About Dave

I'm a veteran Software Developer, Agile Coach, Speaker & Manager who has been at this software thing since the 80's. I have a deep interest in the human factors involved in the effective delivery of software that delights its customers, and in promoting practices that make the work environment more effective, humane and fun. More than 40 years after I solved my first real-world problem on an Apple ][, I still enjoy getting my hands dirty by writing code!

How I approach the work

I believe difficult software problems are rarely solved by adding more process, more tools, or more code. They're solved by understanding what's actually happening, making the work visible, and improving the system one careful step at a time.

I work alongside or embedded within teams to help make code safer to change, provide feedback sooner, collaborate better, and make delivery more predictable. That often means building automated tests around fragile behaviour, refactoring without losing sight of business needs, reducing unnecessary work in progress, and helping people make better technical decisions together.

I use tools, including LLMs, to accelerate understanding and learning, not to replace judgement. Generated code still needs tests, review, clear intent, and someone experienced enough to recognise when a plausible answer is the wrong one.

My aim isn't to make teams dependent on me. It's to help them develop the confidence, practices, and shared understanding to solve these problems themselves.

First, we make the work safer.

Then, we make it better.

If this resonates, I'd like to hear about your situation.

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