Logimatic has just entered into an agreement with Special Minds regarding software testing. The IT-consultants at Special Minds all have an autism profile which is perfect for testing software, as they have zero tolerance for mistakes.
The shortage of IT competences is widely known. According to statistics from IT-Branchen’s IT-Barometer 2018, 2 out of 3 companies are considering the shortage of IT competences as the largest barrier to growth. However, for Logimatic the help has turned out to be very near, as the IT consultancy Special Minds has offices right next to Logimatic.
Lars F. Riisberg, CEO at Logimatic says, “One meeting with Special Minds was enough to convince me that they have something truly unique going on. Not only are they doing something good for people with challenges in life, they are also offering IT competences that are hard for us to procure.”
Special Minds is a social impact company with the clear objective to link companies and specialized employees with an autism spectrum disorder like Aspergers syndrome. They take on tasks with their IT consultants operating from own offices in Aarhus and Aalborg, Denmark. IT tasks are handled via remote secured access. A test manager or technical project manager is always on board together with the IT consultants.
Theresa Høgenhaug, Head of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Special Minds states, “People with autism have the perfect profile for software testing, as they are extremely detail-oriented with fast and efficient learning curves and with brains that can keep focus over a long period of time. It entails that they can deliver a consistently high and flawless quality. This is often very suitable for development departments, as they can then focus on development with our consultants as test partners.”
A collaboration that ensures sustainable development of high quality
Special Minds has a steady team of consultants that will enter into a close collaboration with Logimatic’s development department regarding ongoing testing of new releases. All consultants that are working with software testing at Special Minds are ISTQB certified, also at ‘advanced test manager level’. And with honors. This is due to the employees’ desire to be specialists and deliver perfect quality – every time.
Henrik Nygaard Jensen, Head of Development at Logimatic, is excited about the new collaboration and says: “The collaboration with Special Minds provides the resources that we need for our developers to focus on developing instead of testing existing software. I am also convinced that external software testing will enhance the quality.”
Theresa Høgenhaug tells “Our consultants have a very well-developed sense of quality and a remarkable ability to maintain high quality persistently over long periods of time. They are also above average when it comes to solving complicated technical issues. They call it a ‘systemizer brain’ themselves. Even as a computer scientist, you will be challenged to keep up.”
The collaboration with Special Minds contributes to four of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and Theresa Høgenhaug states, “It is a win-win in a market with an increasing demand for competences and skilled labor that we contribute to both economic growth and social responsibility.”
The concept behind Special Minds has clearly proved that employees with autism profiles can be valuable contributors to the labor market. Between 1-2% of the world population have autism, and 80% of them are not in the labor market. In Denmark, it accounts for 20-30,000 people that have the passions and the abilities but need a workplace.
