What can we achieve together?
I'm a software systems generalist with over 25 years' experience of delivering software systems using the best techniques to achieve repeated success. I have been an independent consultant since 2000.
I like to build and support software systems for businesses. This might take a variety of forms: perhaps diagnosing and sorting out operational issues; building software for new business requirements; auditing the status quo; or manoeuvring systems into the state that better suit the business needs.
My skills are broad, encompassing business process analysis, operations analysis, project management, team leading, system design, database design, and programming. I believe that solid, up to date, hands-on technical skills are essential for every member of the information technology team, up to and including the CTO. To that end, I'm currently happy developing in ruby with sinatra, haml, sass, and markdown running on nginx, or with node.js in coffescript, and my sysadmin/devops skills aren't too shabby either.
I tend toward agile principles, particularly the tools and practices supporting testing and continuous integration and deployment. In particular, their ability to support the creation of defect-free software. Agile practices help deliver better quality software faster, and significantly reduce maintenance costs. In turn, this enables the business to plan its activities with greater confidence; to confidently get new products to market and add features to existing products; and thus drive up customer satisfaction.
Otherwise, I am a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a Chartered IT Professional (CITP), and a Member of the British Computer Society (MBCS). I have a BSc in Mathematics and a MSc in Information Technology, where my thesis was on measurements within the systems' development life cycle. I have also written a couple of books about computer-based music production.
At our first meeting, which I am happy to provide without charge, I need to fully grasp the changes you have envisioned and understand the additional value that they will bring to your business. Before visiting, I will have talked to your team who are driving change, to bring me up to speed on the issues at hand, and you current ideas and plans. This will allow me to focus my own thoughts before meeting you, and how I can add value to your process.