Q&A With Notitia Director, Helen Dockrell
Helen joined the Notitia team as a manager in 2020, before she quickly moved into a director position just over a year later.
If you’ve been lucky to have worked with Helen, you would undoubtedly have seen her for the true unicorn that she is.
Impressive technical ability and talent for delivering complex out-of-the-box solutions with a calm and considered approach, matched with a natural ability to motivate and inspire others.
Check out Helen’s background in medical and computational research, academia and data consulting.
I’m in the fantastic position of having been responsible for different roles that, with Notitia’s expansion, are now being managed by other team members - such as project management and client relationships.
Q: Tell us about what you do at Notitia
Helen: I’m on the ground for the technical management of our end-to-end projects, as well as my director duties, such as overseeing the accounting, business strategy and continuous improvement of our operations; aligning what we do with our business values and objectives.
Because our projects are so technical, they have a lot of moving parts and often combine multiple projects at once. This is why having a really broad technical skill set is absolutely key. Whatever it is, whether its cloud pipelines, web development or analytics - I have that hands-on experience and insight into how those teams work.
It means that I dive into the strategy of our clients’ needs, break down the project components and structure the broader technical plans to deliver the best outcomes.
I understand how all the pieces fit and interact with each other. Along with that unique viewpoint of how each of the individual teams collaborate and how to motivate them in a way that produces the best results.
Q: What is one of your favourite projects that you've worked on?
Helen: One of my favourite projects was with our client Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).
GBRMPA were so trusting in our ability to deliver their project in the best possible way, which meant that when we faced challenges beyond our control, we were able to quickly pivot and provide a solution.
We ended up with a really experimental project that was still able to deliver and showcase the amazing work they do.
It was a beautiful demonstration of what great communication can achieve. We also took a lot of time to really understand our clients’ needs and the project’s alignment with their business strategy. This was a big part in being able to flex when challenges arose and produce the right results.
Q: Why are you so passionate about what you do?
Helen: The driver for me is that this work allows people, who are passionate themselves, to actually go about and achieve the work that they want.
The first time I realised that this was what I wanted to do, was when I was part of an animal ethics committee. It involved a really amazing bunch of people who were tasked with setting appropriate standards for various projects and conducting research, which included a lot of interviews.
And it's all on volunteer time, they're putting in so much effort and they care so much.
But the system for submitting the interviewee responses, had not been updated for a very, very long time - and was slowly breaking.
On top of this, it required a massive form submission, which was difficult for everyone.
So people trying to do the right thing to contribute to the research, started to struggle quite a bit with it.
For me, it was a simple solution, to come in and modify this system and fix it to make it more streamlined. I was able to clean up their system - eliminate the bits which didn't add value, but had just sort of accidentally accumulated over time.
It meant that everyone else was just able to do the parts of their work that they really loved and they were very genuine about and not have to deal with the rubbish parts that weren't inherent to their role.
It showed me that for so many of these data analytics and software problems - behind it there are really passionate people, who are great at their work, but are being held back by a challenge that I can easily resolve.
>VIDEO SERIES: Click watch Helen explain a common challenge when reporting from multiple systems + data sources.
About Helen Dockrell, Notitia Director
Notitia Director, Helen is a software developer who has worked in both industry and research environments to develop tools to conceptualise complex systems.
Always up to the challenge, Helen has a proven track record in developing ways that empower her clients through improved access to data for informed decision making.
Helen is a highly creative person, which fires her passion for problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking.
Leading Notitia's Adelaide office, Helen works with clients both in-person and remotely across Australia.
Her educational background in the sciences includes a degree and post graduate in molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics and computer science.
Looking for an on-the-ground data strategy consultant in Adelaide (available remotely across Australia?)
> Book time in with Helen to find out how she can help solve your problems through data.
