"We work efficiently on the right things in a visible way".  If you really do this properly, your customers, whether internal or external, will have no reason to ever complain. 

Mark H (aka MLH) 

 

Mark H (aka MLH) 

Position: Software Process Specialist 

Qualifications: BSc. (Hons) Computer Science, London University 

Mark Hetherington is the Software Process Specialist at SSW.  He advises projects and organisations on the best processes and tools to organise work efficiently especially in the process of building quality software.  Typical tools employed are integrated tracking systems with workflows and dashbaords ensuring that all work is properly prioritised and committied.  When priorities and/or scope change, the impacts are communiated quickly to the affected stakeholders.

Mark has acquired these skills over the last 20+ years.  When such tools did not exist, he wrote his first tracking and work scheduling system in 1986.  Since then he has helped start over six software organisations growing three of them to over 100 staff.  He knows which tools & processes and organisational structure to choose to suit the culture, budget, size, maturity and resources of an organisation.

Mark has found that his value lies in setting up or improving the processes and tools of an organisaion and, once they are in place, he is hardly needed.  This is why he has turned to consultancy in the last year and we are very excited to be able to offer his services to our SSW clients.

Some of Mark's career highlights have been:

  • Developed a sophisticated resource traking and incident handling system for Merseyside Police (Liverpool, UK) in 1982 that still runs today
  • Grew the Australian Centre for Unisyys Software to over 200 staff in six locations and three countries
  • Deployed the first "scratchie" on the web
  • CTO for the initial RSVP service (now the largest dating site in Australia)
  • CTO for the first airborne internet server that provided email to aircraft passengers
  • CEO for his own Internet startup that won a prestigious Consensus Software Award in 2003 but was a commercial failure (good lessons learned)
  • CIO for an advertising platform that delivered thousands of adverts per second in China
  • CTO for a social networking product that arrived a little too late but had great technology on Web, iPhone, J2ME and Android. 

In his spare time, Mark organises and still wicket keeps at cricket, plays tennis, runs, gyms and organises wine cellars and surprise parties. 

He is a keen supporter of charities and specialises in Movember.