Seizing future growth through "disruptive rebuilding": The R&D Division takes on product and organizational transformation

Sometimes, in order to achieve something, you need the courage to destroy something.

Under the leadership of Taishi Koresawa, who was appointed CTO in January 2020, XICA's Development Headquarters is undergoing change in both its products and organization, aiming to become a team that pursues "manufacturing" that goes beyond technology.

Immediately after assuming his position as CTO, Koresawa has been pushing ahead with reforms to build a manufacturing organization, including defining a "Manufacturing Vision" that outlines the organization's ideal state three years from now, and establishing an "Advisory Board" made up of external professionals.

*For details on MONOZUKURI VISION and the Advisory Board,An interview with Koresawa when he became CTOto check more details.

For this conversation, we invited Amano Taichi, an architect who has been in charge of product re-architecture since shortly after joining the Development Headquarters at XICA, which is in the midst of such changes, and Koshigaya Ryota, an engineering manager and hiring manager in charge of rebuilding the organization, to talk about the content and outlook for the changes they are bringing about.

*This conversation was conducted remotely on May 2020, 5.

Futoshi Korezawa (Cover photo: center)

He became an IT engineer in 2000 after working at an IT venture in Ehime, and after a successful engineering career as a tech lead, CTO, and VP of Engineering at 12 companies, including TOSE Inc., CA Mobile Inc., ALBERT Inc., Speee Inc., and Mercari Inc., he joined XICA in 2020. In addition, after working as a sole proprietor for about eight years, he incorporated his business in August 8 and, as CEO of Cross Garage LLC, he also serves as an advisor on technology, organization, and products for multiple companies.

Amano Taichi (Cover photo: left)

He majored in archaeology at university, but dropped out to jump into the world of programming. He was in charge of contract development and application/infrastructure development for in-house services at FICC. He then gained experience in directing and developing systems for partner integration at Raksul before joining Speee. He served as lead engineer/engineering manager/SRE team leader in the real estate business, gaining experience in development and organization building, and joined XICA in 2020.

Ryota Koshigo (Cover photo: right)

Born in 1985. After working as a musician, he worked in customer service and planning at a company that operates an auction service. He then began his career as an engineer at a flea market venture, where he gained experience developing toC services. After working as a freelance engineer, he joined Persol Career Co., Ltd. as a lead engineer. After developing multiple toB/toC services, he was appointed engineering manager. He is heavily involved in recruiting engineers and organizational development. He has been working at XICA as engineering manager and hiring manager since March 2020.

I thought that the current XICA was a perfect fit. The organizational phase and individual growth matched.

Korezawa　This time, I would like to ask them a few questions. Both Amano-kun and Koshi-san have only just joined the company, but they are already leading the transformation of our products and organization. First, please introduce yourself.

Amano　My name is Taichi Amano. At XICA, I work as an architect, and I'm in charge of the overall system design. My current mission is to re-architecture "MAGELLAN."

Crossing the Lake　My name is Ryota Koshi. I am an engineering manager and hiring manager, and my mission is to build an organization that is aligned with our strategy and achieve our personnel plan.

Korezawa　Could you also tell me how you two came to join XICA?

Amano　I had been building my career as a lead engineer, engineering manager, and SRE engineer, and when I turned 30 and was wondering what I wanted to do with my career for the next 10 years, Mr. Koresawa approached me, which is what led me to join the company.

Korezawa　When we went out for drinks for the first time in a while, Amano told me that he was thinking about changing jobs, and when I asked him about his future career and what he wanted to do, he said, "I want to work for a company that can contribute to society in the BtoB field, in an environment where I can concentrate on development and programming!" So I thought that XICA would be a good fit. XICA can provide the environment that Amano wants, and now he has the chance to be active as an architect,If you can do that, you will be able to grow as a CTO in two or three years' time., I also thought.

Amano　That's right. That story really hit home for me, because I was at a time when I was thinking about my career.

