The Craftsman Among IT Professionals: Michael Henninger

m.henninger@srb.at

He originally wanted to become a helicopter pilot in the army. Or a gardener. Or a mechanic. Something hands-on. Something craft-related – creative, varied, versatile. Michael Henninger ended up in IT. Instead of working on construction sites, in garages or greenhouses, he now spends his time in the office in front of a PC.

What initially appears to be a wrong turn in the life path of the 30-year-old reveals itself upon closer inspection to be spot on. For him, it is clear: SAP is craftsmanship. Especially since, as a Frontend Developer and User Experience Designer at SRB, he has been ensuring for over six years that business applications not only function but are also easy to use and visually appealing.

‘I am fascinated by how business processes can be influenced by ideas that arise during programming,’ Michael explains, the sparkle in his eyes evident. He feels a bit like a painter, as he elaborates: ‘At the first brush strokes, it is not yet clear how the artwork will look in the end. The canvas sets boundaries, but you have countless possibilities and creative freedoms to realise yourself. In the end, your craftsmanship results in an application used by thousands of users. That’s pretty amazing.’

Hobby Horse UI5

That SAP UI5 would become his very own hobby horse was essentially due to chance. He describes his start at SRB as ‘colourful’. Michael was involved in several projects in different roles. First, he had to delve deeply into SAP. Outside of the technical college where he completed his A-levels in electrical engineering, he had no contact with the extensive business platform. PERL and web development were his domain. This was where the native Lewinger felt at home, engaging in it before he joined SRB in 2016.

‘In IT, there is always something new happening. You are never ‘fully trained’, you are always challenged to keep up. You need to bring this drive for constant learning and find something you enjoy. Then work is really fun,’ Michael continues.

This was also the case for him and his ‘relationship’ with SAP UI5. In the context of a client project for a time tracking app, he was told to take a closer look at ‘this UI5’. He did, got hooked, and stayed with it. Whenever SRB now needs surface programming in the web area, Michael is certainly involved.

(IT) Firefighter by Passion

When Michael thinks about what he needs to bring to his job besides creativity, he realises: It requires a lot of flexibility. He is often the one who has to play the firefighter in projects. ‘I spend half my workday on things that are not planned,’ he gives insight into his daily routines. He often hears one particular phrase: ‘Quick, quick, we need to change something, otherwise we have a big problem.’

Michael is there to ensure that it doesn’t come to that. Often even at 5:30 AM. At that time, his phone once rang. A client’s facility in the Netherlands was on the line. An entrance barrier wouldn’t lift because a license plate couldn’t be read. After wiping the sleep from his eyes, Michael got to troubleshooting. The issue was quickly found: license plates have a space between the numbers and the last letter – but this space was entered into the system with a hyphen. A hyphen that the scanner could not find on the license plate, thus preventing the barrier from opening. A minor detail. But a detail with significant impact.

Putting out fires, whether with a PC or a hose, seems to be a true passion for Michael. As a balance to his profession, the Cordon Bleu lover serves as a chief firefighter and respiratory protection wearer with the Florianijünger in Gemeinlebarn. He mainly relaxes outdoors. For example, while carp or zander fishing. Or in the garden pulling weeds. Always in his ears: the music of Foo Fighters. He can sing along to all the songs, it is said.

To ensure he doesn’t get bored with craftsmanship, he has taken on another ‘small’ project: Michael has just built a little house. Whether an entrance barrier with automatic license plate recognition will be used at the property entrance is, however, unknown.

Inside SRB

Every month, we introduce one of our SRB employees in more detail here on the blog. We look behind make-up, business outfits, and PowerPoint slides and want to bring you closer to the people who make up our SRB expertise. Together, we are SRB.

For further reading:

#1 – Manfred Scheiner

#2 – Veronika Lomasow

#3 – Yamen Albahesh

#4 – Norbert Leimgruber