Day in the Life: Naomi, Business Analyst/Product Owner at Robeco

Name: Naomi
Job: Business Analyst/Product Owner at Robeco

What does a Business Analyst/Product Owner?

As a Business Analyst/Product Owner, I collaborate closely with stakeholders, define IT solutions, create (technical) designs, and manage and prioritise multiple projects. I am currently working on three projects: Project A: Developing a new application to be used across the organisation. I am working on this project with 3 engineers from my team and 8 engineers from various other IT departments. Project B: Implementing various standalone improvements to an existing application used by multiple business teams. I work with 3 engineers from my team on this project. Project C: Migrating an existing application to a new platform. I primarily work with 1 engineer, with 3 others aligned as backup.

Here’s what a day in Naomi's life looks like!

8:00 - 9:00 AM: Today I work from my home office. I start my day with a good coffee and by catching up on emails, updating my to-do list, and preparing for meetings.

9:00 - 10:00 AM: The first meeting of the day is the daily standup with my team. We discuss the current period’s projects, everyone's progress, and what needs to be done. I find it a nice way to start the workday: besides being useful, it is also very enjoyable, and there is a lot of laughter within the team. After the standup, I have a call with a colleague for Project A to discuss a few decisions.

10:00 - 11:00 AM: I have focus time to prepare a presentation for next week, where I will present to stakeholders of Project A. I will show them our current progress and what we have achieved so far.

11:00 - 12:00 PM: I join a session with other product owners and (solution) architects within the investment domain. Today’s agenda is very interesting and covers a topic where I am a specialist. We have had a great discussion.

12:00 - 1:00 PM: I take a break. The sun is shining, so it is a perfect time to go for a walk outside. I grab a coffee from a nearby café before heading back. I also have lunch.

1:00 - 2:00 PM: After lunch, I test new functionality built by a colleague for Project B. We are close to deploying this functionality to production, which will provide immediate value to our stakeholders.

2:00 - 3:00 PM: I have a short meeting with a colleague from another IT team to discuss decision choices for an application closely aligned with ours. After this I have some focus time to work on the presentation for next week.

3:00 - 4:00 PM: I have a meeting about project C. We are almost ready to run parallel with the current application. After months of work involving technical designs and code development, it is very exciting to see the new functionality working now and making it less abstract! After that, I make a good cup of cappuccino.

4:00 - 6:00 PM: Focus time. I have time to work on several actions from previous meetings and to work on the presentation for next week. After that I wrap up the day and end the workday with a walk outside.

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How do you unwind at the end of the day?

I take a walk while listening to a podcast, enjoying that it is still light and sunny outside. Afterwards I have dinner and I relax by reading a book.

What do you love about your job and your employer?

I love the variety in my work; every day is different. I enjoy collaborating closely with different teams – both within and outside the IT department. I also like working on building an application from scratch and turning it into something that is valuable for the organisation. I like working at Robeco because of the opportunities it provides and the supportive work culture. Robeco encourages continuous learning and development. Colleagues are great to work with and are always striving to achieve the best results. Together with the collaborative environment, it makes it a great place to work.