In this latest instalment of ‘Meet the team that makes Bricsys’, we introduce Jan Syssauw, who is Head of BricsCAD Product and Development. Following a career centered around building great software products and cross-functional teams, Jan joined Bricsys in October 2021, and he has been leading his team to excellence ever since.
Jan describes his team as ‘the talented people who build BricsCAD’. From strategy and product management, over to design with the UI/UX team, and all the way to building the product with the development team, Jan’s team are crucial to creating the product that our CAD community know and love today.
For someone with such an integral role developing BricsCAD, what does a typical day look like for Jan?
“I’m not sure there is something like ‘a typical day at work’ for me. But if there is, my typical day would probably start around 8am, or maybe a bit earlier. I use the quiet time before meetings start at around 9am to catch up on email and plan the day. My actual daily agenda varies a lot, but it’s mainly determined by projects and operations that are ongoing at the time . I probably spend my time equally across the following areas: operations and management; strategy, product and development; operational excellence and improvement projects; and release and stakeholder management. The BricsCAD team is relatively big and spread out globally. We have colleagues all over Europe, North America and Asia, so a large part of my time is spent communicating across time zones and liaising with our team across the world.”
Looking back to his most memorable moments with Bricsys, and although Jan assures us that in some way most days stand out for him, he recalls the 2021 Bricsys Summit and the release of BricsCAD V22. He recounts the excitement and buzz that surrounded the event and the new features of the release, and he teases us that we should all be as excited for what’s to come with the release of BricsCAD V23 soon!
Looking forward to the new V23, we ask Jan how the future of the BricsCAD looks for him, and what his team is working hard on to make this vision a reality.
“The future looks bright! Undoubtedly! Every fibre of this company is obsessed with building products that our users love. We want to build CAD products that enable our users to build better, faster and more efficiently - users in architecture, construction, civil engineering, land surveying and manufacturing . And to deliver this performance for the best value. We have spent a lot of time and energy over the last six months figuring out what it takes and how to reach this goal. So, our passion for the product combined with a fantastic team means we are destined to have a bright future.”
Speaking of his team, and the future of BricsCAD, Jan describes what success means within Bricsys. Of course, as a commercial business, the bottom line is an important area, but above all, Jan recognises that success at Bricsys is defined by having a CAD product that solves users’ problems efficiently and precisely. Simply put: a CAD product and experience that our users both need and love to need.
“We have defined a manifesto, let’s say some guiding principles, that describes the objectives which are important to the teams developing the BricsCAD product. Among the goals, we are focussed on our brilliant team - we want to continue to be a company that people are proud to work for and build an environment where employees can grow and learn. And enjoy their time. We are also focussed on operational excellence. As a multidisciplinary team, we want to continue to challenge and evolve in the ways we work together. A focus on outcomes over output is also important.”
Jan’s technical mind and his expert knowledge of the BricsCAD family of products makes him perfectly placed to give us insight into the most useful features of our CAD software. Asked this, Jan pauses for a moment and struggles to identify one feature; then he settles for the unique smart features that bring that extra bit of efficiency by automating workflows.
__“In particular, I appreciate tools that can solve a problem cleverly and simply. So, features like Blockify & Bimify are, for me, the aspects that make BricsCAD stand out.” __
We pressed Jan about the release of the V23 coming very soon! Ever the professional, he is keeping his cards hidden about the great features he and his team have in store for us. However, he assures us that users will be excited about the new features in the release and with the numerous improvements to existing features and old favourites.
“You’ll have to wait until October to try out and test those new features! On the other hand, I’m a believer in continuous improvements. So with the team, we studiously look at how we can operate more effectively and efficiently to perfect the existing product features alongside the new.”
So, no luck with any juicy details about V23 from Jan. So, what, in Jan’s opinion, sets Bricsys apart when users choose BricsCAD over other competitors’ products?
“Bricsys has a unique company culture developing and delivering our products. We are truly a customer and product-first company, powered by an expertly talented team. BricsCAD is also a unique 2D and 3D, dwg -based CAD platform and end-to-end design suite for architecture, construction, civil engineering, land surveying and manufacturing. This is unrivalled in the current CAD landscape”.
And lastly, looking to the future with Jan, he sees 2022 as the year that…
“At last we can meet our colleagues face to face again, and visit our remote teams. I appreciate the flexibility of working from home, from time to time. But I missed the face-to-face time, both in work and socially! 2022 is the year of us sharing a beer together. Finally!”
