Profile

Available for Work

I am currently available for a permanent part time role or contract work in Melbourne (or anywhere in Australia or the world, remotely). Please have a look at my professional profile on LinkedIn and contact me if you would like to chat about working with  me. My contact details are on the right of this page.

Currently Working On…

• A full online Help System built on the Confluence platform. Full of challenges and great fun learning how to tweak Confluence.
• A Salesforce implementation for a Not for Profit client – I’m loving learning Salseforce – it’s a great product, and so powerful as to what it can do to revolutionise the business.
• A Microsoft xRM design and implementation for a corporate client. It’s interesting seeing the similarities and differences between Salesforce and MSCRM and the different requirements for a corporate vs a NFP client.
• A Highrise implementation / training for a small business. Highrise is a great product for small businesses as it’s cheap and gets them focussed on the methodology of customer relationship management.
• A web presence for a small community group (hence lots of blogging about great tools that are free or cheap.

What I do Well

I am a business analyst specialising in helping businesses to get the most out of the technology they use. I love working with Microsoft Products like SharePoint, SQL Server, CRM and Office, and integrating the systems to fit the business. I also love working with other great Apps like Confluence, Jira, Salesforce, WordPress, Business Catalyst, Highrise, Selenium – basically any App or service that helps improve business productivity.

As I learn new things very quickly, and am a generalist in the IT space, I have often found myself in the situation where my clients are paying me to learn about a new App, product or service for them. That way, I can learn all about the App, and then help the business to implement the App specifically for their business. It is a win-win – the business gets an App implemented specifically for them, with the features that they need, and not just what the external vendor is selling, and I get to learn new things, and then hopefully pass my skills on in the future. I am happiest with my work when I’m learning something new, or problem solving for my clients.

Some of my skills are:

• Analysis of systems and procedures within the organisation to identify where systems can be improved or streamlined to increase productivity and profitability.
• Analysis across the different departments of the company to identify where the gaps are in the systems.
• Implementing Production, profitability and other KPI reporting from line of business systems to executive and making the reporting process more streamlined, accurate and timely.
• Utilising existing tools and resources within the company to enhance systems and procedures in a cost effective way.
• Technical research, vendor liaison, selection and comparison and independent analysis of the organisation’s requirements.

I am also passionate about the Web. With the excellent web based CMS platforms that are available now, even the smallest business can have a nice looking and effective web presence without spending a fortune. Please have a look at my Portfolio page to see some of the websites that I have helped to build.

My background is in Construction (yes, I am a qualified builder) and even though I have progressed my career more into the IT and Systems side, I am still very interested in all things related to Building and Construction and especially the use of new technologies in Construction.

My Personal Attributes

• A high level of attention to detail.
• Self motivated and organised.
• Extremely loyal and trustworthy.
• A willingness to share what I have learned.
• Passionate about my work.
• A good teacher and good at explaining technical details.
• Interested in learning.
• Good business acumen.
• An analytical mindset.

Please see what others have said about me on the recommendations on my LinkedIn profile.

Professional Networking

I love going to networking and professional events and usually end up helping out or organising events in some way, shape or form.

• Co-Founder of Be2Camp – promoting the use of Technology for Construction and the Built Environment. Wee www.be2camp.com.
• Co-Organiser of the Sydney Business and Technology User Group. See www.sbtug.com.
• Un-Organiser of BarCamp Sydney for the past few events.
• Co-Organiser of Girl Geek Dinners Sydney.
• Have previously regularly attend a number of Sydney User Groups.  Although user groups seem to have diminished in popularity lately. Groups I attended include:
  • SharePoint Sydney User Group
  • .Net User Group
  • Sydney Mobile User Group
  • Sydney Windows User Group
  • Alt.Net User Group
  • SQL Server User Group
• Active in community associations for Underwater Hockey and Feldenkrais.

I try to improve my public speaking abilities by regularly speaking at user groups and events. I always try to blog about them here, and my presentations are put up on SlideShare. Some speaking topics have included.

• Selenium Automated Web Testing at SBTUG, Alt.Net UG and for a private company.
• Microsoft Office Live at Sydney Windows User Group
• Mobile Phone Review at Sydney Mobile User Group
• Google Wave at SBTUG
• Confluence and SharePoint Wikis at SBTUG