Personality of the Month

Profile

Education/Career: Communication design at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf

Most important project at present? The RedmineApp

What is the most significant invention since Konrad Zuse? The Internet, in particular Mobile Web access, because it gives its users location independence and blurs borders. It no longer matters whether you're in the office or not; everyone has his office in his pocket.

To what extent do your see yourself as following in the tradition of Konrad Zuse? Computers, Zuse's invention, have made working both better and more efficient. Even so, they’re still far too complicated. We see our task as drastically simplifying things and thus carrying on Zuse's work.

Berlin is… very exciting for entrepreneurs, above all in the online and mobile field where it possesses a thriving dynamic. To achieve such a dynamic, one needs a city that's open, has no problem speaking English and can draw creative minds from all over the world. Start-ups are aware of these conditions and act accordingly; it's very easy to make contacts and to find exciting project partners in Berlin.

How did you become involved in IT?
Paul Heyer: As with many others, it all began with playing computer games as a kid. But I quickly became bored with this and I realised that computers were capable of so much more. So I began to experiment with graphics programmes and also with computer programming. I ended up studying communication design in order to create a solid foundation for my work. Besides, I've always been interested in things, processes and programmes functioning properly. And when they don't, I like to find out how to solve the problem and how to improve the procedures.

How did you get the idea for RedmineApp and what's it all about?
Paul Heyer: First, a clarification: There's Redmine, a web-based open-source project management system that Robert Palmer and I did not develop, as this particular solution already existed. But we used this system to manage and organise our own projects. We wanted to be able to use it on the go too, but there wasn't an app reasonably capable of providing this service back then. So we went about developing RedmineApp ourselves while continuing our "normal" work. At first it was only something we did in our free time, but it has since become a mainstay of our company.

Our app connects smartphones to the Redmine system so that Redmine users can access their projects on the go and manage all their tasks and projects. Thus they can work completely independently from their offices.

How will IT develop in the future?
Paul Heyer: Wherever IT is concerned, everything will become smaller and more compact, and applications will become ever more finely integrated. My wish is that solutions become easier to implement, with their functionality running in the background, barely noticeable, almost invisible. In future we will no longer need to think about having to start this or that app; they will simply work autonomously in certain situations and contexts.

About fnctions GbR
Paul Heyer and Robert Palmer founded fnctions GbR at the beginning of 2011. They had previously worked as designers and software developers at ART+COM and together developed programmes such as mobile apps. In addition to its main product, RedmineApp, fnctions also implements ideas for mobile solutions on a consulting basis. In future the company plans to focus more on the conception, design and realisation of its own applications.

Contact
fnctions GbR
Ritterstr. 12–14
10969 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 69538800
E-mail: mail@fnctions.com
Website: http://fnctions.com/ und http://getredmineapp.com/