June 2024
20 Questions
Welcome to the first of our meet the team interviews. We’d like you to get to know our team members better by answering 20 questions. In this first one, we welcome our Web Developer – Tina Cameron.
Q1. What pivotal moment or specific challenge early in your career fundamentally changed how you approach your work?
One moment in particular shaped the way I work. During my first role as a Junior Developer, I was given responsibility for a client project that was far more complex than anything I’d handled before. I spent days trying to solve an issue with the site’s responsiveness, feeling frustrated that I couldn’t immediately find the answer. Eventually, with the support of a more experienced colleague, I learned to break the problem down methodically rather than trying to solve it all at once. That shift in mindset changed everything. It taught me that persistence, structure and curiosity will always outperform rushing for a quick fix. It’s a lesson I still apply, whether I’m debugging a thorny script or planning a full-scale site rebuild.
Q2. What is the single biggest misconception people have about your role or department, and what’s the real story?
The common misconception is that web development is simply “making things look good” or clicking a few buttons in a CMS. The real picture is far more intricate. Every site we build requires careful planning, architectural decisions, coding, testing, optimisation and long-term maintenance. Good development sits at the crossroads of creativity, logic and user-centric thinking. When it’s done well, it becomes invisible, users just feel that everything works smoothly. When it’s done poorly, everyone notices. I often say that the best development work feels effortless, even though it rarely is behind the scenes.
Q3. Looking ahead, what is the one thing you are most determined to change or innovate within the company in the next year?
I’d like to strengthen how we integrate emerging technologies into our web projects. AI-driven personalisation, progressive web apps and automation tools are going to reshape expectations of what a website should deliver. My aim is to make these capabilities accessible to our clients in a practical, commercially useful way, not just as shiny new toys. If we can embed smarter, more future-ready features into our builds, we’ll offer even greater value and efficiency.
Q4. If you had to summarise your leadership philosophy in just three words, what would they be?
Supportive, open-minded and steady. I try to be someone that junior team members feel comfortable approaching, and someone who brings calm and clarity when we hit a challenging brief or deadline. Leadership, to me, is often about consistency – being reliable and present, and listening before acting.
Q5. What skill that you learned outside of your formal education has been most crucial to your success here?
Clear communication. You don’t learn that in a Computer Science degree. Early in my career, I realised that the ability to explain technical concepts in a calm, accessible way makes an enormous difference to project outcomes. It helps clients trust the process, and it helps teams work in sync. I’ve built that skill by observing others, learning from past misunderstandings, and actively choosing clarity over jargon. It’s something I use daily at JMS, especially when mentoring junior developers.
Q6. How do you ensure that your team stays creative and takes calculated risks, even when the stakes are high?
I try to create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing ideas before they’re fully polished. Creativity doesn’t flourish under pressure to be perfect. When a complex task lands on the table, I encourage the team to explore alternative approaches and to test ideas in a safe space. We’ve had some of our best breakthroughs when someone said, “This might be a bit unconventional, but…” Calculated risk-taking is much easier when people know they won’t be criticised for trying.
Q7. What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?
A senior developer I worked with in Manchester once told me, “Don’t code for the problem in front of you, code for the person who has to maintain it.” It changed the way I think about development. Too many developers write clever solutions that nobody else can decipher six months later. Maintainability, readability and structure matter as much as elegance. That advice has saved me, and others, countless hours.
Q8. How has the company culture evolved since you started, and what role do you play in shaping it now?
When I joined in 2020, the business was already collaborative, perhaps more so because of the pandemic, but the technical team was much smaller and more reactive. Over the years, I’ve seen a real shift towards shared learning, structured processes and a greater confidence in our digital capabilities. I do my part by being open with my knowledge and encouraging others to experiment. I want junior developers to feel empowered, and I want every project to become an opportunity to stretch our technical boundaries.
Q9. Describe a time when a project failed, and what you – or the team – learned from that experience.
Before joining JMS, I was involved in rebuilding a booking platform that suffered from creeping scope. Features were added late, timelines slipped and dependencies were overlooked. The final site launched, but it wasn’t as polished as it should have been. What I took from that project was the value of setting expectations early and revisiting them often. Clear documentation, consistent communication and saying “no” when needed are now non-negotiables in how I work.
Q10. What is a quality you actively look for and try to mentor in junior employees?
Curiosity. I can teach someone syntax, frameworks or best practice, but curiosity is the spark that drives long-term growth. Developers who ask “why?” go much further than those who simply follow instructions. I try to nurture that instinct by giving juniors problems to explore rather than just tasks to complete.
Q11. What is your favourite non-work-related book, podcast, or hobby, and how does it influence your leadership style?
Gaming has always been a huge part of my life. Strategy games in particular have shaped the way I think – anticipating patterns, staying calm under pressure and taking a step back before making a move. It’s surprisingly transferable to team leadership and complex technical work. Mountain biking offers the opposite: it forces me to be present, to trust my instincts and to embrace challenges head-on. Both keep me balanced and grounded.
Q12. Where do you go or what do you do when you need to completely disconnect and recharge?
Getting outdoors clears my head better than anything. A long bike trail or a woodland walk helps me switch off, reset and come back with a fresher perspective. It’s a complete change of pace from the screen-focused nature of development work.
Q13. If you could have dinner with any three people (living or historical) to discuss strategy, who would they be and why?
I’d choose Ada Lovelace, for her visionary thinking; Shigeru Miyamoto, for his inventive approach to interactive design; and Satya Nadella, for his ability to transform organisational culture at scale. Each of them represents a different angle on creativity, innovation and leadership.
Q14. What piece of technology or simple tool can you not live without (and why isn’t it your phone)?
My development environment, Visual Studio Code, has become an extension of how I think and work. It’s where ideas take shape, problems are solved and solutions evolve. Beyond that, a notebook sits beside me every day. Sometimes the quickest way to make sense of a complex problem is to sketch it out by hand. Thom [Poole] recently taught me mind mapping – that has been very helpful.
Q15. If you weren’t in this industry, what completely different career path do you think you would have followed?
I imagine I would still have found my way into something analytical or design-led. Perhaps architecture or product design. I’ve always been drawn to the idea of building something functional, beautiful and purposeful. But in truth, technology hooked me early, and I’ve never really looked back.
Q16. What’s one thing you are currently learning (professional or personal)?
Advanced React patterns and exploring how AI tools can streamline parts of the development process.
Q17. What is your go-to method for starting a challenging conversation?
I take a moment to understand the context, then approach the discussion with honesty and calm. Being direct but empathetic usually sets the right tone.
Q18. What do you believe is the next big trend that will disrupt our industry?
The fusion of AI with personalised web experiences. We’re only at the beginning, and it’s going to reshape everything from UX to optimisation.
Q19. What makes you most proud to work for this company?
The people. The collaborative spirit here makes even the toughest projects enjoyable. I feel trusted, valued and challenged in the best possible way.
Q20. What is one personal habit or routine that contributes most to your daily productivity?
Starting the day by reviewing and prioritising my tasks. It keeps me organised and helps me stay focused, especially when juggling multiple projects.