Final Reflection

At Drammen Stav, I have worked on the development of www.drammenstav.no, with the goal of delivering a sustainable product. Since the website was a defunct site when I took over production, I had the opportunity to analyze needs and regulations around the possibilities and limitations that the final product would have. I had quite a bit of freedom to choose possible solutions within the scope. In this case, the scope was limited to using the WordPress platform, a zero budget, and ensuring the product did not replicate or attempt to replace existing online resources officially used by the Church.

I had the chance to familiarize myself with WordPress and the extensions we chose to apply as solutions to our issues, as well as to maintain overall self-control in production, and experience the sense of accomplishment in delivering a product to the client.

There were several challenges involved. Being self-driven and not being able to rely on the physical presence in a workplace with other developers meant that, as a student, I constantly had to balance focus and concentration on production itself and multiple stakeholders outside the scope of the internship project. Early on, there was also some uncertainty and ambiguity about what the website could be, but through good discussions and analysis of similar solutions in other organizations, some proposals for what drammenstav.no could be were quickly created. Regarding technical challenges, there was some uncertainty around access, but it was resolved quite early in the fall. As for adopting the WordPress platform, I limited myself by encouraging low-/no-code. I have mixed feelings about not being more adventurous, but I ultimately feel it was the right choice due to other studies/exams that were not fully planned and affected my ability to perform and deliver at a higher level more than I'd like to admit.

I am very grateful for my contact person at Drammen Stav, Benjamin, who met with me weekly and made himself available this semester. He has given me advice and guidance when I needed it. He has also been a good example for me as a leader by giving me significant trust to complete tasks despite my own lack of technical knowledge when I entered this project. I will take these lessons into my role as a representative, as a group member in the coming semester, and in other leadership responsibilities I undertake going forward. I have also had the chance to experience project development and agile work without a set framework, feeling the contrast from previous projects with more rigid requirements—a perspective I will carry forward. The quick decision-making and solution implementation together have been motivating throughout this project period.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway has been the feeling of being back at work, taking on the responsibilities that come with it, both the good and the challenging. At times, it has been lonely, but also very liberating and relaxing. Sometimes too relaxing. I suspect I enjoy having colleagues and people to discuss problems and solutions with more than I anticipated. Thus, I have learned more about myself and what I need to succeed in a work environment.

All in all, this internship has been educational, and I am satisfied that the website www.drammenstav.no is now in a better position for further development and user analysis. I am especially pleased that members of Drammen Stav can now have a common resource that informs them from multiple sources in one place, and can further link to official sites if needed.

I thank Drammen Stav and President Waal for the trust and cooperation, my contact person Benjamin Weggersen, and Stein Aanensen who provided access to the domain and website. Thanks also for the advice and guidance from course leader Hallgeir Nilsen, who accepted the project proposal on behalf of UiA.