MVP Application

2020

Company blog: https://www.xcentium.com/en/Blog/author/olga%20kogan

Objectives: As a technology MVP in 2020 I plan to be influential in transitioning to a new Sitecore SaaS and headless architecture among my current and prospective clients. I believe the SaaS offering will reinvent the entire Sitecore experience.

Why eligible: I am currently a Sitecore MVP (Technology) and would like to maintain my MVP status. As a Sitecore Architect with a partner agency XCentium I not only implement sitecore solutions but evangelize and outreach to potential clients who might be interested in using Sitecore. I am so active in Women of Sitecore community where we strive to support and encourage other women to join the world of technology without fear and doubt instilled in them by cultural stereotypes they grew up with.

Summary of relevant online professional activity: I blog about my work and I put particular emphasis on struggles and discoveries that we Sitecore engineers encounter during out work. I believe it's important to share these experiences that with the community to hopefully make other developers' job easier.

Summary of relevant offline professional activity: I participated in two panels during Sitecore Symposium this year in Orlando. I volunteered at the Sitecore Inspiration Booth that was part of Balance for Better initiative. I also paneled with Women of Sitecore: Facing key challenges in the digital and technology industry, and winning.

Live Projects: My roles varied from Sitecore Developer to Sitecore Architect. Sometimes I handle a certain section of the site and at other times I do discovery and plan/setup implementation starting with solution setup and architecture and configuring any tooling that comes with the implementation (serialization, code generation, etc).

In 2019 I, as part of the team, launched two large implementations (links below). My role was Architect where I did discovery, outlined the implementation plan and set up the solution and configured any tooling that comes with the implementation (serialization, code generation, etc), as well as took active role in development alongside other team members. My role is also largely client facing where I am responsible for interacting with clients to make sure their needs and requirements are met. I also mentor other team members and provide guidance and support where necessary.

Horizon Discovery https://horizondiscovery.com/

Intuitive Surgical https://www.intuitive.com/en-us

Best Anecdote: One of my releases this year was a commerce site (Horizon Discovery) that offers 160 million (yes, million) product SKU's. Their commerce is mainly driven by search performed by scientific organizations and individual scientists and combines data from Sitecore and external non-sql databases. This was a very complex implementation but I was able to design and deliver their search process in a way that allows fast and relevant search. I developed custom ranking and boosting logic based on feedback by their customers to enhance their experience.

2019

I am currently a Sitecore MVP (Technology) and would like to maintain my MVP status. I am a Senior Sitecore developer with XCentium
and I build, maintain, and expand Sitecore sites of various sizes and complexity.
Olga is active in several technology groups and spends most of my waking hours coding, reading about coding, or discussing coding with others.



1. Padnug
2. Women who code

Went through Coveo for Sitecore training
Got certified for SC 9



1. IGT gaming
2. Assetmark
3. SFN


Plans:

building bridges between SC and other technologies (integrations)
Sitecore in the cloud

https://www.meetup.com/PADNUG/events/236094456/?eventId=236094456



with the move to CA present at local user groups (now only a member)




Horizon Discovery https://horizondiscovery.com/
Intuitive Surgical https://www.intuitive.com/en-us
Cessna Aircraft http://cessna.txtav.com/
Hawaiian Airlines https://www.hawaiianairlines.com/
Metropolitan Museum of Art https://www.metmuseum.org/
DOW Chemical https://www.dow.com/
Revlon http://www.revloncolorsilk.com/
IGT Gaming https://www.igt.com/
Society for Neuroscience's Brainfacts http://www.brainfacts.org/