d@vid seaward

Current

• Application Developer and Documentation Leader at St James Software

Past

• Software Developer at Open Box Software
• Technical Consultant and Software Developer at Religious Studies Department, University of Cape Town
• Sales Assistant at Adams & Company

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Education

• University of Cape Town
• University of Cape Town
• Hilton College

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Recommended

7 people have recommended d@vid

Connections

64 connections

Industry

Information Technology and Services

d@vid seaward’s Summary

I have been working in software development since 2004 and still look forward to making software solutions a reality. I have learned that process is key to making any project a success. This means encouraging others to be as enthusiastic about the process as I am.

Process means making goals clear, removing barriers (be they technical, physical or mental) and getting stuck in. My understanding of process extends beyond myself and the project to my work environment and my team.

I have taken advantage of many opportunities to be involved in various phases of the project lifecycle. These include fresh analysis and design, client feedback, implementation, usability testing, documentation, and maintenance and support of mature projects.

I am skilled at working with people at all levels (clients, developers, team members, managers, end-users) and use many tools to make their lives easier, from face-to-face social skills through to thorough documentation. I especially enjoy client interaction.

My immediate goals are to move into a more analytical and/or leadership role. The more I can learn in these areas, the better. I am an independent thinker and a self-starter (worked from home for two years) and am not afraid to research a solution myself, or ask for help when necessary. These two qualities mean I will never be limited by my skillset. They enable me to consider positions beyond what I already know.

My furthest-reaching goal is to get involved in projects in which I can invest not only my time, but my heart. A number of issues are of burning importance to me and I would relish the opportunity to merge my principles with the work I produce. These areas include:
* enabling creativity (e.g. Creative Commons)
* building web communities (e.g. LibraryThing, Second Life)
* healthy, sustainable living (Google, I have a great idea I think you could do a lot with)
* getting technology and software to a broader audience (e.g. Alice, One Laptop per Child)

d@vid seaward’s Specialties:

adaptability, mentorship, drawing Dilbert knock-offs on whiteboards to explain the dangers of the Scope Creep monster to clients, analysis, internal development, ASP.NET, VB.NET, Python, Microsoft SQL Server, XHTML, CSS, Javascript, web standards

d@vid seaward’s Experience

• Application Developer and Documentation Leader

  St James Software

  (Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

  May 2007 — Present (2 years 3 months)

• Software Developer

  Open Box Software

  (Information Technology and Services industry)

  November 2004 — April 2007 (2 years 6 months)

• Technical Consultant and Software Developer

  Religious Studies Department, University of Cape Town

  (Higher Education industry)

  December 2004 — July 2005 (8 months)

  Whilst studying at UCT, I took on a software development project that turned a 3-volume academic work into a hyperlinked CD-ROM product sold to libraries internationally. The technologies used were PHP, MS Access and a third-party CD-ROM web server.

• Sales Assistant

  Adams & Company

  (Retail industry)

  January 2002 — December 2003 (2 years)

d@vid seaward’s Education

• University of Cape Town

  BSc , Computer Science & English , 2004 — 2004

  Activities and Societies:

  Cape Legion of Adventurers and Wargamers (Committee)

• University of Cape Town

  BSc , Computer Science & English , 1998 — 2001

  Activities and Societies:

  Cape Legion of Adventurers and Wargamers (Committee), Dragonfire convention (Committee), Toastmasters UCT (Committee)

• Hilton College

  Matric , 1994 — 1997

  Activities and Societies:

  Public Debating XV, Senior Foreign Affairs Society, Squash, Choir, Computer Society (Chairman - yep, it was fated almost from birth), Film Society