In the first quarter of 2018 I stepped back from the comfort of my full time role at a medium sized software development agency to take on a new challenge.

The proverb ‘A change is as good as a rest‘ is one I’ve quoted regularly to colleagues, friends and family during my career in the tech industry, and once again it proves itself to be true.

As 2018 draws to a close and 2019 is almost upon us, I’m looking to continue building new relationships which allow focus on my strengths supporting development teams with productivity and well-being. Especially those struggling to sell or deliver agile projects, or suffering with capacity issues and challenged by the onboarding process of juniors or inexperienced new starters.

Although now more broadly experienced, my history started with freelance development shortly before the millennium, and software—web and mobile and cloud—have been regular focuses of my time ever since.

In recent years I’ve been a teacher of web best practice, Scrum Product Owner, line manager and mentor to those in development teams, and this ability to see projects and priorities from both the business and delivery angles, while supporting the actual nuts and bolts development work, puts me in a bit of a niche position when it comes to helping teams be great.

What I’m looking for in 2019:

I’m now looking to spend more time focusing on the following areas and would love to hear from you if you’re looking for support personally, with your business or to help your team be happier, better and more productive:

• Improving agile teams – Working with development teams and their managers to implement or improve agile processes. This includes the client facing aspects, the estimation struggle, the software itself, building velocity and ultimately helping the team enjoy the challenge of creating more value in the same amount of time.
• Getting immediate value from new starters – Mentoring juniors and inexperienced new starters using pair coding, code review and coaching to build their confidence, autonomy and consistency, as part of a larger team. This allows an immediate growth in development capacity from the early days of a new hire.
• Consultancy – Advising on and implementing process and technology strategy. Making people the best they can be through management and developer coaching and mentoring. Creating better outcomes with product management, agile and business process support.
• Speaking – Taking a spot on diverse tech panels. Speaking to groups about small business advice, the technology landscape, diversity & inclusion challenges, developer wellness and development topics.
• Product and service design – Helping ensure that when you have an idea or a client requirement, your first steps aren’t in the wrong direction.
• Non-exec / board chair roles – Offering regular support to your board have better meetings, make data based business decisions and accountability for actions.

If you’d like to get in touch, you can find me on LinkedIn or Twitter.

If you’d like to know the full story, check out my review of 2018