I am English, turned kiwi (New Zealander), turned English with a love of personal accountability and growth. I've lived and worked in three countries, spent about 20 years in various forms of customer-support/service and self-studied Swift; all before I came to Makers to learn software/web development. I love people and ultimately, that's what tech is all about - done well, it takes the best of humanity and enables us to do/be more of what makes us great.
I have a heavily analytical mind with a people focus. I have learned a lot about people, both through interaction and personal study - they facinate and inspire me. I have led basic coding workshops and did basic troubleshooting while working at Apple (Westfield - London) and have been 'the IT guy' ("did you try turning it off and on again?") for friends, family and colleagues for, well...ever since I can remember. I love to help.
| PROJECT | SUMMARY | TECHNOLOGIES & LANGUAGES |
|---|---|---|
| Bullseye | A simple slider game built with SwiftUI | Swift (SwiftUI) |
| PostBox | A web app that allows you to create digital care packages to send to friends and family. You can add images, gifs and youtube video links to the packages and even use pre-made packages as starting points. This is the 'final' project built during weeks 11 & 12(/12) of the Makers Academy course. | Javascript, CSS, HTML, Ruby, PostgreSQL, ActiveRecord, RSpec, Capybara |
| MakersBnB | A clone of a well-known website that allows users to sign up, sign in, and register and list spaces to rent. Built during week 6 of the Makers Academy course. | Javascript, CSS, HTML, Ruby, PostgreSQL, ActiveRecord, RSpec, Capybara |
| Acebook | A clone of a well-known website that allows users to sign up, sign in, write posts and comment on them. Built during weeks 8 & 9 of the Makers Academy course. | Ruby, Rails, PostgreSQL, ActiveRecord, RSpec, Capybara |
- I have often been behind the organisation (or re-organisation) of systems and process at previous workplaces. I usually create processes and write procedural documentation for them as I go. My handover to whomever I train to replace me is always as smooth and stress-free as I can make it - they often receive a small folder detailing what I do and how to do it.
- During my time at Notting Hill Housing Group I wrote a basic user manual (colour-coded and with images) for a group of new users. I also reorganised the property key storage procedures, making them simpler, more efficient and more secure. During my time at Enjoy Technology I helped create some of the training material for UK Experts, created basic processes for tracking new phones and uniform when we first started and lead workshops on optimisation/tweaking of 'Pre-Visit communication'.
- I have had the priviledge of working for a couple of companies with amazing values - these stand-outs being Apple and Enjoy. I love being involved in working out how we can best serve our customers in a realistic, responsible and sustainable way.
- I was one of the training leads at both Apple and Enjoy with a focus both on company culture and logistical role related processes. At Enjoy I changed the structure of 'Pre-Visit communication' at Enjoy to maximise both the Expert and customer enjoyment and safety.
Even before I knew what UX was, I loved the idea of it. How do you make something easy, simple, accessible and useful all at the same time. I have been dealing with UX concerns in the physical world from the time I worked at McDonalds and during my times at Apple and Enjoy.
- At Enjoy I went on to gain digital, hands-on experience in helping to create and iterate on product training for new Experts and Captains. This allowed me to use the awareness I had gained previously in a new way I thoroughly enjoy. In the end, it's mostly about removing anything that impedes direct access to what the user needs/wants; KISS (Keep It Stratregically Simple).
- OOP, TDD, MVC, DDD
- Agile/XP
- Ruby, Rails, JavaScript
- RSpec, Jasmine
- Diploma in Massage Therapy (December 2010 to August 2011)
- A1 Assessing certificate (Aug 2009 to February 2010)
- City and Guilds Application of Number - Mathematics Level 2 (May 2009 to December 2009)
- City and Guilds Application of Number - English Level 2 (May 2009 to December 2009)
Enjoy Technology (April 2018 to January 2020)
Expert
- Enriching and improving customers’ lives, while exceeding customer satisfaction and sales objectives, by offering personalised solutions in each visit experience. What does this mean? Listening to people and helping them get the most from their new device/s.
Apple (June 2015 to April 2018)
Specialist
- Excelling at uncovering customers’ needs, then following through with enlightening solutions. Similar to my job at Enjoy, it was all about people, curiosity and tech.
- Gaming (streaming and mobile gaming)
- Reading (science-fiction/fantasy mostly)
- Board games (nope, not Monopoly or Chess - much better than those)
- Personal development (with a special focus on interpersonal communication and relating)
- Coding (yes, it's a job but I love to learn)