Background and Experience are Important!

[administrator]

Because it matters and you should be able to have confidence in your business relationships as well as know a little something about them, I am posting my work career resume for your perusal. Also, from the last "rescue mission" I made to introduce this service to Boonex "stranded" aeDating Owners and Operator, I got a few, "So, who is AllAboutDatingSites, anyone knows?" I hope this explanation will help to resolve that anonymity issue for that entire question. From reviewing the following information about me and this service, you will be able to get a good feel for who I am, what I am all about and what the goals and objectives are for AllAboutDatingSites. I sincerely hope you will gain some level of confidence in me from reviewing my credentials and a better understanding of what you can expect from me in terms of professionalism and business savvy. Also I would like to fill in some of the blanks about how this site evolved and where I expect it to go in the future.

Like many of the visitors to this site, I got involved in Dating Software as a part time activity, first because I am interested in helping people find each other in a rapidly changing, fast paced internet environment. Secondly, as you can plainly see from my resume, I am a bit of a technology addict and have been for most of my adult life. So, after purchasing the aeDating software and license, the first step was to rip it apart and see how it works. Frankly, I purchased the aeDating Software because I did not want to recreate the wheel and write my own dating software if one was already done (I also told AEWebworks that when I bought the package too!).

As it turns out (and as you probably already know as well if you bought the product), the "already done" was a bit of a pure fantasy, although I did get to "rip it apart" and see how things work. Fortunately, I know/knew enough about PHP and Database programming to make some pretty neat changes to the software to make it more "admin" friendly and do some bug fixes that I thought needed to be done. As anybody that knows me will tell you, I am not afraid to "jump right in" when I need to get something done. Well, diving into the aeDating software was a good news/ bad news situation for me to be sure but the good far outweighed the bad.

Given what aeDating Software is and was at the time, a mainly PHP script isn't that big and certainly not that complicated that you need to do version tracking on it. This and the fact that I never intended to distribute an "AllAboutDatingSites" version of ANY Boonex (formerly AEWebwork) product, I think (and thought at the time) creating a separate Dolphin "CVS" development environment to support it is a bit of "overkill" for the type of work I do on Dating products. The whole idea of taking someone else’s product, fluffing it up with some trivial code changes and redistributing it as for a fee is duplicitous, disingenuous, generally dishonest and probably illegal in terms of licensing and copyright.

I know this bogus technique has been and is being used to scam people into thinking that they are getting a “bug free” version of the product, not to mention getting them to pay for basically the same software that is being distributed by the vendor as free code.

For simplicity, I try to package everything as a MOD with installation instructions and release information. I maintain "default" distributions and "gold" only that I use for file comparisons to see if particular bugs have been fixed. I do track all the bugs I find and the bug fixes I work on as well as all the MODs I do in a Mantis database so they don't get lost but I don't use it as a dishonest marketing ploy as I have seen it used by other providers.

I am a firm believer in the "teach them how to fish" tenet and over the years, I have created and trained a fair number of really good software engineers from people who thought they couldn't do it or didn't know they could. Unfortunately, aeWebwork, now Boonex, does not hold that philosophy and they just want to "fix it" and move on to the next one. People don't learn anything when you do that to them. For me, when ever AED people went on my site to change anything, as soon as they finished, I was doing a file comparison to see what they changed because most of the time, I couldn't get them to tell me what they did either ( I learned a lot from this technique, by the way).

In terms of Technical Support and Customer Satisfaction, I am about as far away from being a newcomer as anyone could imagine. Over half of my professional business career has been working with people in various support environments, from entry level technician to Systems Integration Engineering & Technical Support Management. Very few situations can be presented to me that I have not had some experience with in one form or another and almost all of it "hands on" environments.

Generally, ALL of my sites are a symphony of technologies, using what ever fits the site with what ever technology is available to use. AJAX is the latest "fad" in technology and people are tripping over themselves to deploy it on websites. Well, maybe, but I think the jury is still out and I see some disturbing "side" effects with the way screens get repainted with it that needs to be resolved which is not to say that I don't use it but I do so as prudently and because it is required not because of the marketing hype about it. Unfortunately, I don't think all security issues have been ironed out with its deployment yet. Hell, we are all still trying to work out the issues with PHP and the bad guys!

Although I did take some computer courses in college, I am largely self taught and I learned the AED software the old fashioned "hands on" way and am happy to share that experience with anyone who needs it. I have personally created dozens of MODs for AED and fixed too many bugs to count. I pretty much specialize in integration code changes and bug fixes in AED because I don't see the point to recreating the wheel and certainly I am not going to "rip off" someone else's open source code and plaster my copyright all over it and then hype it as 'new and improved'. THAT is a despicably fraudulent practice on a par with the Nigerian scammers. If I were going to do that I would start from scratch and "do it right" then it would probably be a whole new shape rather than a wheel. One of my current priorities is that I have a real AED Admin Panel user manual that has been completed and posted on one of the forums for his site. I worked on that project for just over a year It is publicly available by on this site. I am working on a Dolphin revision as well.

