ISC service(s) or programs/projects: Identity and Access Management, integrating Banner data into SailPoint’s Identity IQ product.
Length of time in ISC: Joined ISC in 2019 and Penn in 1999
Previous work experience: I have four degrees. Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Education, and Master of Mathematics from Punjab University, India. I taught secondary school for a short time, then after moving to the U.S. completed a MS in Computer Science at the University of Mississippi. My husband received a postdoc at Penn so we came to Philadelphia. I worked for Penn’s School of Medicine Information Services from 1999, and moved to ISC in July of 2019.
Tell us about a challenge at Penn that made you proud to be part of ISC.
The University has been changing its old mainframe-based student system to a new one. We needed to figure out how to migrate the data from Penn Community, our custom in-house legacy solution for managing ‘people’ data, to a new platform. When I arrived, they were still in the initial planning stages. It was a big challenge for the team because there were so many things to think through. When we went live in late 2021, there was minimal disruption of any downstream systems. Given how big and complex the project was, I thought the team did a wonderful job migrating to a new system on an aggressive schedule.
What’s an interesting technical or business problem you’ve faced with ISC?
A central part of Penn Community, the old custom system we had, was a block of code we called ‘Penn Main’. So many people had worked on that codebase over the years. Whenever we had to make a change to it, nobody wanted to touch it. Deconstructing the code was one of the major challenges we had. I took apart the whole piece of code at the center of the system and rewrote it in the newer system’s terms. We had to initially keep some parts of the old code to support downstream systems when we went live, but now we have completely gotten rid of the legacy code. That’s the most interesting accomplishment for me here so far.
What do you like best about working with clients?
We all have different types of clients. Some are more technical than others. People who really understand their own systems well are easy to interact with: they are technical enough that they immediately get the point when you tell them something. On the other hand, others need simpler language. But what I like about all of them is that they are always really helpful. They want to get things right for their own systems. So if you need a meeting or something, they react promptly — I mean, it happens fast! They’re always cooperative to work with.
How has the pandemic changed the way you approach your role?
I definitely work much longer hours now, working from home in Princeton. When I don’t commute, I just use that time for more work, which has been very timely given the deadline to implement the new system. Time spent working at home makes it easier to focus without worrying about my school-going children, and I have more flexibility.
What are you passionate about in your free time?
I’m a runner! I run a lot. I like any kind of outdoor exercise. I do a lot of gardening in summertime. When I joined the ISC team in 2019, I helped organize a little group of my colleagues to go join a lunchtime running group. I’m absolutely hoping to start it up again, and whoever wants to come along will be welcome.