Evan Ralston's Web Resume

Technical Consultant (contract), PaperToProduct - Austin, TX [7/2007 - present]

Collecting business and technical requirements for software applications.

Designing and project managing the creation of software applications via Paper Prototyping.

Designing and refactoring business workflows and processes.

Project Manager (contract), DreamDesignLaunch - Austin, TX [4/2007 - 7/2007]

Designed and managed the creation of software applications via Rapid Prototyping.

Defined production milestones, managed timetables and customer expectations.

Designed and defined the internal processes for the daily management of deliverables.

Project Manager (contract), Software TESTBench - Austin, TX [2/2007 - 11/2007]

Designed processes and a novel value-based billing model for software testing.

Managed daily production of off-shore testing teams for local software companies.

Consulting Account Manager (contract), TESTCo Inc. - Austin, TX [2/2007 - 11/2007]

Managed daily production of off-shore testing teams for local software companies.

Expedited ramp-up time and transferred application knowledge for critical clients.

Prepared daily production reports and provided quality control for two senior managers.

Created light-weight expedited ramp-up process templates for new high-volume clients.

Achieved 100% client retention rate and 9/10 satisfaction rating for all of my assigned clients.

Technical Consultant (contract), Headspring Systems - Austin, TX [2/2006 - 10/2006]

Project managed the development of a Lead Referral system, including coordinating with the development team and the client, design of twenty screen interfaces, managing deadlines, deliverables, change requests, and QA of final product.

Designed a web based enterprise document tracking system, including the authoring of the formal Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document, use cases, and Dreamweaver mock-ups of all of the system interfaces.

Introduced, installed, configured, and customized the Mantis bugtracking system for use on all company projects, and authored a Headspring-specific best practices document for its use.

Programmed additional features onto an existing PHP/MySQL B2C website.

Cofounder, Eyevan Studios - Troy, NY [9/2004 - 5/2006]

Developed business plan, including market analysis, pricing structure, and company positioning.

Designed and constructed company website.

Assembled and negotiated sales packages with clients.

Acted as primary consultant for all DVD Menuing Design, Web Design, and Print Design projects.

Quality Assurance Engineer / Technical Consultant, CORESense Inc. - Saratoga, NY [1/2004 - 9/2004]

Engineered company-wide process improvements, addressing the needs of all departments and clients.

Provided Quality Assurance for product and custom software releases.

Configured instances of PHP/MySQL web applications for testing department.

Maintained relationships with critical business clients by telephone and email.

Consulted with clients on small Professional Services projects.

Defined and enforced HCI, aesthetic design, and usability for deliverable projects.

Oversaw the full resolution of key client satisfaction issues.

Quality Assurance Engineer, Commerce Hub - Clifton Park, NY [7/2003 - 1/2004]

Tested and validated defects for a highly complex multi-tiered J2EE e-commerce application.

Coordinated with the engineering and web departments for the resolution of defects.

Authored database analysis scripts and automation tools for increased speed and productivity.

Software Engineer / Graphics Tech (contract), G & S Typesetters - Austin, TX [8/2002 - 6/2003]

Automated parts of the book creation process with custom programming.

Designed, developed and tested a company-wide automatically scheduled backup system in Perl.

Developed an internal SQL database for tracking production information about books.

Validated the proper functioning of all developed projects.

Installed and configured a company-wide spam mail filter using sendmail and procmail.

Built a web front-end to the book information database using PHP.

Provided desktop support for PC and MAC systems.

Expertly prepared pre-press art files for print using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Provided advanced scanning of original art (prints, slides, lith, halftones, etc.).

Software Engineer (contract), Hillcast Technologies - Austin, TX [5/2002 - 7/2002]

Developed a Java real-time, dynamically resizing stock graph for cell phones using J2ME.

Maximized the connection-handling capacity of Linux and FreeBSD servers.

Profiled and optimized J2EE transaction engine for speed and low memory footprint.

Redesigned Oracle database for fast and efficient performance.

Technical Support Agent (contract), Apple Computer - Austin, TX [2/2002 - 5/2002]

Resolved Apple technical issues with customers over the telephone.

Sold and promoted additional Apple products and services to customers.

Software Engineer (contract), 501 Studios - Austin, TX [November 2001]

Developed monthly bandwidth / billing program in PHP and SQL.

Resolved Freebsd hardware and performance issues.

Software Engineer, Kazan Software - Austin, TX [February 2000 - April 2001]

Ported large heavily templated C++ application from Windows to Linux and Solaris.

Set up and maintained C++/Unix development environments for several projects (gcc, cvs, nfs).

Provided Unix expertise for various projects and individual developers.

Developed and tested a medical Palm Pilot application using Crystal Reports.

Developed graphical installer for Win4Lin application using tk/tcl.

Enforced Quality Assurance and cross-browser compatibility for two ASP-based e-commerce sites.

EDI Error Resolutionist, General Electric Information Services - Latham, NY [1999]

Troubleshot electronic document (EDI) translation using X-Windows, vi, and Unix shell scripting.

Coordinated the resolution of errors by email and telephone.

Computer Technician, Fifth Avenue Computers - Troy, NY [1998]

Built and repaired new and used computer systems.

Installed Windows and Linux to customer specifications.

Provided technical support to customers over the telephone.

Sold systems and components to customers.

Received shipments, maintained inventory, opened/closed.

Computer Science Tutor, Hudson Valley Community College - Troy, NY [1997 - 1998]

Assisted students of diverse language and technical backgrounds with programming assignments.


