Throughout 2025, supported by many people involved with our work, it became a year filled with challenges and learning. In this article, we briefly look back on what we worked on over the year and the insights we gained along the way.
A Year of Improving Decision-Making Precision
In 2025, across product development, contract development, and organizational management, the focus shifted from simply “building” things to being constantly questioned on how we design and how we make decisions. Technically, advances in AI significantly expanded development speed and available options. At the same time, however, the importance of deciding what to build and where to invest time and resources felt greater than ever.
Product Development and Technology Selection
This year, while exploring multiple ideas for in-house products, we deliberately avoided increasing the number indiscriminately. Instead, we spent substantial time organizing structural design and clarifying technical assumptions. In particular, we emphasized designs that are easy to extend in the future, such as AI-driven document management, multilingual support, and handling structured data. From this process, we began experimenting with several products that directly reflect our own internal challenges, and we continue to iterate on them.
Rethinking “The Mythical Man-Month” Through Large-Scale Projects
We were fortunate to participate in projects of a scale we had never experienced before, which also meant facing many challenges in team management and stakeholder coordination. During this time, I reread The Mythical Man-Month, a classic published more than 50 years ago, and was reminded of how insightful it remains. While I will not go into the details here, the book reaffirmed how the increase in communication costs that comes with adding people is often underestimated in business. It also became an opportunity to reflect on some of the structural issues within Japan’s IT industry.
Organization and Process
While our team had largely operated in a fully remote setup, this year we welcomed more members to Sapporo, where our headquarters is located. We have clearly felt the impact of face-to-face, real-time communication. The ability to talk immediately and make decisions on the spot still carries significant business value. At the same time, we worked on improving documentation, asynchronous communication, and clarifying the roles required within the team. Beyond individual skills, how we elevate the quality of information sharing and decision-making across the organization remains a key theme for our future growth.
In 2025, with the support of our team members, clients, and partners who collaborate with us every day, we were able to make it through the year. I feel that it was the ongoing dialogue and mutual trust that allowed us to continue making positive, forward-looking decisions. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude.
In 2026 as well, we will continue to face sincere craftsmanship and value creation with care and commitment.
