Steven Barnett
Lucidus Ltd - Lead Developer
Oct 2013 to March 2015.
Activities
Returned to Lucidus with the intention of upgrading the existing VB6 Business Modelling application to meet the needs of the new Value Based Sales processes. At the same time, to redesign and redevelop the tool-set to C#.
Achievements
- Actively redesigning and redeveloping the VB6 suite of applications to C# using the DevExpress controls suite.
- Added functions to the existing VB6 application that reduced the time to produce a sales model from 4 weeks to 45 minutes.
- Developed an Effectiveness Assessment tool (C#/Winforms) to gather structured information from the client for use in the modelling process. This led to more consistent data being collected and the automation of information fed to the model builder.
- Improved customer benefit from our services by developing a Sales Person Performance Tracking system (C#/Winforms) capable of identifying sales opportunities at risk of being lost allowing early intervention to take place.
- Analysed, redesigned and am rewriting the business modelling tool in C#.
- Redesigned the Lucidus website using BootStrap3/PHP.
- Coached the CEO on the use of LinkedIn to higher the company profile.
- Provided support for customers in the USA and South Africa.
Products & Web Site
Software Skills
- C# WinForms
- VB3-VB6
- HTML/CSS/Bootstrap
Soft Skills
- Requirements Analysis
- Design & Development
- Support
- Agile design/development
Integrated Performance Measures
IPM is a flexible commercial modelling package, that has been used for such diverse applications as the assessment, communication and tracking of value in sales and the deployment, communication and management of corporate improvement & change management.
Technology wise, IPM was in a state of flux. It had grown from a Visual Basic 3 application to a Visual Basic 6 application over a number of years. It worked well on modern machines but looked dated. As I added new compoents to the suite, I developed these in C#. At the same time, I started a re-write of IPM in C#, a major undertaking as few of the VB6 controls had C# equivalents.
Effectiveness Assessment
Sales improvement begins with a clear definition of what solutions are being offered to the customer and how that solution contributes to growth and and profit margin improvement. Effectiveness Assessment is a tool for defining the components of the solution, how they bring profitable growth and what factors affect how effective the solution is.
As this was a new component in the suite, the technology was open. It was developed using C# and the components from the DevExpress suite of controls. The design and development process was done in an agile way with the CEO, Director and myself working together to tease out useful functionality during the development process.
Partner Tracking
Having defined your sales offering, the next part of the process is to go sell it. To give your sales force the tools it needs to win the business, which includes the tools to track the performance of the sales team itself. That's where Partner Tracking steps in, allowing you define teams, define sales milestones and assess the effectiveness of the team in converting prospects to sales.
As with Effectiveness Assessment this was a new component in the suite. It was developed using C# and the components from the DevExpress suite of controls. We employed an agile approach, keeping in mind usability and value above technical difficulty.
Lucidus Web Site
Over the years, Lucidus has had many variations of it's web site. It grew from the concept that you weren't credible without 'something' on the net to a sales aid and source of sales materials for our customers.
I'm very proud of this site, not least because I hand coded it using what little I new of Html/CSS and Bootstrap. It wa a big undertaking, but I believe the results still stand up well even though it's not been changed since 2014!
Testimonials
Don't take my word for my abilities, take alook at other peoples opinions about me.
One very quickly runs out of superlatives with Steve. He is the cleverest person I know. He is highly innovative, passionate regarding the proper maintenance of agreed standards and protocols and establishes excellent relationships with our clients.
Steve is a rare developer resource who is able to provide a good breakdown of technical solutions for all audiences to understand... Steve understands the importance of project deliverable's both from a client and business perspective and shows a personal pride in ensuring the delivery schedules are met
I have worked closely with Steve for his time with us and long before we formed our company. His technical ability far out-performs anyone I have known or met in companies we have worked with like IBM/EDS/Cap Gemini.
Steven showed a great deal of commitment and skill when he worked with me. His attention to detail, comprehensive documentation and well thought out code, using very impressive technical standards meant that it was always possible to rely on the solutions provided being top notch. Steven is an asset to any company, at any level - if I were able to, I'd love to work with him again.