Hello, I'm Alan.
I've spent 30 years in IT learning what does and doesn't work.
I've made mistakes and had successes. I've been there, done it, got the scars, and worn the T-shirt in practically every corner of an IT department.
A few years ago, I started getting asked to govern, fix and deliver more and more, and I felt like they must value what I had to say. My dog certainly doesn't.
Here, I'll share the information I wish I'd had when I was starting out.
My Story.
I started my IT career with a passion for computing. I turned that into a Degree in Information Systems and found some early roles as a Help Desk support analyst in the mid-90s.
I thrived on helping resolve issues and got a real buzz from moving people from IT frustration to elation.
As the years began to roll by, I was mentored by some great people and finally offered a role as a Help Desk Manager. From there, my teams quickly grew to include Desktop Build and 2nd Line Support.
Opportunities took me to new organisations, where I continued to run teams and learn how to implement processes and projects. Informally at first, and then I started to obtain the formal qualifications in ITIL and PRINCE2. This gave me an invaluable framework.
I was starting to be recognised as processed-focused and a safe pair of hands for delivery. This led to an opportunity in 2011 to start putting all I'd trained for and experienced into action more formally as an IT Governance Manager. This in turn led me to a role as Chief of Staff in a £14m turnover company.
Since 2016, I've been contracting and consulting. Delivering projects and helping with governance across several organisations. Each time is different, and there are no easy magic answers, but I see what works better in certain circumstances and where failure to act will end in disaster.
I'm great at taking the complex and making it simple.
I excel at avoiding pitfalls.
