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Riccardo Corradin, a web development consultant and passionate advocate of test-driven-development (TDD), wakes up at 6:10 every morning and begins his day by drinking two glasses of water and doing twenty push-ups. For breakfast, he eats a bowl of fruit, yogurt, and Cruseli. He also adds plenty of sugar, explaining, "I don't feel like eating my breakfast with a sour face." After showering and getting dressed, he takes care of his papa tasks—getting his children, ages one and three, up and ready for daycare. Then he packs his lunch (a sandwich made with fresh, home-baked bread), before heading off to his client's office in Amsterdam. "It's important to enjoy your lunch, so I do my best to make something great out of it every day," he says.
Currently, he spends his days consulting for Vattenfall, a Swedish energy company. With duties ranging from facilitating meetings to developing software, Riccardo is responsible for guiding a team in transitioning an acquired utility company, NUON, entirely to the Vattenfall brand. At the office, he drinks a ristretto with his colleagues and chats about what's going on in the teams, occasionally coming up with new insights. Then it's time for the daily standup, meetings, discussions, and of course, there's also some developing to do.
His colleagues know him as a passionate consultant who is committed to quality, and Riccardo sees himself as one of the team. He dubbed the development team "The Founding Fathers," since they not only provide all the technical solutions, but also all happen to be dads.
"We're all very proud of our double "father" role," Riccardo smiles. "At work and home, I like figuring out how to do things. I built and painted a wooden bed for my three-year-old daughter from scratch, and I love seeing her sleep so well in it."
Riccardo joined Xebia in January 2018, after gaining an in-depth knowledge of the Microsoft Stack working at Avanade Nederland for nine years (his first job after graduation). "To me, Xebia is a technical consultant superhero agency," he says. "Although there are no revolving doors where we change into our superhero costumes, I experience a tremendous transformation in the flow of energy and dedication I feel, every time I walk into the building."
His Vattenfall colleagues describe Riccardo as a driven and energetic colleague, someone who stands for quality and gets the best out of everyone around him. And although developers generally don't like to do unit testing, Riccardo convinced the "Founding Fathers" to do it anyway, which allows them to deliver even more quality.
In addition to coaching and guiding his team, he continues to develop himself professionally by writing articles and improving his presentation skills. "Whatever happens, I want to continue to develop," he says. "It energizes me and satisfies my puzzle-solving mind."
He ends each day around 18:30, with a written summary of his activities, then gets into his car and drives home. Once there, he joins his wife and kids for dinner, catching up on the day and playing some video games, or watching a bit of TV after clearing away the dishes. To close his day, he tucks his children into bed and kisses them each goodnight.
