Meet Ryan Sturges. He likes to break things!

We’re back with another installment of our Gartrell Group Team bios. Joining me is Ryan Sturges, one of our newest teammates.

Welcome, Ryan! Can you tell me what your job title is?

Hi! Thanks! I’m a QA Engineer.

If you were at a party and someone asked you what that is, what would you tell them?

I test things, break things, laugh at things I've broken, and occasionally build automation to help me break things more efficiently.

Since we don’t physically build things at TGG, I’m guessing that the breaking things are more about software than fine China. Can you tell us a little more about what you’re breaking?

I'm mainly going through the intended functionality of client apps, first looking to see that the core functions are as expected, then moving outward to edge cases and peripheral features, determining the limits of the application, and finding where and how it can fail. In doing so, I'll include techniques such as modeling presumed consumer behavior, adding load, testing during different network conditions, etc. This is, of course, all done with the intent of documenting the points of failure so that devs can improve the application,  and so that product teams can make informed decisions about work prioritization.

How does automation help?

Automation consists primarily of front-end testing frameworks like Selenium/Playwright/etc., which emulate a user's web browser journey. These tests are set up such that they can be run quickly, and repeated on demand. Then, these tests can be run when changes are implemented (new features, bug fixes, etc), and we can reliably and quickly verify that the new changes aren't breaking old functionalities. Once implemented, a test suite that takes manual testers tens of hours can be run via automation in minutes, so the potential time/labor savings are large.

That’s pretty cool. What’s your favorite part of your job?

I love the feeling of improvement that I get from watching issues I expose getting fixed.

That’s awesome. Are there any projects that you’re particularly proud of?

The work on Tidypipe is still in the early days, but I'm pretty proud of the direction it's heading.

That’s pretty cool. I’ve heard some good things about the Tidypipe project. (Dear reader, the Tidypipe project is a QA software tool that we developed in-house. It is specialized for testing GIS software tools and workflows to make sure they work and that end-users don't have to add 'software tester' to their job titles.)

What do you like to do outside of work?

I play a lot of video games, listen to a wide variety of music, and occasionally enjoy personal software projects.

When you say "a lot of video games," can you quantify that for me? Is there a genre you are drawn to? Do you have multiple consoles, or do you stick with one? Tell me more about your descent into the world of gaming.

I play primarily on the computer, but own most modern consoles. I play a lot, both in time spent and in the number of games played, because I enjoy a lot of the discourse around games, and it's fun for me to chase whatever the current zeitgeist happens to be.

I have a ~monthly video game book club that I run, where our group selects a game for us all to play on our own time, and then we gather and talk about the ins and outs of it - what worked, what didn't, and why.

As for my descent into the world of gaming (lovely turn of phrase, lol), I've always loved games, but my academic interest in them came from my desire to make games of my own. I got my start in QA testing the remake of the Age Of Empires game series because I was interested in learning how the sausage was made. If it wasn't for that, I doubt I ever would have ended up working in this field.

That’s super cool. Can you elaborate a bit on the “personal software projects” that you enjoy?

I tend to build little helper companion apps for games I'm playing (There's this one in particular, called Book of Hours, that has a bunch of complicated relationships between the actions you can take and the outcomes of those actions. I wanted to map it out for myself out of curiosity. It started as some notes in a OneNote workbook, then a single Excel sheet, but then it grew to multiple sheets, and then a database, and then I realized I needed to build a better interface, so it turned into a web app.) I also attempt to make my own games from time to time. Currently, I'm working with a friend on a multiplayer web-app escape room, though that's an on-again off-again kind of project.

Wow. That’s amazing stuff. Do you have any kids? Pets? Plants?

I've got two fantastic cats: Vinck and Lembit. They show up on my video calls quite a bit.

Do you like to travel? Got any great travel stories?

I love to travel in theory, but I have trouble making time for it.

I feel the same. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me, Ryan!

The Women of Gartrell Group reflect upon working at a Woman-owned Business

“Authenticity directly equates to the differences in culture at TGG”

“Molly cultivates a workplace where individuals feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work.”

