Introduction
This site gives an overview of some of my work on web, mobile and desktop applications. These projects have involved a combination of software development and user experience design across a range of industries.
Throughout my work, I bring together 3 complementary abilities:
- Understanding users' goals
- Creative design
- Software development skills
Understanding Users Goals
Most modern software companies apply generic usability principles and guidelines during product development. To deliver superior usability we also need to build software that supports users' goals. These goals are not generic, they are specific to different industries and jobs. Talking to users and observing them in their real working environments allows us to understand their goals and needs and to design screens and workflows which support those.
Creative Design
When we start work on a new product or feature we may have a legacy product we are replacing or feature requests from users. At this point, many software companies miss an opportunity to design a solution that would give them a competitive advantage. Re-implementing a legacy product in a new technology is a wasted opportunity. Adding features without understanding how they fit into a workflow that supports the users' goals can make a product harder to use. Instead, we can take the opportunity to consider alternative designs. Inspiration can come from different industries or products, challenging constraints and assumptions and looking at the issue from different viewpoints.
Software Development Skills
As a pragmatic programmer, I prefer programming languages, tools and libraries that allow me to focus brain power on solving problems for customers. I keep up with new technologies and I enjoy continuous learning, but I choose languages and libraries that meet the needs of the current project.
I have developed web, desktop, mobile, Android, iOS and cloud applications using C#, Java, Javascript, Objective C, SQL and numerous related technologies. I also have some experience using Python and Ruby for scripting utilities. I have also tried Scala and I am interested in using other functional programming languages such as Clojure and F#. There is a full list of my skills on the skills page.