About Stephen R. Palmer
Hi! I am Stephen R. Palmer (the middle initial helps separate me from the multitude of other wonderful Stephen Palmers you can find on Google and Yahoo, etc.).I am a software developer, consultant and author. My work revolves around two main themes: model-centric software development and agile process coaching. My interest in these areas really started when I worked as the development lead on a major project in Singapore in the late 1990’s. The project was the first to use Jeff De Luca’s Feature-Driven Development (FDD) model-centric agile process and Peter Coad’s ‘modeling in color’ object modeling technique.
More recently, I have written a book about FDD, worked with enterprises developing model-driven service-oriented architectures, and coached teams adopting agile processes based on Scrum (I am a Certified Scrum Practitioner) and Smart Agile.
Professional Background
Formal Resume as PDF documentI have ten years experience working as a developer on significant software development projects in a wide variety of industries around the world. I have just (September 2009) notched up a further decade as a consultant working with software development teams from an even wider variety of organisations including Nato, CapGemini, The Met. Office, British Telecomms (BT), British Airways (BA), Cisco, Bank of America, and Emirate Airlines.
I graduated from Keele University at the end of the 1980's with a first class honours degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. I then spent four years working at Instem, designing and writing software for the UK electricity generation, transmission and distribution industries. The majority of the work was in C and FORTRAN on Digital VAX VMS machines but it also included some work in C on Unix workstations, and some C and assembler on industrial equipment based on the Motorola 68000 family of processors. Much of the work was low-level, real-time, software that collected data from monitoring devices, processed it, and populated real-time databases with the results.
A move to Singapore resulted in six years working on business process automation and management information projects at a government agency, the old Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS), and leading regional bank, United Overseas Bank (UOB). At TAS, most of my work was in Oracle's PL/SQL. At UOB, I used C++ for two years before escaping to Java in 1997.
It was while I was at UOB, that I had the enormous privilege and career changing experience of working closely with Jeff De Luca for four years. The project also included the opportunity to work closely with Peter Coad over a period of eighteen months.
On moving back to the UK at the end of the 1990's, with ten years of significant and varied software development experience under my belt, I joined Peter Coad's recently formed company, TogetherSoft.
As a consultant at TogetherSoft, I mainly taught and helped software development teams across the USA and Europe apply the 'Modeling in Color' object-oriented analysis and design strategies and patterns we had pioneered in Singapore. In addition, I was given the opportunity to edit and author TogetherSoft's monthly technical newsletter, and write a book with Mac Felsing about Feature-Driven Development.
After two years enjoying and enduring in equal amounts the roller-coaster that was TogetherSoft, my turn on that particular ride came to end. I spent a couple years working as an independent consultant before being asked by Borland, who had acquired what was left of TogetherSoft, to join their UK consultancy team. In July 2009 Borland was acquired by UK company, Micro Focus. I now work for Nebulon.
This website
Over the years, I have written a number of short articles on software development topics. Some of these have been sent out as technical newsletter issues, others have been published somewhere on the Internet. I have collected these articles together on these pages, or links to them where they are still available on other web sites. As this is my personal website, the views expressed on this site are my own and not necessarily those of my current or previous employers. Feel free to send me feedback on anything on the site by emailing stephen.palmer@step-10.com.
Other Sites and Certifications
 |
 |
 |
 |
| FDD Associate | Certified
Scrum Master/Practitioner |
 |
A Brief History in Pictures
Favourite Biblical Verses
and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
'Love your neighbour as yourself.'
All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments."
--Jesus Christ
bind them around your neck
write them on the tablet of your heart
Then you will win favour and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him
and he will make your paths straight..."
--King Solomon of Israel
kindness,goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law."
--St. Paul
