Short Answer
Web & database analyst developer/ Scrum Master with a focus on Microsoft technologies and 30+ years experience in the field. Only interested in remote, part-time work (maximum 3 days per week PTE).
Longer Answer
My primary work of the last 3+ years had been as a part-time contract analyst developer with a focus on .NET, SQL Server and Azure. This contract ended
recently and I am in no great rush to find other significant employment given I have a long work and non-work to do list waiting for me. One item on that
list was updating the content of this website - ✔. Another will be updating the implementation! If you have a potentially interesting project for me, however, let me know.
Immediately previously I worked as a permie, part-time, largely remote Scrum Master / Team Leader for what was effectively a .NET software house focussed
on an Azure hosted SaaS product. I was recruited as a lead developer but it quickly became apparent that my wider skillset was required to help improve
development patterns and practices.
I continue supporting existing clients of my company, Propona. Up until about 9 years ago I spent my working time capturing requirements for,
architecting, developing and supporting software solutions on behalf of clients via Propona, of which I was and continue to be a director. 15+ years
ago Propona was a software house with a team of upwards of 10 but Propona operations dwindled as the directors identified that it was easier to make
money elsewhere! I stuck at it for the longest and this had one key benefit - it enabled me to do more purely technical work rather than spending time
on other company matters, from managing the team of developers to writing tenders that mostly went nowhere (I blame the deficiencies of public sector
procurement). I was involved with almost all of Propona's projects to a variety of degrees and in a variety of capacities, from UX design to project
management. See the portfolio
for examples of Propona's projects over the years. On the technology front I'm still basically a 'web guy' on the Microsoft stack (ASP.NET/ SQLServer)
though have worked with related technologies along the way, as you'd expect.
A few work related facts:
- I used to enjoy writing technical articles - I haven't made the time to continue this activity in recent years but would be something I would be interested in resurrecting.
- I used to make the effort to jump through the Microsoft certification hoops so have done *lots* of exams but am not overly bothered about catching up at this stage of my career.
- I've been told I'm pretty good at requirements analysis, which remains the most important part of the project lifecycle, so that's good.
- With the relatively recent widescale interest in AI, big data, data science and machine learning, which is largely remarketing of old concepts, I feel I should probably be doing more
with the skills and knowledge developed through my Ph.D, which was in these areas.
- Recent projects have been a mix of ASP.NET (MVC, Blazor, web API and yes, still some web forms) and SQL Server with Azure as the platform, so a fair bit of devops as well as team leading
and Scrum Master responsibilities. I've been mostly working in business & data layers rather than with front end code recently, but I come from a web design background though those skills are rusty!
- I’m interested in ‘tech for good’ – using technology to improve lives and build a sustainable future rather than making more money for the billionaires with more £s (or $s) than sense. Spare me the
latest fintech wheeze, please. Or, worse, any industries that are more actively detrimental to society. In a similar vein, I'm interested in employment options away from IT that overlap with my
interests and experience and improving society, e.g. Welsh language/ identity and active travel.
Looking For
So if you have a project that might be up my street please try me. To re-iterate, I'm not interested in working 9-5 in an office. Depending on the type of work you'll
need to be happy with x working days of my time per month, 100% working remotely or with the occasional onsite visit in Cardiff only.