You are quite unlikely to find "anyone" doing software support work on the internet that has more experience or better credentials than I do, maybe some as good as but none better!

How to describe myself? "This is no lightweight johnny come lately! He has been there, done that and you can trust that he will do what he says he will do!"

My resume follows:

Executive Summary

Self-motivated, results-oriented Software Engineering Manager with more than 25 years experience in the computer field, primarily in Software Development and Quality Assurance Engineering. Strong customer and quality focus in pursuit of engineering excellence. Cost effective, no nonsense approach to problem analysis and resolution. Major strengths, managing, designing and implementing effective Software Quality Assurance, Systems Integration and Software Development organizations. Additional skills in Leadership, Budgeting, Capital Planning, Mentoring and Program Management. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Particularly interested in situations where I can exercise my expertise and enhance my personal knowledge base at the same time.

Managerial Qualifications

* Results oriented. * Exceptionally self motivated.
* Excellent technical skills background. * Persuasive negotiator and Coach.
* Consistently outstanding performer. * Perceptive customer needs assessment skills.
* Excellent organizational development capacity. * Solid analytical talent.
* Strong people motivator and coach. * Excellent team builder.
* Effective communication skills. * Comprehensive process audits.
* Proven concurrent project management ability. * Budget and capital planning.
* Outstanding technical diagnostic ability * Creative problem solver
* Exceptional planning and time management skills. * Innovative process improvement expertise.

Areas of Technical Expertise

Testing Operating Environment Internet Technology Tool Exposure
* Structured Software Testing * WEB Technology * WEB Page Authoring * Visual C++
* Database Testing * Networking Concepts * Javascript Technology * Visual Basic
* Automated Testing * Windows-NT * HTML/DHTML * Visual J++
* DVD storage technology * Disk Imaging * Dreamweaver MX * Flash MX
* Visual Studio Testing * Windows 2000/XP * TCP/IP * Javascript
* Compiler Testing * Open VMS * PERL * MM Actionscript
* Network OS Testing * LINUX * FTP * Video Editing
* Bounds Testing * Virus Control Mgt * Graphic Design * SQL
* Performance Testing * Digital Imaging * Digital Video * HDTV
* Mpeg Technology * NTSC * Content Management * Digital Photography
* Test Plan Development * Storage Technology * CGI scripts * Sybase Testing
* Test Quest IR automation * Terminal Server * Custom Browsers * Segue/Silktest
* Interactive Broadband * Rembo Technology * Streaming Media * Multimedia Concepts
* Firewall (software & hdwe) * Firewire Technology * USB 1.1 & 2.0 * Backup Technology
* AEWebworks Software * Apache Webserver * PHP * MySQL
.
Degree: Harvard University, B.A. US Citizen: Yes

Professional Experience

Independent Consulting Business Related Experience

AllAboutDatingSites.com
Owner / Operator

Was officially launched 11-5 2006. It primary purpose is to provide software support for aeDating Software owners and operators, especially the ones that have been stranded by Boonex.

East-Meet-West-For-Love.com
Owner / Operator

This site is pending launch on Chinese New Years 2007. It will also support Asian and Western Relationships but target 20-30 year old clients.

Dating4Divers.com
Owner / Operator

Launched 2005. This is another AED (heavily modified) site targeted to provided Dating services for the Scuba Diving community.

AELoveLinks.com
Owner / Operator

Launched 2005. An AED site that targets the Over 40 generation. You can not register for this site if you are under 40.

AsiaWestLoveLink.com 2004 - Present
Owner / Operator/AED License Holder

This was the first AEWebworks Customization (heavily customized) project that went live in April of 2004. Since then three other dating sites have been launched, two technical support sites and one or two blog sites. This is a niche market site targeting Asian and Western relationship in a global market.

MyNaturalImpressions.com
Owner / Operator

This site started life as a photo gallery of Nature Stills and is currently a blog that invited radical thinkers to "show their stuff"...

QualityAdvantages.com 1996 - Present
Owner/ Operator

Quality Advantages was established in 1996 but its roots can be traced back to 1995 when the Internet Web Technology really started to heat up. Under the aegis of mcs-trader.com several website development projects were designed, developed and launched using the tools available at the time including Flash, HTML, Javascript and CSS. These sites included Softtwadv.com, MyGallery.com, MyNaturalImpressions, Watch Tower Plaza, Texas Custom Seating, Malden Fire Department, New York Cosmetology Historical Perspectives, United Divers, ScanYourStuff.com, Nauticanet.com and Several Intranet efforts that were done for various departments at Digital Equipment.


