that a better way or solution can come out of it. And I try to communicate in that way. If that happens, and the understanding is there, then I work accordingly. Otherwise, I try to work according to his or their decision, to bring the output.
Okay. So if I ask you to give a rating, how much would you give here?
Here sir, I can give a four.
Ownership of task. Do you understand the concept of ownership?
Pretty much, yes sir.
Okay. If you are given a task, I'm giving the previous example, that you were given a wrong task. Okay? Now, how will you own that wrong task and how will you rectify it?
For that, I will bring forward the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and then try to collaborate and do the work through a discussion.
So, there are some qualities in the ownership of a task, for owning the work. Okay? If I request you to give me three examples of ownership, the way you own your work.
So, if asked to give three examples, in that case, at first, being able to identify what the proper output of the work could be. Secondly, bringing out the opportunities from there. Third is being able to complete this work on time using the best process available.
Okay.
Okay. That's good. So, what rating would you give yourself for ownership?
I can give three for ownership.
Okay. Thank you.
Problem-solving skills. Do you think you can solve critical problems?
In terms of problem-solving, I haven't had much experience with critical problems yet.
It hasn't happened.
But in the future, if it happens, are you a problem solver? Do you think of yourself as a critical problem solver or do you think that...
Yes sir, I try to think about each statement that way. So if there is a problem, it can be seen that an opportunity can be brought out as a better result. So, being able to actually identify the problem is important to me.
Okay. So, for that, in problem-solving skills, how would you rate yourself?
Here sir, three.
Learning initiative. Suppose we are moving to a new mechanism. Now you are asked to learn, or you are told that you have to learn a new thing. Will you learn it on your own initiative, or will you need to be taught step-by-step? What kind of attitude do you have?
Actually sir, from the beginning of my career, I have had more of a focus on learning by myself.
Okay.
So, after a new trend comes into the industry, I mostly explore it myself.
Okay. So if I ask you, in terms of learning initiative, what rating would you give yourself?
I can give a four.
Four? Okay.
Adaptability. Because we will be starting a new mechanism. I will discuss this question later, at the very end. So, are you adaptable? Are you comfortable in terms of adaptability?
Yes sir, I am very comfortable.
Okay. For adaptation, I will give you a four here.
Okay. We will ask some questions now. So, I want to continue the conversation in English. If you feel that you cannot do it in English, just tell me. We will then continue in Bangla. Okay?
So, my first question to you, which parts of your role do you feel strongest in?
Actually, designing, understanding user requirements, this is the part of my design career I am mostly proud of and I think this is my strongest part.
Okay. Which parts of your role do you struggle with?
Actually, it's information collection and information architecture. In my UX design career, I mostly struggle in this criteria.
Okay. What skills would you like to improve over the next six to 12 months?
I continuously try to improve my problem-solving skills and always try to develop my problem-solving skills in my future career.
Particularly?
Particularly... Sorry sir, I am not understanding.
Particularly means very specific. I know that you want to be a problem solver, that's a good thing. But in which way? In which domain? Is it a new domain? Or is it the domain that you are working in? Or what?
Yes, yes. Yes sir. I am actually in my working domain, I try to solve problems. Like, there is a type of problem-solving statement called the double diamond approach in design systems. So most of the time I try to apply this type of approach and try to learn in depth about this criteria.
Okay. How confident are you working across the full stack development?
Actually, I am not a full-stack developer and not comfortable.
Okay. Do you want to learn in the future or do you just want to engage in front-end development rather than doing anything else?
Yes sir, I always try to learn and explore, to implement in all of my career and projects and every one of my career paths.
Okay. What slows you down in your current development role?
Actually, a learning gap is slowing me down. Sometimes I do not manage time to find out new things or do not give proper time to learning more. That's why it slows down.
Okay. What new technologies or tools do you want to learn in the future?
Actually, I want to learn how AI can boost our career and agentic AI models, etc. I want to learn this in depth.
Okay. What type of tasks or responsibilities would you like more of?
Thinking, brainstorming and sketching or some research and trend following, this kind of task I mostly like.
Okay. When you're working at the Jarb application, do you have the right resources and documentation to follow?
Yes, there is proper documentation to follow and I try to always maintain documentation and contribute there.
If there is a document gap, what would you do?
I try to find out the resource and then try to adjust... next time I want to implement... yeah.
Okay. For our current practice and work progression, we will divide the current workforce into three domains. First one is the current Jarb version 0.1, to complete that. Second one is DevOps, and third one is AI. In these three fields, where do you see yourself as best suitable?
Sir, actually my net disconnected and I missed some points.
Okay. We will divide the current workforce into three domains. One is Jarb 0.1. Another one is AI, and another one is DevOps. In these three domains, where do you see yourself in?
I want to see myself at Jarb and AI.
Okay. In Jarb, we have two domains generally. One is finalizing 0.1, another one is creating it for a global roadmap. Where do you want to work?
I think this is a very smart and large application. And this is a very huge... kind of informative application and resourceful that might help more for my career.
So I'm asking you, where do you want to work? In version 0.1 or global roadmap?
I have no idea about global roadmap.
Okay, that's fine. What career path do you want to move towards?
I can't explain that.
What career path? Like you have a career goal. Yeah? So what career path do you want to move towards?
Okay, I actually want to be a lead designer and problem solver and want to contribute more to the design industry and trends, etc.
Okay, that's fine. Um, Ariful Islam, thank you very much for your time. Do you have any questions for me to answer?
So actually we... can I continue in Bangla? Actually I'm not... yeah... okay sir. So actually, what's happening now is that there's an AI boom going on in the whole industry. So in this matter, it seems to me that Bangladesh is still perhaps a bit behind in this race. So in this case, I want to know a bit about how we can implement AI in our careers and in every aspect of our work, and what our learning curves could be for this.
Since we will be working with Monon Software, that's why we are thinking of three future projects. One is the current workflow, another is DevOps, and another is AI innovation. So, Jarb is a study point for us, and based on it, we will implement various things, and we will train up the people, you who are currently working. So from that training, you can do multiple tasks. You can work in multiple domains as well. There's no problem with that. Then you will have to spend more time. It might be that you are coming to the office, you have a task in the office, and after that, you have to learn additional tasks or other things. If you can invest that time, then we can answer the questions you have. Answer them very carefully. Because, I don't know if you have seen my profile on LinkedIn. Although I did share it. We basically do things like training or development on software development, AI innovation, or specifically introductory courses. So if you are part of the team, then you will definitely learn something from here.
Okay sir. Thank you sir.
Arif bhai, my discussion with him is over. Who is next?
Arif, ask Sumon to join. Sumon Rajbahar, next will be Sumon Rajbahar.
Okay sir. Sir, should I leave?
Please. Yes. So, you leave, and ask Sumon to join.
Okay sir.
Arif bhai, how are things?
Okay, Sazedul Karim has arrived. Will Sazedul Karim be the next person to talk to us? Lastly, Sumon Rajbahar has also arrived. I... let Sumon bhai in.
Okay. Nesar bhai...
Yes, let me tell you a bit about him. He is one of our vital, vital project managers of HD and also the product manager of Jarb. All the front-end development that is going on, then there's source code management.