CURRICULUM VITAE
Introduction
I am an excellent (knowledgeable, experienced, versatile) software engineer, and have worked in a number of languages and databases and in a number of different industries. I am mostly involved in financial related systems due to the fact that I have a Computer Science Degree and MBA and understand how financial software integrates with finance. I have developed complex systems and solved immense problems. I believe in bug free software development and rate myself on how many times I am called out with bug fix requests compared with new requests. I have had a number of systems running for years without any changes required.
One particularly memorable project had a
team of 15 people working on it. I was called in as they were stuck with a complex financial problem. After a day of
meetings and another day of trying to solve the problem, I asked the Project Manager if I could try a new approach. He
said "try anything." Within a few days I found a new approach that was based on "first principals" in accounting using
simple T-accounts in a PowerPoint presentation to show how the complex issues could be solved. After this I was on
the team and helped develop a successful loyalty program for one of my client's clients.
I enjoy statistical analysis and reporting. I have speedup up large systems and found innovative ways of working that reduce
my clients' costs because of my ethos of "working to make myself redundant." I am so successful at this that my clients keep
asking me to do more and more work for them. I believe that bug free software is possible as a scientist with a 4 year
Computer Science Honours Degree and a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA), I know that software should be a
science, not simply an art.
I look forward to meeting you and working with you. Here follows my "CV Proper."
CV
My Power Station: Software Development
Every complex process is made up of a sequence of simple steps.
My job is to find those simple steps and thereby make your lives easier.
I believe that bug free software is possible and make my mission to deliver it to you in
the shortest possible time and at the best price.
If I can find ways to save you money even if it means that I will have less work,
then I will do this. In the past this has always meant more work for me at my clients as they love it when I save them money.
Click here to find out more
My special and unique abilities:
1) 'Active Listening'. Listening and communicating in my client's language by
understanding their environment and jargon and using my wide, yet detailed understanding
of software development, supplemented with my Computer Science Honours Degree and MBA to deliver
the right information technology solutions on time and at the right cost;
2) Quickly assimilating and understanding various clients systems and needs and solving problems
quickly, on time and at the least cost;
3) A mixture of factory/operations management and understanding; accounting; production management;
corporate processes, software development
(full life cycle); project management; liasing with staff at all levels. This gives me a unique ability to
be able to understand the client's staff's requirements and to quickly
translate this into IT and IS processes;
4) I work to make myself redundant.
Residence: Cape Town, South Africa
Cell: 074-119-3246; Information Request
My Power Station (formerly Orbital Decisions);
Information Systems and SSEG Energy Consultancy, Cape Town, South Africa
Aug 1995 to Current; Positions: Owner, Software Engineer, Energy Expert.
See What We Do for a quick summary of David' activities.
Achievements
- Since November 1994: Successfully running Orbital Decisions renamed My Power Station Technology in 2011.
- Programmer with "full-house" experience.
- Oracle PL/SQL (since 1993) - Longest PL/SQL Package over 4000 lines.
- Problem Solving and Performance Improvements in a Textile Factory and in a Plastics
Factory.
- Stock Control, Stock Tracking, Warehouse Management and Production
Management Systems Specialist (since Aug 1995).
- Incentive & Loyalty Programs & Call Centre Programming (since Nov 1997).
- Very advanced Accounting Systems; ie multi-company,
multi-currency, multi-open-year, project-based, multi-user,
umbrella (central) banking (since Nov 1990).
- Database, Client / Server and Networks (since 1986).
- Database/Software Design using SSADM; ERWin; Oracle Designer, etc (as required since 1990).
- Object Design using ModelMaker (since 2002).
- Oracle Database Specialist: incl ERD; PL/SQL; TOAD; Optimising large systems (over 20 million records in biggest table) (since 1993).
- Interbase Database Specialist (since 1995).
- Programmer (since 1983).
- Worked on computers since 1979. Started on an Apple IIc with a ZX80 Card running CPM, Basic, Turbo Pascal and WordStar.
- MBA at Cranfield University, England: 1992.
- Vrede Textiles: Full Production Management Systems Development.
All objectives of writing the system met. Minimal support required.
- Achievement Awards: Call Centre system
designed and written; various incentive awards and loyalty campaigns written
and maintained including providing transfers between mainframe and PC based systems,
Internet connectivity, points calculations, sprints, statistical analysis and
graphs, etc.
