In a word: antiquated - Anonymous employee Data Paradigm Employee Review

2.0
13 July 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Most previous benefits (close to DART, sodas in the fridge, etc) are now irrelevant since quite a number of workers are now telecommuting from what I hear thanks to recent employees. So on the surface there's at least the work from home benefit. Health and dental benefits are fine if you are a single person who enjoys working for working sake. Sometimes with the right team you can be lumped with creative minds who encourage you, assuming you are that lucky.

Cons

Nearly everything in the company is in a word: antiquated. The pay scale is sub par, best described for folks working back in the '90s. The coding itself was Classic ASP last I remembered, current talks with people still suggest nothing has changed. Methodology isn't waterfall or agile or even existent. It it more like "do this thing in the next five minutes, because we should have made is 30 minutes ago." All the while such childish antics spurred by the clientele was forgiven by the CEO, Paul Booth, because "they exist in a emotionally charged environment and we have to remember that". Because of this, clients are the main priority and nothing else matters. Good managers leave for other prospects or have to pretty much work 24/7 in order to stay afloat with the company. Developers have been referred to as "resources" to their face and are treated as such. While Managers had a weekly meeting to ensure they stay on track, developers were never allowed such structure. Coding standards simply do not exist. You are expected to police your own code. There is no oversight by senior developers, because they are overworked. Anyone with a modicum of talent is overextended to the point where they can't perform their originally intended responsibilities. If you try to take a vacation, paid or otherwise, and you are the only person capable of what you do then that vacation is now a working vacation. Yes even on your time off there have been multiple instances where you have to put company first. Your family, life, and anything outside of that is seen as mere distraction. Resentment towards higher management was so constant it was seen as the true corporate culture within some circles, all while the company tried to instill "fun" with a Culture Committee: A selected group of people trying to distract you from the fact this company is working antiquated technology with antiquated pay scale, and a antiquated way of thinking from the main boss because he doesn't understand new ways of developing.

Explore other reviews about Data Paradigm

5.0
26 Feb 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Gives space and time for personal leadership in the work at hand. Work remotely from home. Does not micromanage as long as work is getting done. Freedom to do great things for the company. If you have proved your competency, then you get respect for such competency. This has been the best place of work I have encountered in my adult work-life.

Cons

This is a difficult question to answer because, if you love the work you're doing and you love the people you're doing it with, then what "cons" can you state? I think the world needs more of these guys... Let's grow the company, and provide a corporate purpose to the nation.

1.0
25 May 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Insurance paid, work downtown, next to a train stop. Great for early in your career, because you don't really need to have a lot of experience to work there. It's a great place to get your feet wet. It's also nice if you're a general nerd, as there are a lot of people there you can befriend. More than the average random dallas-style corporation. They don't REALLY lay off because they have a pretty good corner on the market of what they do.

Cons

There's a culture of fear that's pretty serious. There are a lot of threats if you step out of line, or disagree with someone. There are also a lot of seriously incompetent people on the business analyst side. Many people there don't really know what's supposed to happen, so you have to kind of guide them. This can be a pro, cuz you'll get business experience, but it will eat into your nights and weekends. Also, they don't have a methodology in place. They might call it agile, but it's agile without the agility. No real project managers of any kind, and a lot of the company flys by the seat of it's pants. When they "lay people off", it's because they're causing problems, so they get rid of several squeaky wheels en masse. Basically, it's a 10-year-old startup. They pay lower than the industry average. This is a very good example of the "A players hire A players, B players hire C players" koan of talent management.

1
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Data Paradigm Response
9y
Thank you for the feedback. I'm new (returning) to DPI. I hope that I am the one you refer to as holding morale together in the past. It is my privilege to serve the employees of DPI as their new President/CEO and I hope to make a positive change for the future of the company.
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