Luma

Luma is based in Auckland, New Zealand and really only consists of one person, me, Rolly Fordham. I’ve coded in a large variety of different flavours of programming language, from low level languages like C and C++ to high level languages like Ruby, Erlang, and Javascript.

I’ve generally stuck to web work, as it’s the work I find the most satisfying. The diverse mix of the projects I have worked on has allowed me to gain a thorough understanding of how the project management process can only be truly successful if there is honest collaboration from all the parties involved.

The majority of past projects have been on CMS’s, E-commerce systems, booking engines, payment gateway integration, and lately social applications (since they are the new hotness). But really, I just want to work on projects that are fun and challenging.

TechnologicalWhizz-Bangery

I have the usual programmer’s fascination with the newest technological toys, so I’m intimately familiar with the latest buzzword laden tech memes. So I can help If you need to get a technical opinion on SOA (Service Oriented Architecture), Cloud Computing, Ajax (Although generally I just call it Javascript as Ajax always makes me think of drain cleaner), Micro Blogging, Non-relational Datastores, or any other seemingly simple combination of English words that end up reading like it’s written in Greek, by a drunk dyslexic.

I understand that you want to use the best technology for the project and that doesn’t usually mean you have any interest in how the technology actually works. I can provide you with an objective recommendation that balances your technology requirements based on collaboration with your sales, marketing, design, and strategy teams. This enables me to talk you through how you can accommodate the technology into your overall business strategy. Experience has shown me that this not only can reduce your costs, it can provide you with a competitive advantage and make your job easier and more fun!

GoodCommunication is the Key

Dealing in solutions rather than off the shelf products, I specialise in using lighter weight, more agile project management processes to focus on getting your project off the ground with minimal mess and cost. Documentation is important, but as soon as your focus is more on documentation than usable solutions then something has gone very wrong. I believe that good communication and collaboration are more important to the effective running of a project, as an added bonus my own experiences have shown that good communication tends to lead to lighter but more relevant documentation.

Being Agile is never having to say “We’ve used all our budget to write documentation” Having good processes for project management and software development is important too, but as soon as they become concrete shoes that prevent you from being able to change directions and respond to new information, you are condemning the project to live with its mistakes, rather than correct them.

Rigid processes say “We have perfect understanding of every part of the solution. We have anticipated everything that can go wrong.”

But that is never true. All system specs, no matter how much time or money is spent on producing them, are partially wrong at the beginning of the project. Most of this is due to miscommunication, rigid processes and lack of research. Sometimes people just don’t know what they want until the project is underway.

Lighteris better

By comparison a lighter process might say “We don’t have perfect understanding of every part of the solution, but we’ve tried to anticipate as best we can. We anticipate change, welcome new information and adapt with the changing business environment while still focusing on the overall business requirements of the solution”.

So rather than following a particular process rigidly I’m careful to ensure that the focus is on the desired solution in a structured disciplined fashion. Project Management for the sake of Project Management is rarely fun and always expensive.

I’m always on the look out for interesting projects. Read through some of Luma’s Case Studies to understand how I’ve helped other people, or Contact Me to find out how I can help you.

The ideas that I’ve outlined above are not new, in fact I follow a well established development practice called agile development, please take a quick look at the Agile Manifesto if you’d like to know a little more.