In March, we honor Women's History Month, a time dedicated to celebrating the achievements and contributions of women throughout history.

The Gartrell Group occupies a unique space in the world of GIS and software development. We are a Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) in a male-dominated industry. Our company is still somewhat reflective of the industry in that most of our team are men, but we have an ever-growing cadre of amazingly competent women.

I asked the women who work for The Gartrell Group, “What is it like to be a woman working for a woman-owned business in a dude-dominated industry? I feel like we have a company culture that's pretty counter to the norm in the tech industry. Have any of you worked for companies with different work cultures? Do you feel like we have something different here? Would you feel comfortable expanding on any of that?”

I received several thoughtful responses.

Liz Gaines was the first to put her hand up, 

“In past roles, I've observed a tendency for women leaders to adopt a patriarchal style, perhaps to fit into male-dominated environments. However, my current experience at Gartrell, under Molly's leadership, stands out as truly unique.

For instance, I've witnessed Molly actively encouraging team members to voice their opinions and ideas, regardless of hierarchy or gender. She creates an environment where everyone feels valued and respected, leading to more innovative solutions and stronger team cohesion. Molly cultivates a workplace where individuals feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work by prioritizing inclusivity and authenticity.

Natalie Trimble added,

“I appreciate the empathy and emphasis on cultivating community I’ve experienced at Gartrell. I noticed a huge difference in how quickly I felt like part of the team here because I was included in weekly calls compared to another company where I was only contacted intermittently about assignments.”

Jenny Axelrod responded,

Authenticity directly equates to the differences in culture at Gartrell, in my opinion. Molly leads with authenticity, and it permeates through the culture. I see it reflected in the women and men who work at Gartrell.

Life happens while you are working. It’s hard to separate life and work - as we show up to work (and now work shows up in our homes) with our lives attached. That is understood, acknowledged, and accepted here. How Molly shares her personal experiences in real time is admirable and appreciated. I’ve experienced this with peers in prior workplaces but rarely from male leadership.

When a company has a good culture, it doesn’t have to be constantly brought up; it’s experienced and felt. It’s been my observation that Gartrell folks genuinely enjoy and appreciate our full group events – the Monday stand-ups*, and Thursday get-togethers**. I’ve experienced “culture-centric” workplaces where “great culture” feels more like “forced fun.”

Molly models inclusive leadership where employees are valued for their contributions and asked about themselves, work, kids, and pets (things she keys in on that are important to them). That creates a connection and sense of community that comes from the top (from both her and Bryce).”

Manasa Gurumurthy added, 

“This is the first time in my life that I’ve worked for a woman-owned firm. In my past roles, I had to deal with managers and colleagues who were mostly men. My experience with them, to be honest, was quite frustrating; unheard, suppressed, and unable to voice my opinion. Yeah, it was a male-dominated industry.

At Gartrell, I can breathe, be myself, voice my opinion, and feel heard. And the best thing ever happens here at Gartrell: 1:1's with my CEO.

As a new Mom, I have heartfelt gratitude and genuine admiration for all the flexibility Molly has provided me. I can find a good balance in managing multiple things: baby, household chores, office work, etc.”

As someone who has had a front-row seat to the growth of The Gartrell Group, I can attest to the authenticity and caring that has driven the “culture” of the organization as we know it now. I also had a front-row seat for the cultivation of these principles. I knew Molly and Bryce when they were kids, and it’s amazing that they have been able to build a successful business based on the love and sense of community service imbued in them by their parents. Their parents were extremely involved in the community and were always welcoming and kind. 

The Gartrell Group is a woman-owned small business, but that hasn’t always been the case. Bryce Gartrell started the business out of his basement and soon realized he needed help running things. Many small businesses fail because the founder is good at doing what the business is focused on but less skilled at running a business. Bryce recognized this early on and recognized his sister Molly’s talent for doing that part of the business. Bryce could put his head down and get to work, knowing that Molly would keep the lights on. 

