Software Development and Consulting company, Logical Advantage, COO John Fread makes case for managed internship programs in IT environments. This is a case study of how these initiatives are helping close the IT talent gap.

1. Interns and New Hire
Mentorship

3. Overview
• Avidxchange had not previously conducted
an internship program
• Logical Advantage provided leadership to
plan, organize, and manage the program
• The initial program was designed for
undergraduate and graduate-level interns
• The goal was to maximize the experience for
the interns to ensure that all parties benefited
from the program

4. Program
• Logical Advantage spent two weeks prior
to the arrival of the interns on site at
Avidxchange to gain familiarity with the
following:
– Business Processes
– Service Offerings
– Technology Infrastructure
– Code and Technologies
– Corporate Culture

5. Program
• Eight week program
• Logical Advantage provided a mentor to
Avidxchange
• This mentor worked directly with, and
managed the interns
• This mentor was a senior developer

6. Program
• The interns arrived with solid technical
skills, basics
• The interns had strong aptitude, but little
real programming experience
• The mentorship focused not only some of
the missing technical skills, but on skills
outside of technology

7. Program
• The following were areas of focus for the
mentor:
– Critical thinking and problem solving skills
– Troubleshooting skills
– Teamwork and Collaboration
– Professional communication skills

8. Program
• Initially, development exercises were given
to the interns to gauge their experience
level. This not only focused on
technology, but also the areas mentioned
above, as well as process and
methodology comprehension
• After the initial exercises; concepts and
technologies were introduced.

9. Program
• Avidxchange’s product team held a series
of meetings to identify suitable tasks that
the interns would complete during their
internship
• These tasks were assigned to the interns.
The LA Mentor was responsible for
helping the interns, and performing code
reviews

10. Program
• By assigning real tasks to the interns, the
interns provided real value to Avidxchange
• With the mentors involvement, it ensured
the tasks were completed as designed and
expected
• All tasks assigned were completed and
became part of Avidxchange software

11. Keys to Success
• Complete support from all levels at
Avidxchange
• Understanding the Company Culture
• Inclusion of Interns in the project teams
• Specific, focused Mentorship on a daily
basis