Getting to know you. Albert Urbanovich

The Altenar team is made up of more than 500 members of staff with a wide range of job roles and skills.

In the latest of a series of interviews with our workforce, we spoke to our Head of UX Design Albert Urbanovich to hear more about his background, main responsibilities and how the role is changing.

• How long have you been a member of the Altenar team and what made you want to join the company?

I've been part of Altenar for nearly five years - just a couple of months shy of that milestone. It's already a considerable tenure, but there's still so much more to accomplish.

What attracted me most was the prospect and challenge of building an exceptional design department from the ground up.

• What are your main roles and responsibilities here at Altenar?

On one hand, my role is to support all our current and new clients in terms of design. On the other hand, I'm responsible for continuously developing our sportsbook and other products, improving both their visual appeal and usability while introducing new features. Additionally, we're focusing on innovation - an area where we're already seeing success in our implementations.

• What do you think makes you good at your job/what you do?

I believe it's a combination of experience, visual acumen, and the ability to understand people. As a department head, my most valuable achievement is the team I've built and nurtured.

• How does your department help the company reach its overall targets and goals?

Our primary focus is developing the sportsbook, refining existing features, and creating new ones. We're not content with merely doing well - we aim to be the market leader. Additionally, our efforts reduce the workload on other departments. We implement various automations (yes, even in design) and decrease the time-to-market for features and their delivery to our clients.

• What are the key skills you need to be a success in your team/department?

The ability to identify the root cause of a problem is crucial. Equally important is the skill to ask numerous questions - the right ones, even if they're uncomfortable. I won't dwell on the obvious need for understanding interfaces and their interconnections.

• How do you expect your role in this industry to change and develop in the future?

While the overarching goals and objectives will remain constant, the methods to achieve them are likely to evolve and expand. I firmly believe that product design, in its broadest sense, has the potential - and indeed, the responsibility - to embrace a wider range of aspects. This expansion should lead to a transformation into process design, encompassing both technical and procedural elements.

• Tell us about your career prior to joining Altenar?

Well... I've been in the design field for 20 years now. I started when the concept of web interfaces and applications was still in its infancy - back then, everyone was primarily a web designer. I've had the opportunity to be an art director at a digital agency, which was quite a different experience compared to software development. Later, I mainly worked in fintech companies, where interfaces with high data density are the norm.

• What’s the one thing you’d love to change about your role/industry?

I've always wished for ideas to be implemented and integrated swiftly and seamlessly, without any technical hurdles or complications. Alas, our planet still struggles with the production of magic wands!?

• What did you want to do as a job/career when you were a child?

It's hard to recall precisely now. As a very young child, I probably dreamed of something typical, like becoming an astronaut. A bit older, I set my sights on being a banker. In my more self-aware years, I was drawn to the idea of becoming a hacker and pursued studies in programming. Now, I'm a designer with years of experience under my belt and a degree in programming to boot!

• Away from work do you have any hidden talents?

It's challenging and perhaps immodest to label anything as my talents. However, I can confidently say that cooking restaurant-quality meals, creating impressive latte art, and completing ultramarathons of 100 kilometres or more are all well within my capabilities - activities I engage in from time to time.

• What is your biggest achievement away from your work career?

I'd prefer not to get too personal, so I'll share this instead: completing a 285km running race from Milan to Sanremo. That's quite an achievement!