Skills and Experience

I have worked in some of the largest organisations in the country and have a wealth of practical, hands on development experience. Aside from development skills, I have been employed in a variety of roles over the years which has left me with a wide-ranging skillset. Previously I have done Support work, Systems Analysis, Graphic Design work and Database Design, plus, while at university I specialised in Network Design.

At one stage of my career I rented 500sq ft of office space in Blackburn, employed several staff and started a development company. I was responsible for the marketing and sales aspect of the business as well as managing projects and working as a technical lead. I gained man-management experience and learned to bid for work, interview, make sales presentations and manage budgets. I've got a natural entrepreneurial flair and take that with me when working with clients.

I have successfully completed projects for:

IBM logo KPMG logo Fujitsu logo Daewoo cars logo Big TV shop logo NHS logo QCL logo GEC Marconi logo Post Office logo Alcatel logo BP logo

Although I am a technical developer, companies rarely hire me just for 'some programming work'. Over the years I have transitioned into a very business oriented Software Development Consultant and my value to others lies in the breadth of my knowledge.

Companies reap the most benefit from me when they utilise my technical skills alongside my business acumen. I do proof of concept work, design new services and undertake lots of online research and reading. I often get involved in strategy and communicate well at board level. Being able to converse effectively with technical and non-technical alike and appreciate others points of view has allowed me to flourish within the corporate environment.

I specialise in software development using Microsoft tools. As technology moves on, I try to keep up, as most true professionals do and I'm currently in the process of building expertise in several key technologies: MVC Framework, Linq, WPF, WCF, WF and Silverlight.

Projects Types worked on

I have worked on a wide variety of project types over the years, these include the following:

  • Windows Forms and WPF
  • Windows Services - Automatic starting services.
  • Web Forms including MVC Framework and Dot Net Nuke
  • Web Services and WCF
  • Reporting - SQL Server Reports and Crystal reports
  • Windows Mobile - PDA and Smartphone
  • Kiosk projects - (C# linked to Flash front end, plus ASP.Net version)
  • Database applications - SQL Server, Oracle, Access
  • Office Applications - Automating Word, Excel and Outlook
  • Installation Projects - CAB and MSI files
  • Mapping solutions - Google Maps, Virtual Earth

Programming

I have been writing code for 11 years now and predominately use C# these days, for almost all my work. However, I have used VB quite extensively in the past, as well as C and C++, Perl, Java and scripting languages like Javascript and VB Script. The other main area of expertise is T-SQL and to a lesser extent PL-SQL, which although not programming languages, are the query languages for SQL Server and Oracle.

Design

I often turn my hand to graphic design and am accomplished with Photoshop. My design skills are employed most often for creating user interfaces (UI's). I have purchased and worked with several UI suites, including those from Telerik, Infragistics, Resco and ComponentOne and with the source code that's sold with components, I am able to derive my own variations, to suit specific needs.

Architecture

I have considerable experience designing software systems and am comfortable using MS Visio and the Unified Modelling language (UML). I also am adept with MS Project and Gantt charts.

Patterns and Practices

I use Design Patterns and Best Practices where ever it makes sense and have read several excellent books on the subject. I often use the Microsoft Enterprise Library and especially the Logging and Exception Handling Applications Block.

I have made good use of the 'Factory Method', Composite and Decorator patterns, amongst others.

Utilities

I use many productivity tools in my quest to become as efficient as possible. The main ones are: Altova's XML Spy, Developer Express's CodeRush and Refactor Pro. Essential in every developers arsenal these days is the excellent LLBL Gen Pro ORM tool for generating business entities. I've made good use of this on several occasions, although I also like Linq to SQL.



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