Introduction‍

Hello, I’m Luce, and I joined Butterfly Data as a consultant in September 2025. I’m excited to share my journey and accomplishments during my first six months here.

Starting my role‍

As a consultant, I spent my early weeks immersing myself in real data challenges. I contributed to the SAS Hackathon project and soon joined a client project where I supported both the frontend and backend teams in addressing real-world problems. 

As a graduate, rotating through the responsibility framework has been a key part of my development. This continues to give me valuable insights into the key business processes of a data consultancy and helps shape my understanding of the end-to-end project lifecycle.

From day one, I focused on building my technical capability and expanding my professional knowledge. It was really easy to integrate into the company culture - everyone at Butterfly Data is approachable and relatable. I felt at ease in the office from the beginning and quickly discovered shared interests through our many informal channels from pet photos to running.

Key achievements

‍In my first six months, I’ve had the chance to develop both personally and professionally. Some highlights include the following:

• Presenting to the directors on my progress after three months here, giving me the opportunity to share my early successes and growth with senior leadership.
• Independently implementing two new dashboards for a client project and presenting them back to the team. One dashboard was later productionised at the request of a senior stakeholder. I also received this feedback: 

“Luce’s work on the monthly processing dashboard was exceptional, with [name] having now requested for it to go into production as soon as possible. I was also particularly impressed when she was able to start & set up a whole new GitLab repository for one of her new dashboards entirely independently, having memorised the entire process exactly after only one (very hasty) demonstration prior. “

• Contribution to a new Jira Board, helping streamline how stakeholder user stories are ingested and tracked.  
• Planning a Region North social independently, as well as contributing to Spring Summit planning.

These achievements reflect not only technical development but also my growing confidence in owning workstreams and collaborating across teams. 

Challenges and solutions‍

Transitioning into a new role came with its challenges, including that colleagues have different communication and working styles and aligning these in team settings required adaptability and patience. Another unexpected challenge was something more practical - adjusting to carrying multiple laptops in my bag! 

To address these, I asked teammates what environments or ways of working they preferred to create more productive collaboration and learnt to pause before starting a task to clarify expectations.

One pleasant surprise has been the diversity of backgrounds with the team. Working alongside people with non-technical qualifications has broadened my perspective, demonstrating that strong analytical thinking and communication are just as important as formal technical training. 

Learning and development‍

These first six months have been a period of significant learning and growth. I’ve developed skills in SAS programming, Power BI, Scrum agile framework as well as business analysis, including stakeholder engagement and requirements capture. Key lessons for me include the value of breaking down complex problems into manageable chunks and the impact of building strong relationships with stakeholders. 

Looking ahead

‍As I move forward, I am excited about continuing to strengthen my technical capability through advanced SAS training and by developing knowledge across different sectors. My goals for the next six months include designing and running a book club to accelerate learning across grades, aligning with our Power to Accelerate objective; introducing a structured requirements gathering framework for a client project to support better communication between technical and non-technical teams.

Advice for new joiners

‍Reflecting on my experience, I would advise new hires to learn from everyone around you - both on and off projects. Butterfly is full of talented people, each with something unique to offer. Make the effort to listen, ask questions and understand what others can teach you. Speaking with every member of the company one on one during my first month was one of the best decisions I made. My journey has reinforced that first impressions really do count.

Conclusion‍

My first six months at Butterfly Data have been incredibly rewarding. I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and look forward to continuing to contribute to our team’s success. Thank you for taking the time to read about my journey.

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