Hello Jan, how long have you been part of VIER?
I'm approaching the well-known seven-year mark. Things are looking so good that I'm excited for another seven years – and more! I started as a Full Stack Developer at Voixen, one of the founding companies of VIER. There, I had the chance to co-develop VIER Interaction Analytics and VIER Scorecards, which I now oversee as Service Delivery Lead.
As Service Delivery Lead, what does your daily work look like?
I have the pleasure of keeping the "Communication Analytics" team busy and occasionally asking both internal and external requesters to be patient. 😉 Joking aside, together with the team, I work on our products VIER Interaction Analytics, VIER Voice of the Customer, VIER Evaluation, and VIER Scorecards. I see myself as the bridge between the development team and our requesters – our customers. Their requirements include new features, architecture improvements, new technologies, exciting research projects, and much more. I prepare these requirements, clarify any questions, and finally present them to the team. Together, we brainstorm the ideal technical solution and estimate the effort required. Then, the implementation begins. Quite simple, really. And most of the time, we even manage to stick to the plan.
What do you particularly like about your work?
It’s never boring! Every requirement is a new challenge and an opportunity to improve our products. We’re at the forefront of new technologies and excited to embrace fresh ideas. It’s a highly creative process that’s always different. At the same time, I love regularly talking to customers, colleagues, and teams about our various topics so we can create the best solutions on the market. The best part is when I get to show someone some “really hot shit” from the VIER forge and see the excitement in their eyes.
What skills or experiences from previous jobs help you today?
I’m a trained software developer, just like my father before me, and his father, and his father… Okay, maybe not that extreme. But I pretty much grew up with a computer in my hand. Over time, I became more and more involved in the planning and execution of software projects. From direct sales to presales to development, I’ve experienced just about everything you can do with software products. Along the way, I discovered how much I enjoy further developing products and bringing ideas to life.
Which historical figure would you like to invite to dinner?
So many – and ideally, I’d invite them all at once to see how they’d react to each other. But if I had to pick just one, it would be Sejong the Great [1397–1450; ruler of Korea]. Among other things, he invented the Korean writing system, Hangul, which is so simple that anyone can learn to read and write it in 10 minutes. I’d love to discuss with him whether we could simplify other complex topics in a way that everyone – including me – could understand. And if Richard Feynman [1918–1988; physicist, Nobel laureate, author] happened to walk by, he’d be welcome to join us. Now that would make for an interesting evening!
Author: Susanne Feldt