The Modern .NET Core Show

I produce, record, and host two podcasts (and co-host a third) covering several topics. This requires me to plan topics, schedule time to record them, arrange for interviews and guests, and produce and maintain several web applications for them.

The .NET Core podcast (https://dotnetcore.show) covers a wide range of topics related to the "core" technologies, interview prominent community members and reached an engaged audience in the tens of thousands - see https://dotnetcore.show/press-kit/ for the latest audience statistics.

Tabs & Spaces is a podcast which presents a "pub chat"-like conversation. The three hosts (Zac Braddy, James Studdart, and myself) talk about the aspects of software development that aren't as technology-specific. Previous topics have been: interviewing, office politics, the lies that we tell to ourselves and others, whether you should learn the latest technologies, etc.

The Waffling Taylors podcast is a podcast about video gaming, the industry around it, and some of the developers who are changing how we experience video games (and related entertainment) daily. It has been a long-held belief for mine that video game development can be one of the most challenging arenas for developers to work in, and my interviews for this show prove it as they get to the details of what it is like to be a games developer in the 21st century.

Producer and Host

Williams F1

I was engaged by Williams Racing to work solo on a project which had encountered a number of serious challenges in relation to both code quality and release cadence. The code base for this project was first written almost half a decade prior to my working on it, and had no test coverage; this meant that the long change history was done with almost no assurance that changes wouldn't cause regressions or failures in other areas.

At the start of my time working alongside Williams Racing, I was tasked with getting to grips with the code base - one that very few engineers in the business knew much about. I spent some time documenting how the code worked, adding integration tests for known good inputs and expected outputs, and adding metrics and logging to the project. The metrics and logging were almost as important as the tests and documentation, as there was almost no visibility into which areas of the code base were being used.

"Code which isn't exercised should be exorcised." - Chris Zimmerman of Sucker Punch.

.NET Development Expert

Servita

I was engaged by Servita to augment their existing team on a project which had encountered a number of serious challenges in relation to both code-quality and release cadence. The code base for this project was purchased from a previous supplier, and required reviewing and getting into a running state before any other work could be completed.

At the start of my time working alongside Servita on this project, the code base was not in a running state, and I was the only engineer on the project. I was required to get to grips with a large, complex code base (around 50,000 lines), provide a review of the quality, and get it in a running state within days - which I achieved.

After getting the code base in a running state, my aim was to build a stable DevOps pipeline for the project. This would allow for greatly increase velocity for delivering new features as they were added.

I was also tasked with double-checking the quality of the code that other engineers were providing. This required careful, considerate communication with the other engineers, providing constructive feedback as I went.

Consultant

Packt publishing

I was one of the technical reviewers for Modern Distributed Tracing in .NET, a book which focusses on Open Telemetry and modern .NET, published by Packt.

My work as a technical reviewer has required me to read through chapters of each book and provide feedback on:

- Clarity of the topic being discussed
- Correctness of code samples
- Correctness of technical points raised
- What the reader will learn
- Whether there are points which are not covered in the text

This is a demanding, yet very rewarding position to be in. It requires my communications skills to be at their best, and for me to focus on the correctness and clarity of the technical content.

Although there was one other technical reviewer, I was in charge of reviewing the content in chapters 7 through to 15 - the second half of the book.

Technical Reviewership

I was one of the technical reviewers for the book "Event-driven Microservices Architecture in .NET 7", published by Packt.

My work as a technical reviewer has required me to read through chapters of each book and provide feedback on:

- Clarity of the topic being discussed
- Correctness of code samples
- Correctness of technical points raised
- What the reader will learn
- Whether there are points which are not covered in the text

This is a demanding, yet very rewarding position to be in. It requires my communications skills to be at their best, and for me to focus on the correctness and clarity of the technical content.

Although there was one other technical reviewer, I was in charge of reviewing the content in chapters 5 through to 13 - the majority of the middle of the book.

Odondo

I was engaged by Odondo to join a small team of contractors whose focus was on building onto and maintaining an agency-built Python and React-based application suite.

The application suite required some new features to be added before an in-house team could take over its development and maintenance. This required me to build out several new Web API features (using Python), work with Postgres databases, and build out React-based components (using Atomic design patterns).

The additions to and maintainance of the code base that I worked on where built entirely using Domain-driven Design (requiring a deep understanding on the domain problem that each feature would solve), and Test-driven Development. This ensured that the features I shipped could be relied upon when it was released into the wild.