Professional Work Experience

ICTV, Inc. 2001 - 2003
Integration Engineering Manager

As a result of a corporate restructuring, in April, 2001, I took responsibility for an integration engineering organization that had lost credibility and was unable to deliver product, never mind on time. The group consisted of Build and Release Management, Integration Engineering, Lab Management, and Engineering Desktop Support. By the end of June, this operation was turned into a well-defined, highly functional and credible engineering group. As a result of this effort, products were consistently delivered on or before target dates, within budget and meeting or exceeding specification requirements unless serious product deficiencies were uncovered during product integration. Provided leadership and credibility to the Integration Engineering organization to enable product deliverables schedules to be met or exceeded. Evaluated, redesigned and redeployed engineering lab to accommodate more development activity using existing equipment and proprietary systems to enable multiple development efforts to be conducted simultaneously without incurring any additional hardware costs. This action resulted in a cost savings of several hundred thousand dollars and improved overall equipment efficiency for the entire development community. Reorganized build process and provided direction to allow for multiple builds to occur weekly (and eventually daily to accommodate product demands). Implemented new bug tracking strategy to identify and resolve defects sooner in the development process to reduce the cost of bug fixing and identify design issues earlier on in the development cycle resulting in major development cost savings due error conditions being discovered sooner in the development cycle. Provided an articulate integration process that was well defined and understood by the development community providing more efficiency and cost savings using same resources to produce more output on time and within budget. Defined Integration testing process to identify and resolve product defects prior to handing off to SQA. More defects found in the integration cycle resulted in a more dependable and reliable product with significant cost savings because bugs were found sooner in the process and the delivered product required less SQA time to certify. Delivered multiple product releases and system deliverables to SQA engineering on time and within specification. Working with this product required a thorough understanding of different imaging technologies, from static digital imaging, interactive multimedia to full streaming media in a complex digital cable plant environment. HDTV, DVD, Mpeg encoders, Video on Demand, digital audio decoders were all integrated into the final product deliverable depending upon the customer requirements.

Quality Assurance Manager 2000 - 2001

Introduced a Total Quality Assurance strategy for a complex Digital Broadband Interactive TV system. This proprietary Hardware/Software system is the integration of Internet services and Broadband TV using state of the art Client / Server computing and Digital Broadband technology. Completely assembled product incorporated multiple technologies into a single integrated unit. (The technologies included, Mpeg, HDTV, WEB technology, Digital Imaging, Digital Decoders, Infrared blasters and receivers, MM Flash, Terminal Server Technology, Digital Cable Television and Sybase Database Technology). Reorganized existing manual SQA process and integrated Automated Testing Suites to achieve maximum coverage with minimal resource allocation. The Automation Process consisted of a customized Segue Silktest solution that was driven by a Test Quest IR blaster and automation tool. With this implementation, 80% system test automation was achieved. SQA engineering resource requirements were reduced by 50%. These automated tools were used to test both systemic client/server, IR control circuitry and internet content. Stress testing was achieved using a customized application created with Silk Performer. Significantly reduced head count requirements based on the strategic deployment of test automation.

Established a process for verification of base image and product distribution media to confirm conformance to specification of all software versions, operating systems, build components, third party application installations, drivers installations, and ICTV components. Implemented an acceptance test criteria to determine the testability of the product. Developed a quality release criteria. Established Corporate Quality Assurance Standards and Goals.

Created and deployed the first ICTV live demonstration unit that was able to broadcast live internet sessions in a real time environment using a live T1 line and a GI cable plant for the Western Cable Operators Show in November, 2000. Previous shows were done using “canned” PC demo units to simulate a cable plant.

Created a liaison between Customer Service organization and Engineering to provide a smooth transfer of technical data between customer and engineering. Established a training program within SQA to provide customer services personnel with hands on training and pre-deployment access to systems so that site installations were nearly flawless. This provided a level of competence and credibility that was previously non-existent.

Provided systems integration and installation support for all Partner Test systems and Customer Site Trial Deployments. Participated in the establishment of Network Operations Center to provide technical support to customer sites and field engineering.

Compaq Computer Corporation / Digital Equipment Corporation 1988 - 1999

(Please note that my last position at Compaq/Digital Equipment Corporation was a dual engineering role. I was Development Engineering manager for a product integration, FX!32 and Quality Assurance Engineering Manager for the Alpha Development Tools Group. I have listed them as separate functions to give a more accurate view of my skill set and role flexibility.)

Quality Assurance Manager 1998 - 1999

Using ISO 9002 guidelines, performed Quality Assurance audit in the Development Tools group identifying several problems and inadequacies with the existing test process. The conclusions drawn from the audit called for a thorough restructuring of the Quality Assurance effort. This systemic overhaul provided a measurable efficiency of resources, gaining a 50% better utilization of quality engineering personnel due to cross training and reduction of redundant effort.

