David M D Swan

I am seeking term, part time, contract work or full time work in the fields of information technology training, information technology help desk and problem resolution, software development, web development, software project management or software quality assurance & control.

Kings Landing Historical Settlement, Historical Interpreter, Prince William, NB, Canada (May 2005 - Present)
Most of the work at the Landing is within the context of the entire team, but I have made a few solo contributions that have had a major impact on the Landing:

• created and perform a one-man show (a magic show) that has been instrumental in allowing the Landing to carry on its theatre program through September and all the way to closing in October;
  

• on my on initiative developed (on spec) a "Home and School Companion" that would allow the Landing to expand its web offering. Although this project is only partially complete and awaiting funding, it was used for interpreter training in the 2009 season. On the web: http://swancrafted.com/kings_landing/hsc
  

ISO New England, Programmer/Analyst, Holyoke, MA, USA (Jun 2001 - Mar 2005)
Almost all the work at ISO was teamwork. A comple of my best contributions were:

• As Change Management Librarian, I designed and implemented a configuration management librarian suite using Concurrent Versioning System (CVS), which included specialized tools to merge a legacy development methodology with modern code management practices; and
  

• During the effort to replace an aging hardware/software system, the contractor delivered a product that was far below specification. I assembled a multi-disciplinary team to address the shortcomings, including needing to design and build custom electronic filters, re-factor the main hardware, re-factor much of the software and create, from scratch, a new hardware + software sub-system (which we did, on a very tight time scale, while following established process). We successfully fielded the new system, where it went on to perform flawlessly.
  

Northern Light Technology, Programmer/Analyst/System Manager, Cambridge, MA, USA (Mar 2000 - Jun 2001)
I was a "team of one", tasked with automating the regular transfer of a search engine database from the build facility to the co-location facility. This involved moving scores of files totaling several terabytes of data across a fixed-bandwidth connection and then spreading the resultant files over three VMS clusters. Prior to my arrival, this task was performed manually and forced one person to be tied down near a computer nearly 24/7. The automation I created included the capacity for it to auto-detect and auto-correct faults and, when the fault could not be auto-corrected, page the duty system manager (and/or myself) to intervene. It also reduced the transfer time from 48 hours to 18 hours (the theoretical maximum, given the bandwidth available) allowing for a new database to be fielded to the world every 24 hours. This automation also freed up personnel resources so that they'd be available to pursue other development needs within the organization.

14 Wing Greenwood, Programmer/Analyst (CS02), Greenwood, NS, Canada (Jul 1981 - Feb 2000 )
In my nearly 20 years with 14 Wing Greenwood, I worked in many different environments and with both contractor, civilian and military people.

One major accomplishment that had significant direct impact on operations at Greenwood was my involvement in a project to replace a 1970's era cross platform defelopment environment in support of an embedded system. Starting from a position of minimal information and almost no available documentation, I was technical lead for the team that wrote (from scratch) the new cross-platform development environment that was able to move development off of an old computer that was difficult to keep running and onto the VMS system. Development/build cycle times were reduced from eighteen (18) hours to under eight (8) minutes, and the new environment provided the developer with new tools to help de-bug the programs. The completion and successful fielding of this project for less money than one contractor bid just for the preliminary analysis earned me a Wing Commander's commendation.

Full employment details (dates, duties, etc.) are available on line at:

http://davidmdswan.emurse.com/Details/