Incentive and Loyalty systems that I have worked on include Ackermans, ABSA, and Caltex.
I am currently working on the following incentive and loyalty projects:
BATSA Vecta; BATSA Shosholoza; Financial Processes for Sanlam Loyalty Campaign;
Debit Card Project; SAB (South African Breweries) Related Projects: eg Back The Boks (Rugby) Soccer Millions, Hansa Board Member, Dreher Launch;
Toyota Rush; Autocarriers Auto Heroes. Systems are written using Delphi and Oracle.
- Achievement Awards:
Rewrote: Debtors Invoicing System; Cash Book Receipts System;
Creditors Invoicing System; Cash Book Payments System; Integrated these systems with
AccPac with direct posting into AccPac, not by using Exports and Imports.
- Achievement Awards:
Project Management System developed using: Microsoft Project, Oracle, Delphi, VBA, OLE, ODBC.
The multi-project, multi-resource, multi-user system allows project managers to create their projects
and resources to look at their tasks and update them without loading a project in Microsoft Project. Achievement Awards
have added Costing, Scheduling and Time And Billing programs to this project. We also do things like Archiving all or
parts of the Microsoft Project projects to speed up the system as well as creating new Resource Sheets to speed up the system.
- Mentoring a number of organisations (including Cape Town Council; University of the Western Cape;
Peninsula Technicon) on using Oracle products including the Oracle Database,
Oracle Designer, Oracle PL/SQL Web Toolkit and Oracle 9iAs in conjunction with
LeANO Technologies.
- Consultancy, Contracting and Training for a number of companies including:
Stodels
who required their stock control systems to be synchronised and redundancy removed;
USABCO where a stock taking, stock tracking and
warehouse management system is in operation. It was written and implemented using
Delphi, Oracle, JD Edwards and Psion Scanners. It required 4 hours maintenance in total in 2002 and 2003;
Dimension Data
who required a ReportSmith Training Course be prepared and given in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania;
TBA
(Thoroughbred Breeding Association) who required their catalogue system to be rewritten
and ported from Paradox to Delphi and Interbase.
Racing Manager who required a specialised accounting
and invoicing system for horse owners and managers.
- Networks: Full installation for Vrede Textiles; consultancy for some other companies.
- Computer Sales to more than 50 clients. Some of this work included Network Design, Optimisation, Windows Servers,
Linux Servers, Email Gateways, Firewalls, Routing, etc.
Previous Work History
Orbital Decisions, London, England: Nov 1994 to Jul 1995
- 9 clients including support to 3 ship management companies.
Moore Stephens Chartered Accountants, London, England: Nov 1990 to Nov 1994
- Development, maintenance, project management, implementation, system administration of a shipping accounting system in Informix on Unix, Novell, Windows, DOS and OS/2. Integration of Unix and Novell networks. Client and Staff Management. Working in or supporting: British, Greek, Italian, Turkish, Swiss and CIS clients.
Trace Computers PLC, London, England: Feb 1989 to Oct 1990
- EPOS and Mortgage systems development. System Attributes: client-server; distributed databases; connections to legacy mainframe systems. Conceptual and Technical Specifications. Worked on Unisys B20 to B39 range on ADS, Pascal and in teams of between 2 and 12 people.
- Suggested that project teams be sent to clients for a day near the start of the project to learn the clients' systems first hand so that the right bug-free systems can be delivered on time. This idea was implemented. Since then I have recommended this to every software development company I have worked with and where possible it has been implemented.
Jan 1987 to Jun 1989: Contracting in England, South Africa and Australia including managing a multi-site Unix and DOS system. Systems incl: investment management; production planning
Tertiary Education
Dec. 1985: B Sc Computer Science - University of Cape Town
Dec. 1986: B Sc (Hons) - Rhodes University: Wrote a wages system that is still in use
Dec. 1992: MBA - Cranfield School of Management
June 1996: Textile Certificate Course - Cape Technion.
Other Certificates
Oracle Designer 6i First Class
Oracle 9iAS Develop Web-Based Applications with PL/SQL and the Web PL/SQL Toolkit
D-Link Training Academy 2002
Testimonials
Achievement Awards Finance Department
Some Personal Achievements
