High-Tech Anthropologists® skills include the ability to discover end user goals and tie them to business objectives. As our projects evolve, it is important for HTAs to be able to see the big picture while working on the finer details. They must have the ability to deal with ambiguity and abstraction. HTAs must be able to apply the gathered requirements to hand-sketched design mock-ups for testing and demonstrate a willingness to make mistakes and adjust accordingly. Essential skills: curiosity and empathy.

Developers at Menlo must be comfortable pairing while programming, then re-pairing to facilitate the transfer of knowledge between projects. Developers have to be prepared to learn and teach languages in our agile environment while using test driven development. Essential skills: thinking out loud.

Project Managers at Menlo follow a proven methodology to ensure strong client relationships, unambiguous project goals and expectations, advocating for the client’s needs, managing project budgets and ensuring the client experience is joyful. To facilitate this juggling act, Menlo has devised project management strategies that are enacted the minute a potential client walks in the door. Essential skills: communication and consulting.

Quality Advocates engage in exploratory testing beyond what any automated test suite could accomplish. This may take the form of build testing or simply reviewing the software for bugs with an eye to identify usability issues. Quality Advocates play a critical role in reviewing whether the individual features coded by developers are “done.” Essential skills: breaking things.