Ken Auer

Current

• Executive Producer at RoleModel Studios (http://rolemodelstudios.com)
• President and Founder at RoleModel Software

Past

• Director of Applied Technology at Knowledge Systems Corporation
• Software Engineer at Paradyne Corporation

Education

• Florida Southern University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Recommended

12 people have recommended Ken

Connections

185 connections

Industry

Computer Software

Websites

• My Company
• My Company

Ken Auer’s Summary

Has applied skills to developing (and shipping!) applications, frameworks, and systems for commercial use since 1985 and mentoring others to do the same. Most of this has been using object-oriented tools such as Smalltalk, Java, and Ruby. Particular expertise in putting together and leading high-performance software development teams focused on customer needs. Has built systems for everything from small devices such as PDAs and cell phones to stand-alone desktop systems to client-server applications to enterprise-wide and commercial web-based applications. Proven track record of creating unusually adaptable software.

Plays many roles as developer, instructor, mentor, consultant, manager, director. Able to switch hats quickly to fill the role needed to improve the quality, timeliness, and relevance of software going out the door.

We will be honest in our communication (rather than saying what others want to hear), and treat every customer and partner with respect. We are very selective in choosing the people we work with in order to ensure delivery of value and integrity in every interaction. Though not politically correct to say so, we want to be held accountable to Christian standards of conducting business. "Christianity is not a plug-in, it's an operating system" (paraphrase of Mark 12:28-31)

Ken Auer’s Specialties:

Turning visionary ideas into real software, Custom Software Development, Extreme Programming, Agile Software Development, Object-Oriented Programming/Design/System Architecture, Team Building, Communities of Practice, Software Reuse, Consulting, Coaching, Mentoring, Apprenticeship, Training, Refactoring, Test-Driven/Domain-Driven Design/Development, J2ME, J2EE, Smalltalk, Eclipse, SWT, JFace, Open-source, Web Applications, Object-relational mapping, Frameworks, Croquet, Hibernate, Sails

Ken Auer’s Experience

• Executive Producer

  RoleModel Studios (http://rolemodelstudios.com)

  (Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Motion Pictures and Film industry)

  January 2005 — Present (3 years 10 months)

  We "produce stories of life."
  
  We've turned live performances of original plays into dynamic DVDs and will continue to push the envelope there. We also are working on promotional videos for organizations that have a story to tell, and are in the early stages of considering producing our own plays and movies.
  
  Last, but not least, we are exploring how to incorporate graphic design, web technology, film, and other technologies in areas where they haven't been used before.

• President and Founder

  RoleModel Software

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Software industry)

  March 1997 — Present (11 years 8 months)

  Sets and directs the vision and implementation of the world's first and premiere eXtreme Programming Software Studio(tm) where software craftsmen, journeymen, and apprentices build unusually adaptable software that meets our clients' needs. Also consults to clients who want to improve their own software development process.

• Director of Applied Technology

  Knowledge Systems Corporation

  (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Computer Software industry)

  May 1988 — March 1997 (8 years 11 months)

  Knowledge Systems Corporation (KSC) in Cary, N.C. had been a leader in Object Technology concentrating primarily on Smalltalk consulting and training services. Joined KSC in 1988 as one of the initial five employees and had been a well-recognized force in its clients' success and KSC's growth. At the time of his departure, KSC had been named to the Inc. 500 five years in a row, and had grown to a $10M company. Played a lot of roles during time there, but the vast majority of it was focused on developing applications for various clients and training others to develop effective applications.

• Software Engineer

  Paradyne Corporation

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Computer Software industry)

  January 1985 — May 1988 (3 years 5 months)

  One of the key designers of a distributed, multi-user network management system that was built using Unix, C, Informix SQL, Objective-C, and Smalltalk. Earlier, developed other applications using UNIX and C as well as other technologies such as Touch Screen applications.

Ken Auer’s Education

• Florida Southern University

  Computer Science 1985 — 1987

  Took several graduate level courses

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

  B.S., Computer Science, Minor in Management, September 1981 — December 1984

  Worked during school, mostly on campus for Math & Computer Sciences department. Also, had co-op jobs at IBM and Technicron

  Activities and Societies:

  Various inter-fraternity sports

Additional Information

Ken Auer’s Websites:

• My Company
• My Company

Ken Auer’s Interests:

Integrated vs. segmented life: - Restoring Church and Home (and Family-Integrated Churches), - Integrating Family and Business, - Homeschooling, - High-Performance Teams, - Mentoring, men, young men, and boys, Other interests:, - Woodworking, (growing interest but little time for), - Hiking, - Christian Theatre,

Ken Auer’s Groups:

- Pastor-Elder, Southwest Wake Christian Assembly, http://swcassembly.org,
- Board of Directors, Association for the Restoration of Church and Home, (ARCH), http://restorechurchandhome.org,

Active member of:,
- Contenders of the Faith, http://keepersofthefaith.com,
- Spiritual Twists Productions, http://spiritualtwist.com,
- Constitution Party, http://constitutionparty.com, http://cpnc.info

•    Agile RTP (ARTp)

Ken Auer’s Honors:

- Co-author, "Extreme Programming Applied: Playing to Win!", published by Addison-Wesley.
- Several patterns published in, "Pattern Languages of Program Design", series of books by Addison-Wesley.
- Author of a variety of articles in a variety of publications.
- Speaker at variety of venues: Software-related, business-related, Homeschool-related, Church-related

Ken Auer’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch