Meet Pieter De Bie, a handy and structured man that became our Scrum Master for b.ignition, a Test Automation As a Service-platform. Our working student, Isabeau, called Pieter’s spouse, Sofie, to find out a bit more about Pieter. And all this without Pieter knowing anything about it. Pieter and Sofie married 3 years ago and they have lived together, with their dog Sanchez, since 2015. Sofie is therefore the best person to give us extra insights on the man in question.

The man behind the Test Automation Engineer

When asking Sofie how to describe Pieter, she tells us he is a very organized and helpful person. “Even for raising our dog, Pieter and I work structured and divide our tasks,” but it doesn’t stop there, “Pieter always thinks before he starts something. He thinks about trivial things and wants to do everything perfectly from the start.” When asking Sofie if we can say he is a bit of a perfectionist, she immediately says “yes, but in the most positive way you can think of. He certainly will not dwell on the smallest of issues. He just wants to make sure everything is down to the last detail. It is very pleasant to live with someone who is so meticulous because I can trust that it will be perfectly in order.” Of course, we wanted to know how Sofie thinks these characteristics reflect Pieter’s way of working. And Sofie knows this well, since they both work from home now and then: “Sometimes, I can hear Pieter talk when he is on a work call. I know he is someone who will always do his best to understand his colleagues. He’s very helpful and explains his point of view most calmly and thoroughly.”

Positive vibes thanks to the switch to b.ignited

When Pieter changed work and started at b.ignited, Sofie felt a more positive vibe in him. "Pieter wasn't getting any more energy from his previous job. Since he made the switch to b.ignited, I noticed a clear difference in his mood. He gets energy from his job again and he loves the fact that he can keep learning new things at b.ignited. He’s finally at a company that allows him to do the things he likes to do. The variety of places where he is employed is very nice." Learning new things is something that Pieter is doing a lot at b.ignited, an example of this is his new internal position as Scrum Master for our b.ignition project. “I notice that he gets more peace from his work now. However, the project names within IT (Information Technology) could sound a bit sexier. It's weird to say I'm married to a scrum master.” adds Sofie with a laugh. Sofie is no stranger to us, she was present during the ‘End of Year dinner’ where partners are invited. We had a wonderful time, which Sofie can only agree with “The atmosphere within b.ignited is very informal, which is a positive thing. Everyone is getting along well, you can see that they do a lot of things together. And it is nice that the partners are sometimes invited as well. The dinner in Michelin-starred restaurant ‘Vintage’ was really a unique experience for me. The photo here shows us as we made our way to the dinner. It was a wonderful evening!” All these cool things are reflected in the work-life balance. “b.ignited values free time & vacations, and the boundaries between work and private life are respected. I really do appreciate that.” Sofie says.

Not long ago a dance class was scheduled as an event, which Sofie found very funny. When talking about this, she started laughing “It was so funny to see a bunch of IT-people being pulled out of their comfort zone, I would love to see the footage of this again!”, she told.

Although he tried his very best, dancing is not one of Pieter’s hobbies (and it probably never will be). But, luckily for us, IT most certainly is. Even after his working hours, Pieter keeps himself busy with IT and computers: “He already developed different programs for his friends so they could keep track of their accounting, stock and other things.” We think it is clear, Pieter is a calm and structured person who loves learning new things, or in other words: a great addition to every team. His desire to explain things and understand others is a great asset to his position as Scrum Master as well as Test Automation Engineer. We are therefore convinced that he will continue to develop within the company.