Common Thread

Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him. [Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963), “Texts and Pretexts”, 1932]

The Common Thread

Whether as a trainer, technical writer, project manager, or business analyst, I usually see myself as a translator between different types of people, different ways of thinking, and different communication styles, mediums and audiences. I enjoy learning anything technical and seeing things from different points of view.

As a Business Analyst

I particularly enjoy projects where I am involved throughout the software development life cycle (SDLC), when I can see the end product in the hands of the users.

I have written functional specifications, business use cases, system use cases, gap analyses, software change requests, and other software requirements documentation. I have also created testing strategies and test cases; conducted testing, delivered pre-implementation training, and assisted with user acceptance testing. I have analysed and facilitated workshops for the documentation of business processes (as-is and to-be processes) and assisted in change management.

As a Technical Writer

I have written intranet and internet content for a variety of on-line help systems using Mavim, AuthorIt, XDK and others; in-house training manuals; newsletters; knowledge management strategies and other planning documents.

As a Trainer

I have delivered computer based training and self-paced business courses and workshops. It was in my role as a trainer that I first got a taste for business analysis as I indirectly influenced software development by communicating user requirements to the development team. I have continued to improve my skills ever since. I have delivered training, both face to face and in a virtual classroom.

As a Photographer

Photography is purely a hobby for me… a way of showing others what I see in a landscape or a flower or whatever has caught my eye. I’ve been out with other photographers to the same locations, only to come back to base and realise we have distinctly different views of the same spaces. I enjoy those differences.

As a Translator

I’ve done translation in both directions between Portuguese and English. I always aim to have the finished translation read as though it was written in English rather than translated into it. To achieve this I need to understand the author’s intentions, background, and motivations, as well as to understand the intended audience. I am not certified as a translator, but it is something I enjoy, not necessarily something I’d want to do for a living. I dare say I’ve done a better job than some certified translators.