	Evan Ralston Project Manager / Software Designer / Process Engineer koax@rubybum.com - 512.669.2899 - Austin, TX AREAS OF EXPERTISE Project Management - managing the production (design, construction, testing, and deployment) of software applications. Software Application Design - collecting and formally defining the functional requirements and interfaces of software applications. Process Engineering - designing, defining, and refactoring workflows for increased efficiency (usually decreased labor cost). PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Technical Consultant (contract), PaperToProduct - Austin, TX [7/2007 - present] Collecting business and technical requirements for software applications. Designing and project managing the creation of software applications via Paper Prototyping. Designing and refactoring business workflows and processes. Project Manager (contract), DreamDesignLaunch - Austin, TX [4/2007 - 7/2007] Designed and managed the creation of software applications via Rapid Prototyping. Defined production milestones, managed timetables and customer expectations. Designed and defined the internal processes for the daily management of deliverables. Project Manager (contract), Software TESTBench - Austin, TX [2/2007 - 11/2007] Designed processes and a novel value-based billing model for software testing. Managed daily production of off-shore testing teams for local software companies. Consulting Account Manager (contract), TESTCo Inc. - Austin, TX [2/2007 - 11/2007] Managed daily production of off-shore testing teams for local software companies. Expedited ramp-up time and transferred application knowledge for critical clients. Prepared daily production reports and provided quality control for two senior managers. Created light-weight expedited ramp-up process templates for new high-volume clients. Achieved 100% client retention rate and 9/10 satisfaction rating for all of my assigned clients. Technical Consultant (contract), Headspring Systems - Austin, TX [2/2006 - 10/2006] Project managed the development of a Lead Referral system, including coordinating with the development team and the client, design of twenty screen interfaces, managing deadlines, deliverables, change requests, and QA of final product. Designed a web based enterprise document tracking system, including the authoring of the formal Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document, use cases, and Dreamweaver mock-ups of all of the system interfaces. Introduced, installed, configured, and customized the Mantis bugtracking system for use on all company projects, and authored a Headspring-specific best practices document for its use. Programmed additional features onto an existing PHP/MySQL B2C website. Cofounder, Eyevan Studios - Troy, NY [9/2004 - 5/2006] Developed business plan, including market analysis, pricing structure, and company positioning. Designed and constructed company website. Assembled and negotiated sales packages with clients. Acted as primary consultant for all DVD Menuing Design, Web Design, and Print Design projects. Quality Assurance Engineer / Technical Consultant, CORESense Inc. - Saratoga, NY [1/2004 - 9/2004] Engineered company-wide process improvements, addressing the needs of all departments and clients. Provided Quality Assurance for product and custom software releases. Configured instances of PHP/MySQL web applications for testing department. Maintained relationships with critical business clients by telephone and email. Consulted with clients on small Professional Services projects. Defined and enforced HCI, aesthetic design, and usability for deliverable projects. Oversaw the full resolution of key client satisfaction issues. Quality Assurance Engineer, Commerce Hub - Clifton Park, NY [7/2003 - 1/2004] Tested and validated defects for a highly complex multi-tiered J2EE e-commerce application. Coordinated with the engineering and web departments for the resolution of defects. Authored database analysis scripts and automation tools for increased speed and productivity. Software Engineer / Graphics Tech (contract), G & S Typesetters - Austin, TX [8/2002 - 6/2003] Automated parts of the book creation process with custom programming. Designed, developed and tested a company-wide automatically scheduled backup system in Perl. Developed an internal SQL database for tracking production information about books. Validated the proper functioning of all developed projects. Installed and configured a company-wide spam mail filter using sendmail and procmail. Built a web front-end to the book information database using PHP. Provided desktop support for PC and MAC systems. Expertly prepared pre-press art files for print using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Provided advanced scanning of original art (prints, slides, lith, halftones, etc.). Software Engineer (contract), Hillcast Technologies - Austin, TX [5/2002 - 7/2002] Developed a Java real-time, dynamically resizing stock graph for cell phones using J2ME. Maximized the connection-handling capacity of Linux and FreeBSD servers. Profiled and optimized J2EE transaction engine for speed and low memory footprint. Redesigned Oracle database for fast and efficient performance. Technical Support Agent (contract), Apple Computer - Austin, TX [2/2002 - 5/2002] Resolved Apple technical issues with customers over the telephone. Sold and promoted additional Apple products and services to customers. Software Engineer (contract), 501 Studios - Austin, TX [November 2001] Developed monthly bandwidth / billing program in PHP and SQL. Resolved Freebsd hardware and performance issues. Software Engineer, Kazan Software - Austin, TX [February 2000 - April 2001] Ported large heavily templated C++ application from Windows to Linux and Solaris. Set up and maintained C++/Unix development environments for several projects (gcc, cvs, nfs). Provided Unix expertise for various projects and individual developers. Developed and tested a medical Palm Pilot application using Crystal Reports. Developed graphical installer for Win4Lin application using tk/tcl. Enforced Quality Assurance and cross-browser compatibility for two ASP-based e-commerce sites. EDI Error Resolutionist, General Electric Information Services - Latham, NY [1999] Troubleshot electronic document (EDI) translation using X-Windows, vi, and Unix shell scripting. Coordinated the resolution of errors by email and telephone. Computer Technician, Fifth Avenue Computers - Troy, NY [1998] Built and repaired new and used computer systems. Installed Windows and Linux to customer specifications. Provided technical support to customers over the telephone. Sold systems and components to customers. Received shipments, maintained inventory, opened/closed. Computer Science Tutor, Hudson Valley Community College - Troy, NY [1997 - 1998] Assisted students of diverse language and technical backgrounds with programming assignments. EDUCATION St. Edwards University - B.S. Computer Science UT Austin, Software Quality Institute - Object Oriented Design (OOD) in Java and C++ Hudson Valley Community College - A.S. Computer Science Glowing references available upon request.