Behind the scenes: the Scopus product team (III)
Part III of our "who are the people that work on Scopus?" series. In their own words, the Scopus Product Management team describes who they are, what their role is on the team and what they like most about working on Scopus and at Elsevier.
Gillian Griffiths, Senior Product Manager
Tell us about yourself.
From Liverpool, studied Biology/Psychology at University of York. I've worked at Elsevier in the Netherlands since 1984 – so Scopus launch coincided with my 20 year jubilee. Started as Desk Editor in Life Sciences publishing; involved in launch of Elsevier’s first online journal – Gene-Combis – in 1995, then supervised building of more scalable online journal systems for publishing (before ScienceDirect was ready), enabling portals like Parasitology Online. I also helped develop early online submission systems. In 2002, just as I was starting to dismantle the online journals again in favor of ScienceDirect, the phone rang and I was invited to join an exciting new project – called Scopus! Aside from a year specializing in Search, I have worked on Scopus since then.
How do you describe your role on the Scopus Product team?
Of course I’m the memory of Scopus after 12 years with the product and having been involved in building up all kinds of functionality, but I see my major role as networking between the “outside” and the “inside” – there can be an interplanetary gap between those whose focus is mostly commercial and those who actually build the product and write code. I’ve always been good at spotting the missing links, so bridging these gaps comes naturally. I’m also the one who best understands how the search works in Scopus, by the way.
What is your favorite part about working on Scopus (and at Elsevier!)?
Elsevier is a large, international company and that has two major advantages: (1) you work with all kinds of people from all over the world and hence continually broaden your horizons; (2) in a big company, you don’t have to leave when you start getting bored – there’s always something new to do, and yet your experience remains relevant. Scopus was the best thing I’ve done here – it was thrilling to be involved in this startup from scratch, and particularly since it was the first thing we did that actually observed users and built
What’s your favorite feature or search to run in Scopus?
Bad question for a search specialist – we have some 4-page queries built by expert users which I love to decipher– but an early favorite I found on the prototype before the launch is this gem by P. McRory: TITLE (“Who says you cannot get published”).
What do you do in your free time?
I’m an enthusiastic amateur musician, play cello and flute in chamber music and various orchestras whenever I can.
Kai Wan, Product Manager
Twitter: @Kai_W_Wan
Tell us about yourself.
Born in Hong Kong and raised in the Netherlands, I started out my academic experience with Public Administration prior to changing my major to Sinology. I graduated from Leiden University with a BA in Sinology and a MA in Chinese Studies with a specialization in International Relations. I’ve spent a year in situ at Shandong University, PRC following intensive Mandarin Chinese courses. Upon my return to Leiden I continued my studies and I was working as a TA for the university’s faculty of Humanities. I joined Elsevier in 2011 as a project coordinator and I joined the Scopus team as a product manager in 2013.
How do you describe your role on the Scopus Product team?
One of my main responsibilities is to ensure Scopus is working as expected and resolve any issues that may arise. I’m also responsible for our localization efforts and the overall innovation of Scopus’ core features e.g. export, analysis tools and User Interface.
What is your favorite part about working on Scopus (and at Elsevier!)?
The best part of working on Scopus is seeing the diversity of innovative ideas and people that make this product possible. Moreover, seeing the positive impact that Scopus has on people’s lives and careers makes me very proud to be a part of the Scopus family. The best part of working at Elsevier is the opportunities that it brings to expand my horizon and interests. Due to its global connections I get the opportunity to focus more on the Asia region which coincides with my original expertise. This allows me to use my regional expertise to improve and expand our current services and products and make sure it meets our customers’ regional needs.
What’s your favorite feature or search to run in Scopus?
I personally like our revamped Author Profile page. The Author analysis tools give you a neat overview of your own and your peers’ general performance. Moreover, the syncing of your ORCID account with your Scopus ID makes the discovery of your peers even easier and more comprehensive.
What do you do in your free time?
Aside from plotting to take over the free world I do enjoy the occasional karaoke, not that I’m a particular good singer au contraire, but in the end it’s about the effort that counts…right?