Home Mark Jones - CV

CV for: Mark L. Jones
email: markjones@markjones.co.uk
CV date: 29th May 2006
Job preferences: Designer / developer, SQL Server + Visual Basic or C#
Location preferences: London (inc. City), Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Herts, Essex.

Current Experience
My major current skills are on the technical side of designing and developing database systems using Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005, and their front-end applications with Visual Basic 6 and C#. However, during my career, I have worked for both suppliers and end users in a number of roles, and I have gained a wide experience of analysis, software design, programming in a variety of languages, documentation and training. I also have experience of operating system and utilities development, and in particular an extensive experience of developing word processing software for a major supplier of WP software.

I have a wide application analysis experience, most recently of advertising and education applications, and previously of retail, logistics, financial, re-insurance and commercial insurance, and engineering applications.

In my latest work I personally designed and developed two different database applications, but both using MS SQL Server 2000 and 2005, with extensive use of T-SQL stored procedures and triggers. I also wrote front ends to both of these applications using VB6 and C# 2005. Both of these applications made extensive use of graphics and video, and both had large tracking, analysis and reporting subsystems. This work also required extensive knowledge of ActiveX, Win32 and .Net environments.

I have also developed several web sites, including extensive personal ones such as www.mooch.org.uk, and I have a good knowledge of HTML and ASP. I know my way around many of the major Microsoft operating systems and application packages including Windows XP and 2003, and also Office. I also have some experience of Apple Mac OSX.

For previous work I have developed software using Assembler, COBOL, PL/I and PL/M, Delphi and several versions of Basic on a variety of PC and mini-computer systems. I have previously worked on a variety of SQL database products including Wang PACE, MS Access, Sybase, MS SQL Server 6.3 and 7.0, and PostgreSQL.

Education & Personal
I have a BA degree from the Open University (1991, mainly in mathematics and computing, since when I have done the occasional course and have enough grades for a further BSc 2.1 degree). I have also been on many IT related courses. After my A levels I did a 3 year technical and scientific photography course at Harrow College.

I am married and have 2 young daughters. I am currently the Deputy Chair of the Parent Staff Association at my younger daughter’s school. For relaxation I do a lot of photography. Also I have flown gliders from many UK sites.

Recent Employment
Since 1994 I have been contracting, and I have done development work for a variety of companies. Because many of these contracts have overlapped, and I have returned for further work, only indicative dates are given.

Moor House School, Surrey. 2003 to date
At the request of my daughter's special school, and their consultant from the Institute of Education, I wrote a set of programs to help her overcome her severe speech and language problems. This is an on-going project, and is being extended further both for my daughter and to help other children. More information can be obtained by contacting myself or the school, or at www.mooch.org.uk/software/ape01.html. For this system I designed and created the database and the data entry and pupil test programs. I have also drawn many pictures and taken photographs for specific children's needs in using this program.

Magenta Systems Ltd, Croydon. 1996 to date
For this software house I have done several contracts. The most extensive, and recent, was the design and development of a database for a system that displays advertising, CCTV, and information on screens on buses. This system takes in advertising requirements and media, mixes it with news and information and allocates it to the buses that run on particular routes in several cities for particular times and days. It then distributes it to the buses, and records and reports on what was actually displayed. This is a large Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database with over 120 tables, and more than 1000 T-SQL stored procedures. Although the main control database is only a few hundred megabytes in size, the whole database system uses several hundred gigabytes to specify and record activity. Additionally the advertising media is stored outside the database, and its timely transmission to the buses is also important. For this system I also wrote several front-end applications in Visual Basic 6 (VB6). In particular, one program allows the company to define programme schedules across bus routes, and for particular times of day and days of the week. This program allows for items to be scheduled many weeks in advance, and will automatically adjust existing schedules to incorporate new or changed items. I have recently prepared this database for migration to SQL Server 2005.

During a previous contract I did a lot of work on making Wang Word Processing, and various Wang VS utilities, year 2000 compliant.

KF Group PLC, New Malden. 1996-2001
For this parent company to the old Tempo electrical and computer retail stores chain I worked on various applications, mostly relating to their stock control and logistics systems. My main task was a major re-write of their stock control suite of VB programs and SQL stored procedures, with particular reference to receiving goods from suppliers and the transfer of goods between warehouses and stores, and for home deliveries. During one contract period I designed the new system and wrote various documents including the technical specifications. During a later contract I helped implement it, and I wrote most of the T-SQL stored procedures and table triggers. For the VB client programs I did the prototypes and liaised closely with the programmer who did the final versions.

Systems & Services, Croydon. 1999
For this software house I worked on taking an old DOS based warehouse and logistics control package and converting it to use MS SQL Server with Visual Basic client programs. I did the initial design of the SQL database, the stored procedures and triggers, and some of the VB programs. The main user of this software is a logistics company for a large high street retailer.

DMR Computer Ltd, Kent. 1994-1999
I have done several contracts for this software house. For one application I led a small group developing a SQL Server / VB system for maintaining pages to be displayed on a client's web pages. I did the majority of the design of the VB, and almost all of the SQL server design and coding. Here I also did HTML, Access, Wang PACE database and PostgreSQL database development, and worked on several insurance related systems.


Previous Permanent Employment
Magenta Systems Ltd, Croydon. Aug 1986 - Jan 1994
My duties in this software house were both technical and directly customer related. They included the analysis, design, production and maintenance of software for PCs and Wang systems. I worked on several Wang WP, Office, network and database utilities under contract directly to Wang Laboratories in the USA. I was responsible for the maintenance and general world-wide release versions of all Wang WP Utilities and associated system utilities.

I also worked on several bespoke packages for which I was personally responsible from initial customer contact through production to installation. Several of these packages related to printers, graphics, telecommunications and databases. The wide variety of jobs that I worked on at Magenta Systems brought me into contact with a large number of varied user organisations, and at various levels within those organisations. I was asked, several times, to go and help engineers from other companies who were unable to fix problems themselves.

Wang (UK) Ltd, Isleworth. Aug 1983 - Aug 1986
I started in Wang on telephone customer support and then transferred to the engineering support group. I mainly supported WP and systems software, including the preparation and control of UK software releases. I also worked on Wang's PACE database and electronic mail. During my time at Wang I developed several small systems that were used to control and track Wang products and services.

Bowring Information and Communication Systems, London. Mar 1981 - Aug 1983
In this service company for the insurance and re-insurance group, I worked on the implementation of several office automation projects including an insurance slip production and re-insurance tracking system. I also designed and implemented an interface system to their Wang electronic mail system.

Marconi Avionics Ltd, Borehamwood. CAD Technician. May 1980 - Mar 1981
I worked in a computer aided design department developing a PCB system using Fortan.

National Reprographic Centre, Hatfield Polytechnic. Mar 1974 - May 1980
Here I did equipment evaluations, and later installed a Wang word processing system.



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30-May-2006