I consider myself to be a Product Engineer. I love listening and speaking to users in order to properly understand their problems and collaborate with them to iterate on solutions.
I have worked in software delivery since 2010. I currently work as a Senior Product Engineer for Nory, the agentic AI restaurant operating system on a mission to put restaurants back in control of their own profitability.
Prior to this I have worked on legal compliance systems, learning management systems, renewable energy systems and veterinary practice management systems.
I live in rural South West Scotland, which has been home for almost all of my life. 🏴
You can reach out to me on LinkedIn.
My engineering philosophy
User focus
I prioritise delivering valuable outcomes to real users above all else. This means regularly engaging with users and grounding decisions in real-world usage and feedback.
Close collaboration
I work closely with cross-functional teams and users to build shared understanding and deliver solutions. I find pairing and swarming effective for accelerating alignment and progress.
Short feedback loops
I aim to reduce the time between idea and feedback as much as possible, using techniques such as iterative delivery, feature flags, and experimentation to validate assumptions early and often.
Optimise for ease of change
I believe the best systems are those that are easy to change. I design modular, loosely coupled systems with clear boundaries, enabling teams to evolve systems over time.
Continuous delivery
I value frequent, low-risk releases. I keep systems in a deployable state through small batches, vertical slices, automated testing and deterministic pipelines
My personal values
To paraphrase Mark Manson, values are a belief that something is good or desirable and worth striving for, regardless of context or circumstance.
I recently embarked on a journey to define the values that I hold dear. This is a never-ending journey and these values are subject to review and change, but I have listed the things that are currently important to me. I plan to write about this in more detail in the near future.
Humility
Whilst I am all for celebrating success, I like to fully understand the true importance and value of something before doing this publicly and ensure that praise is shared fairly.
I am opinionated on certain topics but I don’t always assume that I am right and welcome challenge in order to validate my thoughts.
Empathy
I strive to see things from the perspective of others, particularly users of the software I help deliver.
I try to communicate in a way that is clear to all and adapt the details to my audience.
Collaboration
I love to collaborate with others and default to this way of working where it makes sense. I take careful consideration of the downstream effect of doing something in isolation.
Fairness
I value making space for diverse opinions and perspectives. I have lost count of the number of times a junior engineer has offered a counterpoint that has forced me to rethink my opinion.
The “Just Sharing” Principle
“Here’s what worked for us in our context, but I recognize that your context is different”
I first heard of the “Just Sharing” principle when listening to a talk by Woody Zuill and it really struck a chord with me.
Everything that I share on this site is based on my own experiences and context. I make no assumptions that the reader shares this or that the suggestions I make will work for everyone.
Interests
Whilst software delivery takes up a lot of my time, it doesn’t consume my entire life. My other interests include:
- 👨👩👧 Spending time with my wife and daughter
- 🎸 Playing guitar - I have previously played in “pub bands” but more recently I just play for my own benefit
- 🎵 Going to gigs - I love listening to music at home but there’s nothing quite like watching a band at the top of their game in the flesh
- ⚽ Football - I have played regularly my entire life but these days I am mostly consigned to watching on TV
- 🐕 Walking Dusty, my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel