Technology Manager

submitted by Pam Chamberlain, 2013

The moment she stepped into Statusfirm, Cindy Eisman knew she wanted to work there. "There was an innovative, fresh, and vibrant energy to the entire place," she says of the start-up technology firm, "and that is still going strong three years later."

Statusfirm specializes in web-based solutions for publishing and managing video on the Internet. The Edmonton-based company was listed as one of 10 Canadian New Media Companies to Watch in 2008.

Cindy was initially hired as a web programmer to add new functionality and content to existing projects. A few months later, she joined a team building a new project. "Then I had some influence on planning," she recalls, "and I could put the theory I learned at Augustana into practice." Now Cindy is a technology manager and oversees ten employees, including programmers and project managers.

Cindy has worked on a variety of projects, including a web-based service for Capital Health that allows medical professionals to access archived medical records, and a webcasting feature for the Government of Alberta's Inspiring Education online forum.

She was the lead developer and project manager for the web portion of Hockey Online Training, a site owned by the Oilers' Chad Moreau and Ethan Moreau that generates custom off-ice workout routines for hockey players. The project won Statusfirm a Best Digital Media Project Award.

"I like that my career is different every day," Cindy says. "Each day brings a new client, a new project, or a new problem to solve." She says there's no such thing as a typical day at work. She performs a wide range of tasks such as writing code, writing project plans, proofreading user manuals, talking to clients, providing customer support, and attending executive meetings to discuss upcoming projects.

Cindy is especially proud of a project that had been under development for some time before it came across her desk. At that point, the project had fallen short of the client's expectations. "When I took responsibility for the project, I had to overcome the damaged relationship between our company and theirs," she explains. Over the next few months, Cindy successfully got the project back on track and retained the client.

"My work matters to me because I want to make a positive impact," Cindy reflects. "That may come by improving the day-to-day operations of a client's business or helping a colleague become more productive and satisfied in his work. Then I know I'm making a difference."