Christoph Frank - Senior Project Manager

My workday as a project manager is typically packed with calls and meetings. Broadly speaking, my job involves coordinating and prioritizing tasks amid circumstances or conditions that are constantly changing - sometimes on a daily basis. Because of this, time just flies by. I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I really enjoy it.

Outstanding technological and methodological expertise in software engineering, as well as the ability to understand customer needs, translate business requirements into technical specifications, and implement them accordingly.

It never gets monotonous or boring. Plus, I work in a motivating environment with colleagues who are highly self-motivated, have high standards for the quality of their work, and think outside the box. That gives me extra motivation.

Balancing various interests: on the one hand, ensuring customer satisfaction, and on the other hand, assigning employees based on their strengths while taking their workload into account.

On the one hand, there are projects that run over several years, in which an application or system at the client’s site is continuously refined through a series of new releases. These are projects where applications already in use in a production environment are improved only on an ad hoc basis.

On the other hand, I also enjoy proof-of-concept projects, where in just a few months and with a manageable budget we first verify whether a client’s vision is even technically feasible and scalable.

This project involves developing an application for a client in the pharmaceutical industry. The application serves as the central, standard working environment for analyzing clinical trial data for several hundred users worldwide on a daily basis. The project is exciting and challenging in several respects.

On the one hand, the existing application, which is approximately 25 years old, is to be replaced, which means that the user group has become very familiar with how the old application works and has corresponding expectations for the new one. On the other hand, a completely new technology stack is to be used, and the interface systems are also to be modernized, which creates many dependencies. This also requires taking into account the interests of many stakeholders.

Because we highly value employees who, on the one hand, think for themselves and aren't afraid to ask critical questions, and, on the other hand, are also willing to take on responsibility and tackle problems in a solution-oriented way.

Because here I have the opportunity to actively shape things and make a difference myself.

For one thing, HMS has a very broad range of technological expertise, and we are not limited to implementing applications and services from specific providers. This means we can advise clients independently to find the solution that best suits their needs. However, to ensure we can apply our technological expertise in the most effective way possible, we place great importance on understanding our clients’ needs, as well as their underlying motivations and vision.

The hierarchy is relatively flat. Issues that concern employees are brought directly to senior management through department heads, without getting lost along the way due to too many levels of hierarchy.

At HMS, in addition to focusing on business goals, great care is taken to ensure that employees' personal development aligns with their roles within the company.