Can you give us a bit of a bio – a quick summary of where you have worked, and what your role is at Digital Wonderlab?
I'm Technical Director at Digital Wonderlab, I head up the development team making sure the applications the design team create, function to their full potential and introduce the right tech at the right time. I am one of the founding members so have been here from the start when myself and Nathan had the idea back at university to create a web company that produced not just good looking but functional applications.
Why, when and how did you get interested in software development?
I have always been interested in software development, from building games on my old Amstrad CPC 464 back in the 80's through to creating complex applications using a range of technologies and now more so, leading a team of top notch developers producing quality end products for some well known clients.
Tell us about your approach, how do you juggle all the development work coming into the Wonderlab?
I am usually involved early in the discovery phase, which I really enjoy, helping to shape ideas and ensuring we identify the best solution to the problems presented to us. From there I am deeply involved in helping build technical solutions whilst overseeing the many projects our developers are working on, helping them to approach any problem 'eyes wide open' and ensuring we take the time to 'craft with purpose'.
What are the types of tools you use day to day?
When in development mode I am deep in the Microsoft Stack, namely; Visual Studio, .Net, SQL and Azure. but more so Microsoft teams which has become my friend, ensuring I always keep connected to my team as well as the clients we work with.
What are your top tips for anyone thinking about a career move into software development?
Start building stuff!... Any idea big or small, start building out a portfolio of work. Anything you can show or talk about with confidence in an interview is great for us.
Try different tech: are you a front end framework guru or back-end code master, you will only know by rolling up your sleeves and trying different technologies.
I would suggest anyone interested in software development start looking at Blazor for front end and DotNetCore for back end development.
What’s your favourite bit of tech that you cannot live without?
I guess I'm like most and would have to say my phone. From keeping up with emails, checking the weather to playing the latest mobile game fad, it is (rightly or wrongly) probably the first thing I look at in the morning and the last thing I look at, at night!
What is your most recent client project that you are proud of - for how they put the user front and centre?
Recently working on a great project for Effervescent - Lonely not alone, a great campaign to get young people talking about and sharing their experiences, as well as using some cool tech in the 3d modelling space and connecting to 3rd party audio services. This project is in full flow so come back soon to see what a great example of 'Technology for Good' we have been working on with Effervescent and the Tech we used to achieve this.
