The art of precision in tech with a product manager and her Mac
Meet techy Reeza Odendaal – find out how she brings the brains and puts her unwavering trust in Apple products to bring the might when spending her days deep in programmatic work.
The tech industry relies on two key things – a quick, analytically-minded programmer and devices that are efficient, quick, and powerful.
Reeza Odendaal brings the brains and puts her unwavering trust in Apple products to bring the might when spending her days deep in product management and web programmatic work.
Reeza is a Project Manager at a large media company who works with developers on a daily basis – managing scrum and agile processes. But her early working days were not coded by the world of programmatic. Instead, Reeza started in the magazine publishing space.
“I studied Value and Policy Studies – which was a lot about decision making in organisations,” shares Reeza.
“It’s about what motivates people – like, just kind of understanding the underlying factors in how decisions get made. As part of that, we also had Information Science as a subject… that was my first exposure more into systems thinking, which I really enjoyed.”
This coupled with her experience working on her student paper, Reeza grew a love for publishing.
“So off of my studies, I did an internship at a well-known publishing company,” she explains. “That was when the iPad one – or I think iPad two, just got out. So it was iPad apps… that was all the rage.”
This digital shift started piquing her interest to lean more into the programmatic side. “My company was playing around with how to take magazines into the digital space,” Reeza shares.
“They were looking at what we can do – because, we still have all of this content – how do you bring that online in a way to those users.”
Watching this process closely, gave way for Reeza to foster an enjoyment of working alongside developers while also having a sound understanding of the print and content side of the business.
After this start, Reeza started moving more into project management and product management in her career journey.
“My love for tech, I think probably comes from the first time that I heard that, you know, dial-up sound for the internet – and just realising how I can actually connect to people that I’ve never met before through interests or mutual acquaintances,” she recalls nostalgically.
Reeza also found herself working for a few years in the e-commerce and logistics warehousing space – further cementing her passion for product management and working with developers – and her appreciation for the Apple ecosystem.
“I had to have something that’s light that I can fold up and down with a quick start-up time while I move between the different logistical things,” explains Reeza.
“With my iPhone, because we build apps and mobile sites, that’s where most of our users are – it’s imperative to constantly test that. Then I use Mac for all my work and meetings – everything happens on my laptop. I think if you’re in a creative space, you’ll pick up a camera or a brush – but for me, my creative space is my laptop.”
The quick start-up time particularly is a saving grace when Reeza and her colleagues need to stay on the move and connected with stakeholders in their office spaces.
“In my job, we’re always working with stakeholders and developers and UX, so we’re constantly moving rooms and constantly moving spaces,” she shares.
“Having back-to-back meetings. I had to have something that was faster and able to do my work. When I made the switch to a non-Mac device, I felt that it slowed me down because I had to first understand the new operating system.”
“It was just very confusing. So, then, when I moved back to the Mac – I just felt like ‘cool, I can actually do my work again’ – because I’m so built into the Mac right now.”
Another element about the Apple products Reeza is grateful for is their durability. Through all its versions, Reeza is only on her third iPhone – the iPhone 12.
“It doesn’t break – the previous one I had for five or six years,” she recalls.
With the ability to host Microsoft apps on its system, there’s nothing her Mac can’t do while outperforming competitor laptops and devices in the industry.
“With my previous job, we worked with Google Suites with their product system. At my current job, we’re with Outlook – and I found that both worked very well on a Mac,” Reeza explains.
“Working between my iPhone and my Mac; it’s super simple. Sometimes when I do testing, I can’t actually remember which device I was working with – switching between the two is very… beneficial.”
As for her hopes for the next steps of her career, Reeza is optimistic that her Mac will come alongside her.
As she finds herself slowly entering the coaching space of her field, Reeza is looking to also spend more time with her family and embark on travels.
Apple products for her, help her free up her production time so she can focus her energy on honing her skills and striking that perfect blend of work and life balance.
“What I like about their products is I don't really have to think about it, it just works. Which enables me to focus on the stuff that really matters - like my job,” she says.
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