After that, I had the opportunity to meet the company's president, Mr. Hirao (CEO of XICA). At the time, I had heard about a few other companies, but XICA had the largest target market and I could clearly see the roadmap to get there, so I thought there was something I could contribute. Also, Mr. Hirao was just a really nice person. He wasn't trying to be cool in any weird way, he was just a really good person. And of course, when I heard that Mr. Koresawa was going to try something new at XICA, I thought it would be great to work with him. I'd always felt a sense of sympathy for Mr. Koresawa, thinking that he really valued manufacturing (laughs).

Korezawa　Thank you (laughs) What about you, Koshigo?

Crossing the Lake　I started working at a human resources company in my previous job, starting with the launch of a development team, first working as a tech lead and then as an engineering manager. Over the course of a year and a half, the foundation of the organization solidified, and the number of employees grew to about 1. In terms of services, the last service I created received many applications after its release, and I felt like I had "finished it," so I was starting to think about the next stage.

It was at this time that Korezawa-san approached me. I had a strong impression of him from when I worked with him before, and I had always wanted to work with him again, so when he approached me I was pretty inclined to do it (laughs).

Another big factor was talking to Mr. Amano and Mr. Hirao, who is also the CEO. I remember that there was no inconsistency in the stories that Mr. Hirao and Mr. Korezawa told, so I was very convinced. If the relationship between the CEO and the CTO is good and the vision and awareness are aligned, I thought that it would be an environment where I could take on challenges and grow, and that's when I made up my mind to change jobs.

Korezawa　When I had a drink with Koshi-san for the first time in a while, I asked him about his recent activities and he told me that he was thinking about his next career.I thought XICA was the perfect organizational phase for Koshigo-san to grow.So, we decided to have him meet Mr. Hirao right away.

At that time, I met a lot of different people, but Amano-kun and Koshi-san were the people I met who immediately gave me a clear image of how I should grow in the next phase, and I was convinced that I could grow my career by working at XICA. I thought that XICA was a perfect fit for them.

Re-architecture doesn't generate revenue, but we invest in it to generate big results in the future

Korezawa　From here, I would like to ask you two to explain what you are currently working on at XICA. Amano-kun is currently in charge of the re-architecture of Magellan, but could you tell us about the background of the re-architecture?

Amano　Immediately after joining the company, I looked at every corner of Magellan's internal structure, but the existing Magellan was written in Python, had a poor code base, and I felt that the quality of maintenance was declining. Even changing one piece of statistical logic, which is Magellan's core function, was difficult, and there were only a limited number of people who could tinker with it. Considering the future product roadmap, I thought it would be difficult to take on technical challenges with the existing system.

Korezawa　This is a common thing for companies that have been focusing on their business. Magellan has finally entered a phase where it can feel market fit as a product, and it has begun to think about paying off technical debt. By the way, what do you find particularly challenging about the re-architecture effort?

Amano　There are quite a few points that I feel are challenging.Or rather, I don’t think there’s a single point that I don’t feel is a challenge (laughs).At XICA, I am now putting into practice things that I had wanted to do in the past but had not been able to do.

First of all, Magellan is being developed by a small team, and we are going to introduce microservices in the future. It is difficult for a small team to implement microservices and reap the benefits, and I think this is a challenging undertaking even from an industry perspective.

Also, in terms of the details, there are many languages ​​and frameworks that I am using for the first time, which is a personal challenge. Originally, the main technologies used were Python / Django / Vue.js / RESTful API, but in the rearchitecture, we changed to Go / Nuxt.js / TypeScript / gRPC / GraphQL / Kubernetes. These were selected based on their appropriateness in light of our future strategy, and also based on what excites me as a developer (laughs). Every day is a continuous challenge.

Korezawa　Everything is a challenge. You said, "I've always wanted to try it, but I couldn't," but what is the big reason you're now able to do it at XICA? I used to work in the same company, so I'm curious about that (laughs).

Amano　The first isHaving a manager who understands product development and engineeringRe-architecting itself does not generate sales. But they are investing in it. They understand that by re-architecting now and increasing agility, the business will grow in the future. Also, I think it's important that I have an environment where I can purely focus on development. I'm grateful that I have an environment where I can choose what to do and not have to do multiple jobs.

