Tapp Network – Summer 2019
Tapp Network
Software Project Management Intern
Wilmington, DE, United States – Summer 2019
About Tapp Network
- Tapp Network (Tapp) provides mission-driven marketing and technology to power organizations’ business models and team efficiency. After going through in-depth research and consulting with industrial experts, Tapp leverages technology and content to attract target customers, educate audiences, and foster healthy brand engagement for clients.
- One of Tapp’s important missions is to continue to set the bar in helping non-profit organizations and mission-driven enterprises solve their unique problems.
- Tapp is a small team of 10-15 employees, and the company has two offices in Wilmington, Delaware and St Petersburg, Florida.
 Tapp Office in Wilmington, Delaware |
 Tapp Office in St Petersburg, Florida |
My Responsibilities as Tapp Software Project Management Intern
- Monitoring and Control Progress
- Assisted in software quality assurance testing prior to product deployment.
- Coordinated day-to-day process execution.
- Communicated news and changed policies.
- Activity and Resource Planning
- Identified exceptions and deviations and implemented changes to the planning process.
- Defined project SOW (Scope of Work), determined available resources, evaluated teams’ capabilities, and identified realistic time estimates.
- Facilitated resource commitment and allocation.
- Cost Estimation and Budget Development
- Created, analyzed and distributed process reports.
- Ensured that procedure standards are being followed.
Selected Projects
Test Management Software Tools Research
- Given the significant increase in bug testing and development phases, Tapp Network wants to automate its test case process and enhance its tracking and reporting systems.
- My Tasks:
- Conducted an in-depth research on existing Test Management Softwares, including functionality, implementation, integration options, and subscription prices.
- Created a comparison chart on Testing Management Software
- Wrote instruction documents and presented research output to Tapp CTO for purchasing decision.
- Emailed developers and asked for them to conduct online demos, followed by a Q&A session to gain a better understanding of the application.
_____________________
Client Portal Development Plan
- A client company provides specialized administration services. They want Tapp to organize, test, and develop a trust portal that could enhance security to execute wire transfers, bring visibility and control to clients’ experience, and provide real-time status updates and notifications.
- My Tasks:
- Coordinated internal resources and communicated with clients to gather requirements elicitation.
- Assisted Quality Assurance team by testing software and reporting bug issues through GitHub and JIRA.
- Defined Project Scopes and Objectives and developed a detailed project plan to monitor and track progress.
- Measured project performance using appropriate tools and techniques.
- Managed tasks on Teamwork board and assigned tasks to appropriate team members.
_____________________
E-commerce Website Rebranding Project
- A client who sells customized jewelry and tattoos containing personalized essence wants to rebrand her Shopify website in order to build stronger relations between the brand and the customers. The deliverables of Tapp Network for this project include a strategic marketing plan and a new online website version with a user-friendly interface, an effective navigation bar, and attractive call-to-action elements.
- My Tasks:
- Developed project schedule, updated workflow, identified roles and positions, and assigned work to the right team members.
- Coordinated activities across different organizational functions.
- Conducted a thorough research on Shopify plug-ins to provide budgeting estimation and recommendations for clients.
_____________________
Automated Report Generation Software
- An architecture company, whose business model is to provide design solutions to clients’ pragmatic needs with a unique approach rooted in modern contextualism and inspired by urban narratives. It wants Tapp to create an automated report generation software to cut down on documenting time and eliminate human errors.
- My Tasks:
- Reviewed and edited User Manual Instruction.
- Tested and reported bugs to Development Team.
- Analyzed client’s proposal documents to finalize the Proposal Template to be integrated in the software.
- Compiled a questions list on functionality and technology and documented the solutions.
Key Takeaways
I reported directly to Steve, Tapp CTO
- Tools and Resources I Used:
- Tools: Slack, Google Drive, GitHub, JIRA, Google Developer Tool, TestQuality, Teamwork
- Resources:
- MIS 3506 – Digital Solutions Studio: I took MIS 3506 in the Spring 2019 semester before I became a Tapp intern. The classprovided me with tremendous support, insightful knowledge, and a practical skillset that I constantly used while I was interning at Tapp. I applied the lessons on Business Process Analysis to most of my Tapp projects, and we ended up getting great efficiency and effectiveness!
- BA 3903 – Integrative Business Application: The course helped me develop an understanding of business practices and learn to view organizations as integrated systems. It improved my practical-thinking, problem-solving, and research analyzation skills.
- Lessons I Learned:
- Communication is KEY! Tapp employees are located all over the place. We have team members from different states in the US, and also from other countries with different timezones. We communicate with one another via Slack and online conference calls. In order to create a smooth workflow, everyone is always communicating, providing support, and giving feedback on each other’s work.
- Be proactive and adaptable. Since Tapp is a small team of 10+ people, I sometimes had to take on tasks that are not in my scope of responsibilities. I always accepted the tasks and worked on them with a positive mindset. This turned out to be a great way for me to understand myself and my capability, and thus, provided me more clarity on what I want to do for my career in the future!
- Be willing to take on challenges. During my first few weeks, I spent my weekends to learn more about GitHub, Test Management, QA Process, Shopify Systems, etc. in order to understand and catch up with the workflow at Tapp. I also made sure to keep up with the deadlines and provide quality results.
- Be true to who you are, and embrace yourself. I find this lesson is the most important lesson of them all. In order to understand other people, I have to understand myself. I understand my strengths and my weaknesses, and I’m always open to feedback from my team.
Tapp Team – A group of great minds with mission-driven passion and amazing work ethic