In our round-table discussion, Molly, being her humble self, didn’t want Bryce left out of the leadership discussion and finished up our conversation with, 

“Much of the reason I can do what I do here is because Bryce has always trusted me to lead in the ways that feel right to me. He is humble in his praise of my work and hearing it from others, but I don't want to diminish the significance of his role in it. No matter our titles, we are partners in our leadership of The Gartrell Group.”

Molly and Bryce circa 1995.

Molly and Bryce back when we had physical servers to maintain.

Team TGG, with Molly and Bryce, in the great outdoors.

The team gathers IRL!

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* (editors note: we gather virtually every Monday morning for an all-hands, quick check-in)

** (editors note: those who can, gather IRL for drinks and conversations after work on Thursdays)

When Remote Work Becomes More

Our System Integration Developer, Brian Lee, wrote the following post about his trips to Siem Reap, Cambodia, in 2022 and 2023, with another planned in 2024.

Aliases (names of significant places and people have been changed to respect their privacy):

Hotel Khmer: A boutique hotel in Siem Reap with less than 30 rooms.
Soma: A 25-year-old woman who works at the front desk of Hotel Khmer.
Keo: A 23-year-old man who works as a server at Hotel Khmer.
Mr. Sok: A man in his late 50s who wears many hats.

It started with a stay at Hotel Khmer in late 2022. Given that Siem Reap is a tourist-heavy area, hotels place a great deal on hospitality. The hotel industry permeates outside the city such that "hospitality" was cited by several children in rural Cambodia as a desired career path [at least among the students I met in 2023]. It's no surprise, given the relatively good salary that it can demand. Hotel staff interactions are much what you would expect. Guests are asked questions like, "What will you do today? Have you been to X? Etc."

Aside from thinking I wouldn't say anything they hadn't heard so many times before, I found these questions boring. With an anthropological mindset and a desire to know more about the people whose country I was visiting, I turned the line of questioning back towards them. Soma and Keo speak English fluently, so I began to ask them, "Do you have any hobbies? What will you do today after work? Do you live far from work? Who do you live with? Etc." They were quite receptive to my casual interrogation, and as intended, their answers led to me asking more questions. My interest was as genuine as their answers were honest and enthusiastic. Because of this, a certain rapport began to develop throughout multiple daily conversations with Soma and Keo in 2022. It isn't uncommon for hotel staff to exchange contact information with guests to stay in touch, but rarely do guests actually do so. Fast forward to late 2023, and my relationships with Soma and Keo had evolved as we kept in touch after I returned home.

Through weekly conversations, I learned more about their daily lives and circumstances. Keo decided to pursue an education in "Digital Marketing & Business" at a local college in the hopes of perhaps owning his own business one day. He received a scholarship, and at the request of his proctor, he decided to stop working at Hotel Khmer to focus on his studies. While school expenses are paid for, Keo is left without an income. Living with his extended family as both of his parents are no longer alive [having died a decade prior], his income while working at Hotel Khmer helped pay for rent, food, and his basic necessities. At this point, I already understood how much his rent was, his salary, how much money the average Cambodian needs daily for food, etc. To resolve Keo's dilemma of not knowing how to replace his lost income if deciding to pursue higher education, I offered to cover his monthly expenses by providing him with his monthly salary while working at Hotel Khmer. After some reluctance, he accepted my proposal. He's doing quite well in school, having been recognized for his academic achievements, and hoping to find an internship for the summer of 2024.

Soma continues to work at Hotel Khmer and has been promoted to a more managerial role. While keeping in touch, I learned a little about primary education in rural Cambodia. Parents can be hesitant to let their children pursue education beyond what's required, as time spent in school is both a loss of income (when they could be working to help support the family) and time spent not helping around the house (which is much more than dishes or laundry; it’s helping to harvest rice, tend to livestock, etc.). Hesitant parents need to be convinced of the value of education as one of the few paths to escape generational poverty. This is where Mr. Sok comes in. He runs a school in rural Cambodia, where Soma is a former student, and her younger brother, Neak, is a current student. At the age of 12, seeing her family struggle, Soma began working at a nearby brick factory where several other children work to bring in extra income. The days at the factory are long, dirty, and dangerous. Breathing issues from inhaling dust, nerve damage from manual labor, injured ligaments, and even losing appendages are all possibilities for the children (and all workers, really) who spend their days there.

