OutSystems MVP Spotlight – Craig St. Jean
Introduction
Hello! I am Craig St. Jean, an OutSystems MVP based in Ohio, United States. I am a dedicated Xebian, driven by a high degree of intellectual curiosity and a desire to share what I’ve learned. In this post, I will give you an idea of why I love OutSystems, why I wanted to become an MVP, and what it’s like being an MVP.
Why I Love OutSystems
The simple answer as to why I love OutSystems is that it allows me to deliver significantly more business value in less time.
I came from a traditional high-code background, where developers had to write Java or C# backends, with either templated frontends (JSP, Thymeleaf, Razor, etc.) or JavaScript frontends, and developers or DBAs needed to write DDL for a DBA to update the database. Then, once everything has been built, there were always complicated change management processes, writing difficult scripts to automate deployments, etc.
Compared to high-code, OutSystems empowers me as a developer to create the full-stack very quickly and allows IT Release Management teams to easily move my code into other environments. Then, instead of spending so much time on overhead, I can spend my time thinking through and building the more core aspects of a solution. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing code and learning new languages, but quite simply, nothing compares to how quickly I can bring to the business with OutSystems.
Why Did I Want to Become an MVP
Once I fell in love with OutSystems, I immediately looked for avenues to further my involvement with the platform. As a Pluralsight author, I had created training material for IBM WebSphere Application Server, and I wanted to further the available training options within the OutSystems community. OutSystems MVPs both had a good amount of visibility within the community, as well as methods of making connections to people internal to OutSystems, so becoming an MVP was a natural desire to help push my training agenda. Luckily, I was accepted into the MVP program!
In the Life of an OutSystems MVP
As an MVP, I am continuously doing my best to contribute to OutSystems as a platform, as well as the OutSystems community. In working towards these contributions, I have spent a great deal of time working on talks for things like NextStep/the OutSystems Developer Conference, as well as OutSystems User Groups, and more. I have also contributed quite a bit to my company’s YouTube channel, with content such as quick how-tos and platform deep dives. Outside of the community, I also spend a good amount of time working with OutSystems project teams to provide feedback on the platform as someone who uses it day to day, as well as providing feedback for the OutSystems research team.
It is my goal to share my passion, and I try to spread my message as far as I can. Fun fact, OutSystems used part of an interview I gave with them at Microsoft Inspire!
If you are new to low-code or to OutSystems, give it a try, it’s free! You get an environment for your own use that runs in the OutSystems Cloud (in AWS), at no cost and without a time limitation!
