Andrew Harcourt
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How to engage with the software industry

“Software projects always run over time and over budget. And scope always changes. And you never can trust those consultants - they’re always out to get you.”

If you’ve never had a software project go according to plan, it might be worth looking at the common factor in that equation. Maybe it’s a good time to learn how to deal with the software industry.

In this talk we’ll examine how to get you what you need without losing your shirt.

Target audience
CIO/CTO; executives; business leaders
Approximate duration
60-90 minutes including questions

Play

Cyclist. Runner. Hiker. Singer. Violinist. Budding skydiver. Photographer. Former semi-pro photographer. Ballroom dancer. Motorcyclist. Occasional sailor. Good with edged weapons. Red Frog. Legatee.

Work

It should go without saying that any opinions, beliefs and other statements made here are my own, and do not represent in any way the views of any employer either past or present. Let's be grown-ups about this, shall we?

I'm Head of IT & Engineering at Etax, Australia's largest privately-held tax agent. Other interesting places I've been before Etax include Octopus Deploy, ThoughtWorks, Readify, Zap BI, Realex Payments and TRL.

I'm a fan of high-quality code, domain-driven design, event-driven architecture, continuous delivery and, most importantly, shipping software that works and that solves people's problems.

I have a number of small open-source creations, including Nimbus, ConfigInjector and NotDeadYet, and am an occasional contributor to several more.

I'm a regular speaker and presenter at conferences and training events. My mother wrote COBOL on punch cards and I've been coding in one form or another since I was five years old.

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