Logtrade

LogTrade engaged my services to aid in building and maintaining their Internet of Logistics project as I have a proven background in shipping .NET-based solutions and my ability to quickly get a detailed understanding of a project.

I was tasked with the following goals:

- Replace an inefficiently implemented API test framework, written in Python using Robot Framework
- Build an MVP product which would allow their IoL system to create and manage smart contracts, using the latest in .NET technologies
 -Implement an entirely new React application which would be added to an existing suite of React applications

I also consulted on the start of a project which would use GraphQL to allow their clients and customers to utilise their APIs with much more ease. During my time working alongside LogTrade, it was decided that the GraphQL project would be temporarily shelved.

Disruptive Global Logistics Project

SAGE

SAGE Publishing engaged me on a contract to build an MVP for a data-mining application for their entire corpus of published literature.

The project consisted of working alongside a React developer and a data scientist to build a WebAPI project (using .NET Core 3.0). This Web API was hosted within a multi-application docker compose based application network with both the React application and a Python execution engine.

Working with the React developer, we created a system which allowed the user to drag and drop components which represented data science operations to build up a script to run on a sub-set of the SAGE Publising literary corpora.

Disruptive Social Sciences Project

Full stack development in a range of technologies

Software development

Lexis Nexis

Lead a team of 15 during the decommissioning of and old mainframe by a completely new react application, on top of .Net core.

Rewriting of legacy applications while preserving integration with existing systems. Discovered and applied domain boundaries for different solutions, delivered solutions that are modern, easy to understand and made for the cloud
Teams’ actions lead to a substantial increase of NPS and frequent positive feedback from customers.

Tolley Library

Led team in replacing and old mainframe application with a fresh .Net core, react based system, with better domain boundaries. 
Successfully adopted continuous delivery, with several daily deployments to production, backed by a suite of automated tests and monitoring.

Tolley Guidance

Valtech

Delivered a new EpiServer based site to DeLonghi and Kenwood on time and on budget.
Managed overall systems’ architecture while keeping a clean code. Improved test coverage from 45% to 70%.
Applied a functional DevOps approach using VSTS for Continuous Integration with SonarQube and Selenium.
Used EpiServer CMS, Commerce and Find. Upgraded older EpiServer 9 codebases.


DeLonghi and Kenwood main website

Leadership, Agile adoption, C# Services

Verbera

iOS and Android apps to measure and compare voice characteristics including depth. Developed in Xamarin. Built and deployed using App Center.

Vocular

Cloud Architecture & Development Services

Vakifbank LTD/Turkey

Involved the Vakifbank VIT (Vakifbank Innovative Transformation) core banking system transformation from mainframe systems into distributed systems. Redesigned the existing payment system which integrated with more than 500 payment companies (electric, water, gas, university, tax) into a dynamic payment system, including multiple payment types (credit card, debit card, cash) via all payment channels (internet, mobile banking, branch, ATM). Integrated direct debit system for regular payments. The system has the capability to handle 1M transactions, multithreaded at a single run with improved performance and efficiency. Participated in recruiting activities. Improvements were made using WPF, WCF, C#.NET, .NET Core, Oracle, MVVM, MVC, TFS, ALM.

Core Payment System

Teknoritma Software Services LTD

Managed the digital transformation for this leading provider of technology solutions for the healthcare sector. Moved core data, converted content as necessary, and mitigated risks. Improvements were made using C#.NET, .NET Core, Angular, Power Designer, MVC, SQL Server. 

Hospital Integrations

Acute Art

- Create an interface to streamline app use with Angular 11
- Maintain existing code while developing new features

Full Stack .NET Developer

HITZone Hove

Developed the user training and follow-up system by integrating the KPI and performance analysis for the members and improvement progress charts.

User training and follow-up system

FirstRate Exchange Services

- Developed the new mobile middleware with the Post Office with integrating the current money exchange operations and added new features in 4 months.
- Implemented new features, resolved performance bugs and improved the app fabric cache performance of the main system for the Post Office Travel Money Card / Travel Money Order / JLP Money Exchange / Santander Money Exchange and Bank of Ireland Money Exchange systems.
- Implemented the new transformation of the back office, branch data management, stock management and reference data management, stock data management and rates data management systems.

Expert, freelance .NET engineers