I see, it's not that previous companies didn't understand that at all, but the way of thinking about products and priorities in business differs depending on the company and phase. At the current phase of XICA, we are prioritizing investment in products and development, so we have been able to focus all our attention on development without making any major changes to our plans since we decided on the re-architecture, which makes it rewarding. And just as Amano-kun is concentrating on development, I have asked Koshi-san to focus on organization building, but can you tell me about the organization building you are currently working on?

Crossing the Lake　Strategic hiring and training are essential to the growth of the product and the organization. What do you want to achieve as a business in the future, and what kind of organization do you need to achieve that? What is the gap between that future organization and the current organization? I believe that my job is to clarify that gap and then fill it.

Our personnel plan includes our recruitment plan and training plan, and I believe that we will become a strong organization when both of these are achieved. In order to achieve this, I think we need to create a system in which we work together with management and human resources, rather than working as an engineering organization alone, and move forward as a trinity, so that is what I would like to challenge myself to do in the near future.

Korezawa　Regarding the "future image of the organization" that you just mentioned, what kind of organization would you like to aim for?

I would like to create an organization that brings together people who are highly motivated to grow, so that they never reach a limit in their own growth and can always keep moving forward.

Before I became an engineer, I worked in the music industry, and my way of thinking hasn't changed since then. As long as you put in the effort, you should be able to play better the next day. So when I perform in front of an audience, I'm always conscious of leveling up and changing so that they can have a new experience.I believe there is no limit to the challenges and growth that can come from a team of people with this mindset.I think.

Korezawa　In order to make it such an organization, it is necessary to expand the current structure and build an organization that supports the development organization. We need to create an organization that supports engineers and people who love making things. Of course, we need to achieve our hiring targets, but the most important thing is not to end the job by hiring people, but to support them so that they grow to the level expected when they were hired. I am currently setting up an organization called Developer HR to create such a system, and I am thinking about creating a system for training and developing talents with this organization at the center.

What we want is a clear picture of the future

Korezawa　Amano-kun and Koshi-san have been given the authority and responsibility to lead their respective projects since shortly after joining the company, but how do you feel now that it has been several months since you joined the company?

Amano　I really have the freedom to do whatever I want (laughs).Manufacturing Vision" I really like ", especially "Refine your choice and make it the Best" I like that part. It's a way of thinking that forms the basis of all challenges. You may fail, but you can take responsibility for it yourself, and the fact that this is recognized by the organization is what makes it rewarding.

Crossing the Lake　The standards for results are very high, but the experience you can gain is also great, and the challenge is very interesting. I have authority and responsibility, but my superior, Mr. Korezawa, supports me as needed, so it's easy to move around both inside and outside the organization.

Korezawa　Certainly, there are high expectations placed on Koshigo-san right now. As a manager, he must continue to face things that are not easily resolved, believe in people's potential, help them grow, and help them produce results. This requires leadership that pursues strong ideals. I think it will be difficult, but I hope that by seeing this through, he will aim for a career as VPoE (VP of Engineering) just as he envisioned when he joined the company.

I hope that Amano will build a solid technological foundation for XICA, provide more engineers with opportunities to challenge themselves and grow, lead a strong development team, and pursue a career that leads to becoming CTO.

Finally, for those reading this interview, please tell us what kind of person you would like to work with.

Amano　I think this also relates to what Mr. Koshi said about "people with a strong desire to grow."I think it's good to have someone who is looking ahead several years.Speaking of engineers, it's good to have someone who likes technology. For example, someone who can gather various information and discuss things like, "I saw this article, but I wonder if our service can be used like this?" Someone who likes technology and is itching to do something with it. I want to work with people who want to create great value using that technology.

Crossing the Lake　Again, I want to work with people who are motivated to grow.Someone who is proactive in determining how they want to grow and who can think beyond thatSomeone who can digest and digest how to move forward in order to grow. Also, someone who likes people. This is a very personal preference, but I like people who are like, "They may be really rude, but I bet they really like people" (laughs).

Korezawa　Thank you. The people I would like to work with are listed in this article ("CEO/CTO Interview: I want to work with people who will be great in the future, not just people who are great now. What is the ideal "manufacturing" organization and working style that XICA's new CTO aims for?") so please read it too (laughs). Thank you both for today!

*The affiliation and title of the interviewee are those at the time of the interview.