I have a lot of empathy for the cognitive load and breadth of knowledge expected of engineers today. When they sit down to solve a problem, they aren’t just writing code. They are expected to ensure that solution is reliable, sustainable, and maintainable. They’re juggling testing practices, infrastructure trade-offs, cost optimisation, performance, user experience, and security… the list goes on.

There is tooling to help, of course, and in larger organisations, you might have specialists to lean on. Some argue that AI is the answer to this cognitive load; while it is a fantastic productivity aid, I’d argue that if these foundational concerns aren’t considered early, they only become exponentially harder to address the longer they are neglected. AI isn’t the silver bullet some sell it to be.

When I was first putting my thoughts together for this post, I kept re-visiting the format of “X-Driven Design” for the title. It’s a pattern that is familiar to technical people, and we all understand the intention: whether it’s focusing on behaviour (BDD) or thinking about testing first (TDD). I align with many of these practices, but what I want to discuss is broader. The closest phrasing I could capture in that format was “Requirement-Driven Design,” but that sounds incredibly obvious, feels very “waterfall,” and doesn’t capture the spirit of what I am proposing.

In my experience, when we treat security, compliance, and infrastructure as separate, competing practices, it leads to overwhelming “task-list” fatigue. When every non-functional requirement feels like a chore, teams tend to reach for quick-and-dirty fixes. Or worse, they de-prioritise these concerns entirely because the rework feels too daunting.

Often, the impact of ignoring these technical or legislative concerns isn’t clear and the path to implementing the right solution isn’t obvious. It can come across as just another layer of “red tape”, something the business knows they need to address, but doesn’t really care about. When business owners aren’t invested, it’s hard for engineers to justify the effort; the work is perceived as neither valued nor valuable. It’s understandable that when a team is faced with many competing priorities, these are the ones that slip, or are done in a way that builds up significant technical and cognitive debt. The problem is that this creates risk; the impact can be devastating when a problem eventually occurs, and the build up leads to having to support poor-quality and fragile systems.

How do you create high-quality software without overwhelming your engineers or stalling delivery? You stop treating compliance as an add-on. Instead, you embed these concerns into the design phase, establish repeatable patterns, and bake them into the definition of “done.”

Is it easier said than done? Absolutely. It requires a significant cultural shift. However, in a regulated environment, the trade-off is worth the investment.

Warning Signs Of Overwhelm

It is easy for teams to exist in a state of chronic overwhelm without truly recognising it. This is often referred to as the “boiling frog” trap: the friction of the work increases so gradually that it becomes accepted as simply “how we work.” In reality, these teams are often work-rich and time-poor, trading their bandwidth for the sake of just getting the job done. This can sneak up on teams resulting in burnout and mistakes.

This is most common in high-pressure, regulated environments. In these settings, teams can appear deceptively productive, shipping features at speed, but they are often working hard rather than efficiently. The team is burning through capacity, held together by sheer effort, while the underlying process generates a mounting, hidden debt of cognitive load.

If you aren’t sure if your team is carrying this unnecessary weight, here are some of the indicators I look for:

• The “Final Sprint” Panic. Developers are left scrambling to add security, logging, or auditing features at the very end of a project. These requirements are often treated as “implicit”, expected to be handled without being explicitly defined, or are shunted to separate tickets that are perpetually de-prioritised. This eventually results in critical security gaps, compliance failures, or last-minute delivery delays when the “hidden” work finally becomes impossible to ignore.

• The Review Bottleneck. Team delivery speed is consistently throttled by manual, opaque, or late-stage architecture reviews that act as “gatekeepers” rather than collaboration. Because these reviews happen too late and rely on external specialists, they inevitably trigger costly rework. This creates a dangerous cycle: teams start to bypass the process entirely just to ship their work, which leads to inconsistent technical decisions and a sprawling landscape of unmanaged debt.

• Knowledge Silos. Technical compliance or security expertise is concentrated in a single person or a small team. When these specialists become the only individuals who know how to design, implement, or observe the required controls, the rest of the team is effectively blocked from making progress. This creates a high-risk “key-person dependency” where the delivery of compliant, secure software grinds to a halt the moment those individuals are unavailable.

