Marseille edit
A technical director of Jalis, a central function with a look at all the disciplines of agence web. If you would like to know more about the functioning of Jalis, the interview of Paul N. is going to satisfy your curiosity. Read good words and advice of our wise person.
How long have you worked at Jalis and what is your function in the Web company?
From the memory approximately, I was recruited in May, 2007 as a web designer. Then I became a production manager in 2009. And in 2011 I was appointed the technical director's post of a manager status.
Before integrating Jalis, what was your job?
Having a high school diploma C (that people under 20 cannot obtain), I passed the exam to College of Fine arts to integrate a school of design automobile. After three years, I finally made a complete cycle of five years for a DNSEP.
Then there comes a mini experience of less than a year in Passadena, California. After that, I created a Web company in my return with a friend mining engineer, Alès: Cogitoweb Communication Multimedia. An experience lasted only two years because it was difficult to sell sites in 1998 to French companies which were hardly connected in RTC and more fans of Minitel …
I joined then a Web communication company: Upsilog, specialized in the realization of sites in flash at the top of range (mode, Relais Châteaux, models, luxury hotels, celebrities …) in Aix-en-Provence. I have been there for five years as a technical manager, web-designer/flasher. It was rather funny because I met and worked for Pascal Gentil, Christophe Pina, Guillaume Néry, Adrianna Karembeu and many others.
Serge Alagy who knew my work through the commerce prospection, made me get through his address and phone number. He suggested me meeting him on a Saturday morning … From there, I joined Jalis.
Could you describe in a few words your current post?
Today, the main part of my work is the coordination and the management of the technical teams, distributed to specific families in Web company including graphics, the Web development, the referencing, the project management, the information system and the customer relationship (SAV)
Each of these corporate associations is piloted by a manager. Jalis takes account into seven, with whom I organize the production and the development of products.
The technical pole of Jalis consists of more than 40 people with specializations, additional skills and very good Web general knowledge (culture générale web). The staff always excluded trainees in number, freelances or resources offshore, the policy to build and strengthen a know-how and a team more and more experimented on the spot: in Marseille. This part of my function spends approximately 50 % of my time.
Then I dedicate approximately 30 % of my time to the exercise of each job, alternately to web-designer, referrer, project manager, flasher, etc. … It seems to be important "to practice" to understand better and direct the teams.
Finally, the rest (the rest of 20%) is dedicated to diverse tasks: commercial support, public relations, meetings inter-services, management of partnerships and suppliers, training, etc.
What do you prefer in your work?
The Web business, by obligation, has to be creative because the digital technology is far from having obtained its limits. The hardware, software, languages, tools by wholesale, there is always a new component and practically every week. It is a kind of "chaos" which remains mathematical and organized. Consequently, it is fascinating to be able to discover, follow and act in such a domain. It requires capacity of adaptation, analysis, innovation and auto-training. That consume takes a great deal of ideas and of energy. In fact I like all.
Which Jalis site are you most satisfied?
We always say that the internal beauty prevails over the exterior, I do not say that to caricature the bad dredgers but today, I would take advantage of it to define a satisfactory site. It is necessary to have a great engine, effective technologies, a well modeled database, a lot of sense, original features, an ergonomics based on the simplicity and a big purity in the graphics ... In sum, the next one is what we shall produce!
Which site gave you the hardest time?
Mmm ... if I look for, it is going to go back up, maybe the first site which I realized in HTML. At the same time, in the history of Web which began in 1995, let’s consider that I began in the Middle Ages, then it was so hard that I didn’t know how to say. On the other hand, since then, I do not like Javascript for many reasons.
Would you have some advice to give to those who begin in the Web sector?
- The best method to approach Web is the scientific method (Gaston Bachelard by 1890):
1. Observation > 2. Hypotheses > 3. Experiment(s) > 4. Conclusion(s)
- The best model: Léonard De Vinci, to be curious, know how to: draw, matter, imagine.
- The best technique: improvise.
- The best job: a step after the other one but not every day (proper functioning!)
- The best slogan: to infinity and beyond!
In brief, I advise you and wish you the best.