Luc Reid
Database and Web Developer, Management-Level IT Consultant

I am a
  • Systems analyst
  • Management-level IT consultant
  • Database developer and troubleshooter
  • Web developer and troubleshooter
with 17 years of experience working with small and large businesses, educational and government institutions, and non-profits. I'm currently available for a limited number of small, off-site projects, mainly during non-business hours.
CAPABILITIES
Transforming general needs into detailed specifications
If you need to develop a new desktop or Web application, database, online resource, or interactive Web site, I'm unusually good at facilitating the process of developing discussion with end users and other stakeholders, then taking the results and making them into a clear, specific document describing a useful, user-friendly system. Mock-ups of screens and features can be included when needed or desired. This kind of documentation allows me or another developer or programmer to produce the new system. Without well-thought-out specifications like these, projects often don’t meet the needs they’re created to cover and/or require many iterations to get things right.

Management-level IT consulting
If you have questions about your IT strategies for Web sites, database management, personnel, tools, etc., I can provide guidance and feedback. I can help write up job requirements for a new or existing job, vet and interview job candidates, recommend technologies, and analyze the effectiveness of your use of the Web in your organization. I can also review completed projects to give you an idea of how skillfully they were implemented or review code samples from programmers you're considering retaining to give you an idea of their skill level and good or bad programming habits. Too, I have substantial experience with marketing, both for my own endeavors and for several years as part of the interactive team at a successful marketing firm, and can make good use of this knowledge while working with you.

As a consultant, I can assist you with
  • personnel decisions
  • technology choices
  • Web site promotion and marketing ideas
  • reviewing existing systems to talk about improvements
  • new system needs
  • etc.
Fixing, improving, and speeding up existing systems
You may have partly-complete, imperfect, outdated, buggy, or excessively slow systems developed for you in the past. If those systems use the technologies I work with (see list at the end of this document), I can fix errors, upgrade, make the system easier to use, add new features, improve speed, or complete elements that have never worked.

Developing new database and Web systems
If you have information you want to get from the Web or collect through the Web, or if you need an interactive Web site, I can help plan, design, program, test, and deploy that system.

Other notable skills
I have a good deal of professional writing experience, writing for small newspapers, magazines, and online publications. I have written and delivered radio commentaries (for Jacksonville, Florida NPR affiliate WJCT), have a nonfiction book out on subculture slang, and have substantial experience with technical documentation and business communication.

My interpersonal skills are highly developed; I have studied conflict resolution and consensus facilitation and have a record of working well even with people who may have trouble connecting with many of their colleagues and coworkers.
TECHNOLOGIES
I have substantial experience and expertise with each of the following technologies. While I’m familiar with many other tools and systems and can do things like analyze code from or write up specifications for almost any current programming language or database, these are the technologies in which I’m most fluent.
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000-2008, including user-defined functions, stored procedures, data structure design, indexing, full-text indexing, etc.
  • "Classic" Active Server Pages (ASP)
  • ColdFusion versions 5-9
  • HTML (the basic design language used for most Web pages)
  • JavaScript
  • Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), the language used to define the appearance of elements on more sophisticated Web pages
  • Microsoft Access, all versions
  • Adobe Flash, including ActionScript
  • Blogs and blog technologies, especially WordPress
  • Social networking: Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, etc.
  • Virtual worlds: Second Life, etc. (including building and scripting)
PAST CLIENTS AND EMPLOYERS
Projects done for these companies include contracts, direct employment, and work through an employer.
  • Florida Community College
  • Campbell's Soup
  • Burlington Department of Parks and Recreation
  • Armstrong
  • MG Industries
  • Rohm & Haas
  • Efficiency Vermont
  • The Vermont Department of Economic Development
  • Glaxo SmithKline
  • The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
  • Mercy Connections (Vermont non-profit)
  • Numerous other organizations, from one-person startups to multinational corporations
A few sample sites where I've contributed significant work include:
REFERENCES AND PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS
are available on request.
CONTACT ME AT
[email protected]