Credit: Caro Strasnik

This month we had the chance to get to know in depth a long term volunteer, Sigrid Gramlinger, from Austria. Sigrid is a known contributor, having served in several teams and capacities, especially in the Production Department.

Tell us a little about yourself (where are you from, where do you live, family, your background, anything you want to share with us)

I am from Austria, but after studying business education here, I first worked for three years in Hamburg (Germany) in a software house programming ERP systems. Since 2004 I have been self-employed. At first we were living in Greece for three years, and since 2007 we are back in Austria. Here my family and I are located  close to Vienna. My company is called “webgras” since 2011 and since then I have also specialized exclusively on Joomla! For about 2 years now we have been a “real” agency with 3 employees, so things are changing, but it's really great to have a fixed team. Currently I have started an MBA in IT Consultancy. Continuing education is really important to me and I hope to complete it in the next 12 months.

How did you get involved with Joomla and the J! Community?

At the beginning I built websites just with static HTML and CSS and connected MS Access databases to them. Then I realized there are CMS and in 2005 I figured there are even different ones. I did some research and tried Joomla - which was really new then. I also tried others but then found Joomla to be the most flexible and scalable. It was around 2010, I missed the exchange with other colleagues and by chance found out there is a JoomlaDay in Germany. I booked a flight and just went there and never missed one since then :-). The Joomla community in Austria was not existent back then, so in 2014 I decided to initiate a Joomla user group in Vienna and in 2015 a JoomlaDay Austria as well. :-)

What do you do for a day job, and if this includes Joomla, how? 

My Joomla agency is my full time job, sometimes even more ;-). We just create Joomla websites, at the moment many online-shops and other websites with advanced features, like multilingual or i.e. with a huge user base. Last year I also did another migration from Joomla 1.0.15 - many memories came up. I also like to create accessible websites but not many organizations have this in their focus. I think this will change in the future as there will be laws in the EU.

Do you use Joomla in other ways? (hobby,own website, building websites for clubs, friends etc)

Last year my daughter wanted a website for promoting the creative stuff she is doing and I supported her to build her own website with Joomla. She was in the magazine with that - a 16 year old with a Joomla website :-).

My kids' former school also started a Joomla website. They are still using it of course, for their public site as well as for the intranet.

Together with Peter Martin in 2018 I created the SaaS data2.eu to support people with their documentation for GDPR. The basis for data2.eu is also Joomla.

And with data2site.com Peter and I also offer the Joomla extension “d2 content” for Joomla 3 - and soon “d2 profiles” for Joomla 4 - to optimize the Joomla backend forms. So you can create your own article edit forms - as we realized many of our clients have problems with too many fields in the article form. You can set up just the fields you need.

Are you involved in the Joomla community, apart from in your official position (for example JUGS, events, etc)

As already mentioned, I am involved in the Joomla user group Vienna since the beginning in 2014/2015 and I am co-organiser of JoomlaDays in Austria and since last year in the D-A-CH-region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

How did Joomla change your life?

With Joomla, I earn money through making websites for clients. My whole business depends on Joomla. And my co-business with Peter Martin also fully depends on Joomla. So, Joomla is my whole business life :-).

What did you learn and / or gain personally from being a J! Volunteer?

Through the international conferences like JAB, JoomlaDays and Austrian JUGs I have met so many people, made friendships for lifetime and found business partners. I have a reliable network now, I like to support other people and appreciate their help when I have questions. I think the Joomla community is very supportive and open - I really enjoy this!

You are the Team Leader of the CMS Release Team. How much pressure do you have to cope with during the release days?

I think now we really have a CMS Release “Team”, so the pressure is on the team and not on single persons. For release leads, I want to create an organizational structure so that the responsibility on their shoulders is bearable and not too high. There is still a way to go though. The two weeks before releases we have lots of team activities but then communication calms down in most cases. Very special are the few hours after a release where we have to watch all channels in case there are problems which we could not have covered beforehand. We are also working on a process to support this specific part of a release.

Do you have a memorable Joomla-moment?

The moment when I realized there will be no JUG in Vienna, if I don’t take action myself. So, I talked to people like David Jardin who was really supportive to me. And since then many others have.

Thanks Sigrid for your contribution and for taking the time to answer to our questions.