When did you start Xn?
I started at Xn about 5 years ago. I was fresh out of university, so fresh I had to book time off for my graduation day!
What’s your Role?
I’m a Senior Software Developer
What does a typical day look like?
Get into the office at 9, hop online and do a quick check to see if there are any important emails or messages. 9:30 is refinement. This is where the Development team goes through some Requirements written by our Products team and estimates the complexity of them. Grab a drink at 10:00 and start planning more of my day: what to tackle and review some of what I did yesterday. 10:30 -11 is our team catch-up on what we’re doing as far as work and raise any issues, also gives us a chance to catch up personally. 11- till lunch is coding and researching the new stuff we’re working on. Lunch is 12 for me if it’s a Tuesday or Thursday I’ll walk down to the “Milton park Feast” where there’s a whole load of various food vans. 1 till 17:30 is usually cracking on with more coding and research, interspersed with coffee breaks!
What’s your favourite functionality you have worked on?
Favourite thing I’ve worked on was Tickethub in Leisurehub. We worked on it from the ground up with completely new structures both in the backend and frontend!
Can you describe a memory with Xn that sticks out in your head?
Would be the first online JABAS we had during lockdown. I won MVP that year and we all had to create videos (little thank you speeches) and it was asked for us to leave our bloopers in. I was the only MVP who left bloopers in and at the end of the JABAS there was the blooper reel and there were so many of me. Gave everyone including me a good laugh! But now we’re out of lockdown we just had our most recent one in person in Wales and it was just as awesome meeting the other companies in person.
What’s your favourite activity out of work?
I’ve recently got in to Go Karting. I got a membership for an indoor track group, and I now usually go most weeks. I’ve just cracked the 34 second mark and moved in to 33 seconds – not bad considering the track record is a 32.2!
What’s something you would love to add to our products next?
I want to add a new fully SAAS solution to our lineup, it’s the way things are trending and I’m looking forward to working on it!
What do you find most challenging working as a Developer?
Keeping up with all the latest tech, for example AI! We’re on a curve of growth in that area, but how far along are we? I don’t know and I don’t think any of us could accurately predict!
What do you think the future of Tech in the leisure industry looks like?
A proper, full-SAAS solution making the use of tech such as microservices and containers etc., not something that is a VM in a cloud or a server in a backroom. DDs will be entirely paperless, and RCP could become king. AI will come in along the way, for example you might be able to ask it to book your swimming lesson or the likes, who knows? When I started this job AI was in its infancy so honestly, we don’t know about where the future of tech will go in the long term, but isn’t that what makes it exciting?
Is there anything else you would like to say to our customers?
Exciting things are coming, watch this space!
