Developer Highlight: Meet Darren from Montana State Fund

As the Guidewire developer community continues to grow, we want to highlight different members of our Developer Advisory Group. The advisory group members help shape the developer community by participating in group calls, giving input on Guidewire projects, and sharing valuable feedback from their personal experiences using Guidewire.

We present this series of brief “get to know you” interviews with advisory group members so you can get to know them, understand what motivates them, and read their advice for other developers who may be starting out with (or are new to) Guidewire.

Meet Darren from Montana State Fund

Name: Darren Munson
Job Title: Assistant Enterprise Solutions Director
Company: Montana State Fund

How long have you been working with Guidewire products?

I graduated from college with a Marketing degree and did sales during the first few years of my career, which included computer equipment. I got involved in technical support and then had an opportunity to take a job as software tester. I was very interested in the code as I tested and would track down where I thought the issue was. That company put on an overview of programming for the QA team and I loved it so much they let me do some small things first, eventually promoting me to a developer. I taught myself all I could and then went on to a .com startup while taking opportunities to continue expanding my skills.

I have been working with Guidewire products for 15 years. I started with ClaimCenter version 3, and have been involved in multiple upgrade projects through ClaimCenter 8. We also recently completed an implementation of BillingCenter, PolicyCenter, and the Digital Portals.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I still find development exciting every day, even as I now oversee a team of Guidewire developers. Finding enjoyment in our stressful, often chaotic, and timeline-focused careers is essential to keep your sanity. While I enjoy many things about my job, there are two things in particular that give me the most enjoyment:

First, working with our business to provide real value to the work and user experience our clients have provides me with satisfaction knowing we are letting our people focus on what’s most important to our clients.

Secondly, I really enjoy developing our technical resources to be more and more impactful for our business, and allowing them to find the creative solutions it takes to be competitive in our market.

What advice would you give to someone who is starting out in development or who is new to using Guidewire?

Always be open to new ideas, and don’t just take a business requirement and develop directly from the words. To really provide value you need to understand the business process and the user’s workflow to deliver the best solution. You’ll also need to provide critical feedback on things that might impact future changes and upgrades.

Ongoing communication with your business stakeholders and a shared understanding throughout the development process will make you and your business successful.

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