Mr. Sok does what he can to help children in brick factories get an education (by being their teacher and convincing the parents that their education is worth it). After meeting Soma, he tried to persuade Soma's parents that by getting an education, she would no longer need to work in such conditions and could find safer, better employment after finishing. After a few years in school, Soma did precisely this. She graduated and shortly after began working at Hotel Khmer. Soma's younger brother, Neak, is fortunate enough not to have to work in the same factory his sister did, though some of his classmates aren't as lucky. Bit by bit, as Soma revealed her past in conversations with me, the realities of life in rural Cambodia emerged. However, in doing so, an opportunity also emerged where my family and I could assist. While Mr. Sok teaches and shuffles kids from their home to school on his own time, there are still some necessities that he cannot provide with his time alone. School uniforms, notebooks, pencils, pens, etc., are all things the students need to purchase each year. We offered to cover the cost of school supplies and uniforms that his 35 students need for the year. Like Keo, Soma was initially hesitant to accept our offer but, after some time, agreed. This brings us to the trip in 2023.

Keo invited me to his home in rural Cambodia (about an hour outside of Siem Reap) for lunch and to participate in that year’s Kathen festival at the nearest pagoda. He had already purchased offerings for the monks on my behalf at the local market, so the only thing left for me to do after eating was join the procession coming from the nearest village. The procession ended when we arrived at the pagoda, and at this point, we were a congregation of seven villages in total, numbering in the hundreds.

From the procession to the pagoda, the atmosphere was lively. While the occasion was religious in nature, to the outside observer, it had more of a carnival feel (minus the elaborate costumes) than one of reverence, which we might associate with religious ceremonies. Soma invited me to lunch at her family's home, about an hour outside of Siem Reap. She showed us the tree she used to climb as a child in the mornings to sing songs to her cows while they grazed, the pond where her family would sometimes catch frogs for dinner, and the vibrant green fields of rice stalks that are a staple of their diet. After dinner, we started going to the school where Soma was once a student, and her younger brother still is.

On the way to the school, we stopped by a woman's house, preparing offerings for the upcoming Water Festival, in which flattened toasted rice was offered to the Moon. Arriving at Soma's former school, the students helped unload the van packed with their school supplies needed for the year. Mr. Sok corraled the students and explained who we were and why we were there that day. One by one, the students stood behind their wooden desks to introduce themselves and say a few words about their hobbies, interests, and dreams for the future.

After school supplies were distributed and some Q&As were held with the students, they were dismissed. Some stayed behind at school to play football, those who needed uniforms waited for the tailor to arrive, and others dispersed into the village to return home. Our last stop of the day was the nearby brick factory where Soma spent some of her childhood. Touring the brick factory, we saw the parts one would expect. A kiln, fuel (in the form of wood), piles of broken bricks, shelves covered in drying bricks, storage facilities, etc. What I didn't expect to see were the several shacks on the factory grounds where some families who work at the factory live. Not only do the families have to pay the factory rent for living in these shacks, but if they become sick or injured and need to take a day off from work, it will come out of their pay. I also did not expect to see one of the students from class living in these shacks. It was one thing to know in the abstract that some of these children work in the factory I was touring, but I didn't expect to see one of them directly in front of me, living in these conditions. When viewing the storage facility in which bricks are stacked in towering piles, it was disclosed to me that the student I noticed sitting in the front row who was missing his left arm lost it when a stack of bricks fell on him. "It's very sad; his future is gone." These words stuck with me.

I plan to see Keo and Soma again at their respective homes again this year. As with the last trip in 2023, there will be a visit to the rural school to provide them with supplies and uniforms. A new development this year will be helping Mr. Sok get a few laptops in the classroom, specifically for his students who are in their last year of school, so that they may become familiar with basic computer literacy concepts (word processor, internet browser, etc.).