Behind the Screen: Meet Maisie and Rich from the Development Team

Meet the faces behind the features.

They're adaptable and driven problem-solvers who transform needs into solutions.  Implementing the critical thinking from those who don't know 'how it's always been done" is one of the factors stimulating our innovative digitally empowered solutions.

We're proud of our ecosystem where senior developers, industry experts and junior talent work in tandem to change the paradigm of freight forwarding.

Tell us a little more about the role of the Devs team?

Maisie: The dev team will get the business needs and make it technically possible in the app, and this will involve having a good understanding of the roles across the company and how each team is involved in the lifecycle of a shipment. The dev team will make changes and add to the code base, follow industry standard coding styles and testing. Typically this will also involve communication with the relevant stakeholders and documenting it as we go so the rest of the dev team is across it as well.

Rich: We work closely with the product team to deliver new features that improve the effectiveness and the user experience of the app.

What's your favourite feature in the Explorate app that you have worked on?

Maisie: One of my favourite features was working on the Ops user page. It was one of the times I saw a glimpse into the product role- I enjoyed being a part of the creative process and contributing to the conversation in the user testing before implementing it into the app.

Rich: My favourite feature in the app is the ability to bring your own shipments. This feature allows our customers to enjoy the benefits of our application while still being able to choose their own freight forwarders.

What's something interesting that most people don't know about you?

Maisie: I have a really bad right ankle and it's often been the cause of me tripping over in social sports games.

Rich: I can speak four languages - Mandarin, Malay, English, and Cantonese. But that's pretty normal as I came from a multicultural background in Malaysia.

What does a typical day look like for you at Explorate?

Maisie: I'm not going to lie, most of the time I work from home and I love that Explorate is happy to accommodate my needs.I'll typically start work at 8:30, put on music and quickly review the things I did the day before until our team standup at 9:30, where I'll give a quick debrief of what my week will look like. I like borrowing the meeting link so sometimes I'll decide to stay on with another dev or product team member to work out changes to the codebase or go over requirements of a feature in greater detail. I'll spend most of my day working through my tickets - and they'll range from updating email templates to implementing new designs in the app.

Rich: I come into the office at 9 in the morning, settle down with a coffee and join the daily standup with the team to discuss my progress or any issues that I have. After that I would get to work for the rest of the day. There are meetings occasionally with the team and we would also have lunch breaks together where we would talk about interesting topics of the day.

What is one misconception about Developers that you want to clear up?

Maisie: That devs are only interested in computers and don't like going out and socialising. Most of the developers I know are funny, smart and outgoing. Rich: Most of us do not code 24/7!

What is the best thing about working at Explorate?

Maisie: There's so many things it's hard to pick- I'd have to say the trivias we have from time to time in slack. Little things like that keeps me on my toes and keeps the team incredibly light-hearted and friendly!

Rich: Being surrounded by a team that not only takes pride in what we do but is also constantly pushing ourselves to do better everyday.

Can you hint at any new features that customers can expect to see soon?

Maisie: Customers may be receiving a new type of booking confirmation via email soon.

Rich: In app notifications.

If you could switch roles with someone in the team for a day, who would it be and why?

Maisie: I'd love to try out a sales role and be at the forefront in communicating with customers. I think it would be eye opening to talk to our customers first hand and find out what they think about our application - and as needed convince customers to believe in the product that our team believes in.

Rich: An operator, I'd like to experience the day to day tasks of an operator and have a deep understanding on how the freight industry operates.

How would you explain your most recent project to a 5 year old?

Maisie: I added a new mailbox for our customers can mail their letters so they can tell us if they liked or didn't like how we gave them their present.

Rich: We keep track of your toys so that you don't lose them!

What advice would you give to someone looking for a new Dev job?

Maisie: To develop not only strong technical skills but interpersonal ones too! And network network network it will not only benefit the team you are going in so they know more about you but also yourself as you'll get a feel of what it'll be like as part of the team before you officially become part of the team.

Rich: Focus on your skills more than your tools.

What is something new that you're learning right now?

Maisie: File manipulation - specifically pdfs. I've never worked with pdfs before so I'm excited to learn more about templating and what can be created from the information given to it - a bit boring to the average non-coder I know but the nerd in me is giddy to learn something new!

Rich: I am learning Amazon web services (AWS) to keep our app secured, fast and reliable.

What's something that has surprised you about coding in the last 5 years?

Maisie: How little knowing a particular language will help in the long run - it is more about how I've approached a problem as those problem solving skills are transferrable no matter which language I've used to write a solution. So I've found it helpful to invest in yourself and develop strong problem solving skills!

Rich: I'm surprised that my passion for coding has not changed at all, matter of fact I feel even more passionate now. There are new challenges and new technologies to try out constantly and that had kept me going strong for the last few years.

If you're not with us yet but are interested in seeing how the Explorate Platform could give you access to these powerful features and many more, book a free demonstration.