
Software Developer & User Experience Consultant; Founder, Protagonize.com
Vancouver, Canada Area

Software Developer & User Experience Consultant; Founder, Protagonize.com
Vancouver, Canada Area
Nick has worked in web application development in Vancouver for over ten years, specifically with the Microsoft .NET Framework, Java/J2EE, PHP, Perl and a variety of open source development frameworks and content management systems. A dynamic developer, Nick works primarily in developing content management systems, but has extensive experience in custom software architecture and development, business intelligence applications, wireless technology, and knowledge management solutions.
Since 2005, Nick has gained a host of experience in product development, specifically having spent 3 years working on OpenRoad Communications' ThoughtFarmer intranet product, a wiki-inspired knowledge sharing tool for the enterprise.
In addition to a significant amount of consulting work, including the recent development and launch of Protagonize.com, Nick has spent over five years with OpenRoad Communications as a software developer. His previous positions included Technical Director for Tribal DDB Canada in Vancouver, developing web-based advertising and marketing systems for a variety of large agency clients. After that, Nick spent a year and a half as a software engineer at Versatile Mobile Systems, building intranet systems as well as internet-based monitoring tools for the agricultural sector in south-east Asia.
Over the course of the last two years, Nick has focused principally on user experience development. This includes Web 2.0 / AJAX application development, enterprise / intranet application development, and a variety of community-driven web projects. Nick consults regularly in these areas.
Nick majored in Computer Science at the University of British Columbia and spent time completing an Associate's Certificate in Java from the BCIT Java development program. He also holds certifications in several technologies ranging from ColdFusion to XML development.
Software Development:
- .NET (VB, C#)
- J2EE
- PHP
- Perl
- Ruby on Rails
- ColdFusion
- XML, XSLT
- SQL, Transact-SQL, PL/SQL
- HTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript
Miscellaneous Skills:
- Technical project management
- Database design and implementation (Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle)
- Implemented several commercial and open-source CMSs and portals (Sharepoint, Plone, WordPress, MovableType, Ektron)
- Custom intranet development
- AJAX / Web 2.0 technologies
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)
February 2008 — Present (4 months)
- Developed highly usable presentation layer solutions on a variety of platforms utilizing advanced layout and scripting technologies
- Worked effectively with multi-disciplinary teams including customer stakeholders, project managers, business analysts, designers, developers, testers, and systems personnel
- Participated in all phases of the software development lifecycle
(Privately Held; Myself Only; Internet industry)
January 2008 — Present (5 months)
Taunt Media was established in Vancouver, BC, Canada on January 1st, 2008, and was founded by Nick Bouton. Taunt was created in order to sponsor, develop, and nurture several community-driven collaborative web site properties in a variety of fields.
Our first project, Protagonize, is an interactive fiction site that was launched in late December, 2007.
Taunt Media has several other sites in development — watch for progress updates on our blog (www.tauntmedia.com) as each site progresses.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Internet industry)
August 2006 — February 2008 (1 year 7 months)
- In addition to existing development role for OpenRoad, acted as product manager and development team lead for OpenRoad’s ThoughtFarmer software product
- Planned, organized and maintained the product development roadmap and release schedule
- Acted as internal product expert and evangelist
- Defined and specified product requirements
- Took new features from design concepts through implementation and into production and optimization
- Performed sales engineering tasks such as traveling to remote client locations to install and configure the product, as well as provide support and maintenance
- Directly liaised with potential customers and existing clients in both a technical (primarily) and sales capacity
- Collaborated with development team to drive new feature development and properly support existing customers
- Provided accurate and detailed estimates for future development tasks
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Internet industry)
August 2002 — February 2008 (5 years 7 months)
- Acted in a software development and team lead capacity on a variety of mid-to-large-sized projects, participating in all aspects of the software engineering life cycle
- Acted as product development lead for OpenRoad’s ThoughtFarmer intranet/portal product
- Developed large-scale solutions for clients such as Intrawest Placemaking, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Court Services Online, the British Columbia Securities Commission, Navigata Communications, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, NetEffects Ltd., and Volunteer Vancouver
- Extensive design and implementation of projects with the Microsoft .NET Framework
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; TSX:VMS; Information Technology and Services industry)
June 2001 — August 2002 (1 year 3 months)
Formerly: evolutionB Information Inc.
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; NYSE:OMC; Internet industry)
July 1999 — April 2001 (1 year 10 months)
Promoted from previous position with Palmer Jarvis DDB Digital (company re-branded as Tribal DDB Canada.)
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; NYSE:OMC; Internet industry)
May 1998 — June 1999 (1 year 2 months)
Associate's Certificate, Java Programming, 2000 — 2002
Major, Computer Science, 1996 — 1998
Coursework towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. Additional coursework in Mathematics, Classical Studies, Art History (contemporary & classical), Graphic Art, and English literature and writing.
International Baccalaureate (I.B.) Programme 1993 — 1996
XML Intensive & Certification, 2000
ColdFusion Certifications, 1999
Advanced ColdFusion Development, October 1999
Fast Track to ColdFusion, June 1999
Member, Vancouver Java Users Group (VanJUG),
Member, Vancouver XML Developers Association (VanX),
Member, Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE),
Vancouver AJAX Users Group (VanAJAX),
Guest, The Lab with Leo, SocialCamp