Welcome back to another A Day in the Life blog, where we take you behind the scenes to explore a day in the life of our talented team members at Mappedin. Today, we're shining the spotlight on Louie Yuen, a dedicated Staff Software Developer and Team Lead. Louie plays a pivotal role in ensuring that our customers' unique needs are met with precision and care. Dive into his insights on leading a team focused on delivering high-quality, customized mapping solutions and what it takes to thrive in a dynamic environment like Mappedin.
How would you best describe your role?
As the Team Lead of the Bespoke team, my primary responsibility is to ensure that our customers' needs and expectations are understood and addressed. I play a key role in translating their feedback into clear, actionable tasks that drive our team's efforts. My ultimate objective is to empower my team to succeed by fostering efficiency, collaboration, and a commitment to delivering high-quality, customized solutions on time.
What does your typical workday look like?
Morning: Living on the Pacific coast and working Eastern Time hours means that I typically start my day at 6:00 AM. I make a power breakfast of oatmeal and a cup of coffee before heading into my daily standup meetings.
Afternoon: My afternoons usually consist of meetings with team members or with clients. In between meetings, I squeeze in time to do development work or review code.
My go-to lunch is: A half rice and half salad poke bowl. One of the greatest benefits of living on the west coast is having fresh seafood!
What are the most challenging parts of leading your team on making our Premium Directory?
One of the most challenging aspects of leading this team is striking a balance between custom and generic implementations of our product. Customers often request specialized features tailored to their specific needs, which may not align with the broader requirements of other customers. In these situations, identifying a solution that satisfies all stakeholders while maintaining product integrity and scalability can be particularly complex.
How do you balance technical tasks and team management responsibilities?
Currently, my time is divided between team management (60%) and technical tasks (40%). To effectively balance these responsibilities, I prioritize strategic planning and time management, ensuring that both leadership duties and technical contributions are addressed efficiently.
How do you handle feedback from both the team and external stakeholders when it comes to custom enterprise projects?
Feedback from external stakeholders is vital and always brought back to the team for discussion, ensuring alignment before any proposed changes are implemented. When necessary, we provide well-reasoned pushback to maintain the integrity of our product. We foster a collaborative environment where all suggestions are considered, and we proceed with implementation only when we believe the updates will add meaningful value.
How do you see digital directories evolving in the next few years, and how is your team preparing for those changes?
Digital directories have been experiencing a resurgence since the pandemic, shifts in consumer behavior, and strategies that brick-and-mortar commercial spaces are adopting. Malls with static directories often failed to encourage patrons to explore beyond their initial destinations. To grow and continue leading the indoor digital directory segment, we continuously roll out updates designed to help venues engage visitors, capture their attention, and encourage them to discover additional services and locations.
What do you enjoy most about working at Mappedin and leading a team focused on custom mapping solutions?
What I enjoy most about working at Mappedin and leading my team is gaining insight into our customers' diverse perspectives and understanding what drives value for them. Collaborating with each customer feels like managing multiple projects simultaneously, and the challenge of balancing requirements while integrating new features into our product keeps my role both engaging and rewarding.
What advice would you give someone who is looking to move into a team lead role at a company like Mappedin?
The most crucial aspect of being a Team Lead is the ability to listen and communicate effectively with the team. It involves understanding their needs, providing the necessary support for their growth, and helping them excel in their roles. Strong leadership requires actively seeking feedback, fostering collaboration, and continuously improving team synergy to maximize productivity and overall success.
Louie's dedication to understanding customer needs, fostering team collaboration, and balancing technical and managerial responsibilities exemplifies the innovative spirit that drives our company forward.
We hope this glimpse into Louie's day has provided you with a deeper appreciation of the hard work and passion that is the foundation of our success at Mappedin. Stay tuned for more stories about our talented team members.
If you’re interested in joining our team, check out our open roles.
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