Re-engineered Quality Assurance work practices according to function rather than product which resulted in more efficient test process because three times more product areas were being tested with less engineering resources being required.

Implemented ongoing Quality Audit process. The deployment of this process provided Quality Assurance process improvement on a continuous basis and provided a vehicle to identify and resolve problems sooner in the testing cycle. Target deliveries were frequently completed ahead of schedule directly due to this critical process monitoring.

Negotiated third party contract to outsource testing effort that resulted in more testing being completed with less engineering resources being required. Funding for the work being done was reduced by 20% and a notable efficiency improvement based on the test matrix completion reports during milestone evaluations.

Software Engineering Manager 1998 - 1999

Developed and coordinated strategic technical relationships with appropriate Microsoft Engineering organizations to insure seamless integration of the Digital Equipment FX!32 Translator-Emulator into the Microsoft Windows 2000 for Alpha Operating System.

Managed Engineering Group doing integration work on FX!32 to resolve all identified defects resulting from development and testing activity. All high priority defects were resolved prior to release candidate and beta timeframes and in conformance with prevailing ship criteria at any give time in the cycle.

Established and managed minimum ship criteria for FX!32 product to assure application testing and defect resolution activities completed within specified ship timeframes. This procedure resulted in at least a 20% reduction in the number of severity 1 level bugs being found in beta to beta releases of the product.

Quality & Maintenance Engineering Manager 1997 - 1998

Established and maintained Quality Standards and Goals for the TCP/IP Product Group. This process and procedure identified problem areas in the product that needed focused attention prior to product ship and allowed for more predictable conformance to ship criteria. This activity resulted in a significant reduction in the numbers of problems being reported by customers in post ship products.

Established Quality Review Board for the TCP/IP Product Group that prioritized and reviewed product defects. This process required team reviews of defect severity at set intervals and was instrumental in identification of severe problem areas sooner in the development cycle. This ultimately increased the efficiency of the bug fixing process because serious product defects were identified and prioritized earlier in the cycle.

Managed Third Party Vendor relationship relative to sustaining engineering work requirements and priorities. Provided direction to vendor to insure that minimum ship criteria was met during each major release of the product.

Software Engineering Manager 1992 - 1997

Established Engineering Support organization to solve critical customer issues resulting in solving > 600 open customer issues in the first year.

Created partnerships with several Third Party vendors in order to solve numerous cross company customer satisfaction issues, including Microsoft, Lotus and 3 Com among others. The consequence of this activity was a customer satisfaction win because Digital Equipment was perceived as being the “Solution” rather than the source of the problem.

Created a 7 X 24 Engineering Support process to accommodate and allow customer satisfaction issues to be managed in a more timely manner and to provide geographical support organizations with engineering access on a real time basis. This deployment greatly enhanced the engineering support delivery process and provided a layer of credibility for the field that previously did not exist.

Realigned Engineering Support practices, cross-training support engineers to provide personal and professional growth opportunities while ensuring maximum support capabilities.

Engineering Supervisor 1990 - 1992

Implemented Structured Software Testing Process that resulted in much of the product testing being automated and the ability of the testing group to run concurrent testing cycles to insure that testing integrity was consistent across platforms was a key process improvement.

Introduced MS Test application to automate testing of Network Product. The net affect was more testing being accomplished by less test engineers and the skill level required to run the automated testing was significantly more cost effective.

Developed tier structure in testing organization to facilitate a team approach to product testing. The team consisting of a single senior engineer, a small number of junior test engineers and the remainder of the team fill in with “portable testers.” This approached allowed for a maximum amount of “quality” testing to occur with the minimum number of engineering resources being required.

Senior Software Engineer 1988 - 1990

Designed and maintained Regression Lab. Planned, developed, and executed testing processes and procedures related to the goals of the Regression Testing Group.

Created compatibility certification process to insure that vendor hardware was consistent with industry standard software and that no show stopper or high priority bugs were detectable with the Networking software being developed by the Digital Engineering Group.

Henco Software, Quality Assurance Engineer 1986 - 1988

Computer Corporation of America, Customer Support Consultant 1985 - 1986

Education

Harvard University, B.A. cum laude, with emphasis in Psychology and Computer Science
Bentley College, Courses taken in business related topics (Masters Level)

Professional Course Work & Training

Segue Silktest Training Presentation Skills, VMS System Management, OS/2 Training, Introduction to DIGITAL engineering, Introduction to New Supervisor Training, Managing for Performance. Six Sigma Training for Software. Negotiation Skills Training. Structured Software Testing, Sexual Harassment and AIDS Training, Consulting Training, LaFluer Project Management Methods, Franklin Time Management. Masters Level Accounting (managerial and financial), Statistics, Economics, Marketing, Cobol Programming, and Systems Engineering courses at Bentley College.