Name: Faye Koukia-Koutelaki
Role: User Researcher, Kainos
What does your typical day look like?
My day usually starts with our team’s stand up. Depending on the week I would either be preparing research guides and writing scripts, running research sessions, analyzing data or doing research ops to make sure everything has been captured the proper way. A couple of meetings are usually part of my daily schedule as well.
What are you currently working on?
I work for Kainos and more specifically in a project for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services. My focus in on the Supreme Court at the moment, being part of the team that creates a new case management system for them.
What inspired you to join this company in particular?
Except for being a successful consultancy, Kainos appeared to focus on the save values as I do in my life. I felt that we would be a good fit and luckily, I wasn’t wrong.
Did you always want to work in this industry (tech)?
Not really! My background is in psychology and I had been working in the applied sector for years before realising I could use my skills on another – totally different – area.
What’s your favourite part about your work?
Being the voice of the user, representing their needs and their point of view within the team. Also, being the source of information for so many people inside my team; from designers to developers and from Business Analysts to stakeholders, there are so many people whose decisions are based on the way we gather and playback users’ feedback.
What would you say to other people considering a job in this industry (tech)?
Go for it! Don’t be afraid! Everything makes much more sense once you put your hands on it! Also, IT is not just about coding. There are so many different roles one could have in the IT sector and so many different ways to help shape one of the various digital products we interact with on a daily basis.
How do you see this technology impacting on our lives?
In so many ways! Technology today is everywhere. Most of the daily activities we perform include the use of information or a device that has been created because of the evolution of technology.
Who inspired you to work in this field?
Some friends of mine were working in this sector and one day one of them mentioned it as a joke that I could get the job of another friend. Until then I had no idea that it was even possible to use my skills in tech!
What do you consider to be the most important tech innovation or development in recent years?
I have two. Video calls and 3D printing. Video call are bringing people from every corner of the planet closer together. 3D printing has resolved so many problems in surgery. From creating body parts to surgery tools to be used in areas where expensive tools or their sterilization is not possible, 3D printing has changed the lives of thousands of people.
What tech gadget could you not live without?
My smartphone; it does everything for me. I keeps me in touch with the rest of the world, I listen to my favourite music and watch my favourite shows.
