Employee Spotlight - Brian Lai

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Our Employee Spotlight series will highlight a different member of the SmartSimple crew every week. Take some time to get to know the wonderful and diverse team behind the SmartSimple platform!

Brian Lai is a Business Analyst and has been working for SmartSimple since May 2011. Brian was also the recipient of the very first SmartSimple Innovation Award in October 2013. For this week's Employee Spotlight, we spoke to Brian about his best subject matter expert tip, his hobbies, and a case of mistaken identity.

Intrigued? Keep reading!


Subject matter expert tip:
Review lessons learned and best practices from past projects and apply them to future projects. Documentation is key, especially in an agile development environment where requirements can evolve at a rapid pace.

Make use of flow charts, custom field notes, and code comments to help with requirement traceability and to provide a refresher as to why things are done.

What is your favourite part about working for SmartSimple?
Being able to work on a wide range of diverse projects alongside the brilliant minds of SmartSimple. The culture is also very inviting and helps facilitate a fun and productive environment.

What are your hobbies?
DIY projects (home improvement, tinkering with electronics), listening to music, paintball, and urban photography.

What is your favourite movie, book, or album?
My favourite music album is OK Computer by Radiohead, my runner up is Since I Left You by The Avalanches.

My favourite movie is either Akira or Memento.

What is the one thing you couldn't live without?
My family and friends.

Random fact about you that most people wouldn't know:
Due to mistaken identity, I was once considered by a news reporter as a subject matter expert in Wildlife Conservation for a whole 5 minutes. (It's a long story.)

Personal quote:
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Want to know more about SmartSimple and the team behind it? Visit our main website, email us at info@smartsimple.com or contact us at 1-866-239-0991. Check back next week for another installment of SmartSimple's Employee Spotlight!  

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