• Documentation as a Tax. Documentation, whether it be C4 diagrams, network diagrams, sequence flows, ADRs, or runbooks, is viewed as “non-productive” admin done only to satisfy an auditor. This mindset often extends beyond the engineering team to the wider business, which fails to see documentation as a high-value asset. In reality, effective documentation should serve as the backbone for onboarding, technical knowledge sharing, and reducing the constant need for sync meetings.

• Reactive Audit Response. Technical choices are dictated by the looming threat of the next audit rather than by consistent engineering standards. When audit deadlines approach, teams are forced to scramble and pivot, often treating compliance as “unplanned work” that displaces core product commitments. This creates a cycle of stress and instability, putting client deadlines and feature roadmaps in direct jeopardy whenever the audit window opens.

If these sound familiar, the problem isn’t that your team lacks skill; it’s that your process is forcing them to hold too much disconnected context in their heads at once. They don’t have the architectural support in place to make the work manageable.

The High-Level Concept

The goal is to move away from “checking boxes” toward integrated, considered design.

Compliance, security, and critical business concerns, such as performance or cost-efficiency, shouldn’t be treated as afterthoughts that surface at the end of a sprint. Instead, they should be foundational inputs into your initial design.

When you are architecting a solution, your process should inherently account for these requirements. You shouldn’t be asking if security or performance compliance is necessary; you should be asking, “How does this solution align with our data residency policy, our standard identity-access patterns, and our performance budgets?”

By establishing an architectural reference of patterns and practices, you shift from treating every requirement as a unique, burdensome task to applying proven, reusable standards. You aren’t asking an engineer to solve a complex regulatory, security, or performance problem from scratch; you’re asking them to adopt a standard that has already been verified to meet the company’s needs.

What Is Needed

• Holistic Discovery & Gap Analysis. You cannot design for what you haven’t identified. This requires an honest, deep-dive assessment of your entire landscape. We must define your requirements, whether they are rooted in regulatory compliance, contractual obligations, security mandates for high-stakes environments, or core business drivers like performance. Crucially, this involves auditing your current state to identify where your processes are failing, where debt is accumulating, and where your team is being forced to work against the system rather than with it.

• Integrating Requirements as First-Class Citizens. These concerns must be treated as requirements, not as an audit checklist bolted on at the end. This means moving from abstract instructions to clear, measurable, and testable success criteria. When these requirements are baked into the definition of “done,” they become the guardrails that enable speed, not the hurdles that prevent it.

• Engineering the “Golden Path” (Architectural Standards). It is not enough to define the rules; you must build the path of least resistance. This is the creation of a library of approved, battle-tested architectural patterns, infrastructure-as-code templates, CI/CD security gates, and standardised data access patterns, that map complex regulatory and technical requirements directly to implementation. While this library is built iteratively, the processes for establishing and evolving these patterns must be put in place from the start.

• Operationalising the Standard. The final, most critical phase is embedding these patterns into the daily ways of working. The goal is to move beyond static documentation to a point where “the right way” is the natural way. By integrating these patterns into the team’s standard rituals and workflows, you empower engineers to design secure and compliant solutions by default, without needing to become experts in the intricacies of compliance or security themselves. When the foundation handles the complexity, the team is free to focus on delivering value.

Where This Approach Applies

This methodology is agnostic to the source of the requirement. However, it is not a “one-size-fits-all” solution; it is a prioritised framework. We focus this rigorous design approach on the constant, high-value aspects of your business, the areas where the impact of failure is significant enough to turn a “nice-to-have” into a business-critical “must-have.” By working with the business to define their risk appetite, we identify where we must invest in these patterns to provide the greatest protection and operational leverage.

• Compliance. Moving beyond reactive “tick-box” exercises. For instance, when a system processes cardholder data, PCI compliance is not an afterthought, it is a baked-in architectural standard. We identify the regulatory and contractual requirements essential to your operations and embed them as default patterns. This protects the business from the legal and financial fallout of non-compliance, while simultaneously removing the “audit tax” from engineers. By building systems that prove their own compliance through embedded evidence collection and observability, we ensure your team can demonstrate control without the scramble of manual evidence gathering.

• Security. This discipline is broad, but the “Golden Path” makes it manageable. We define security-by-default patterns based on your specific risk appetite and legal obligations for data protection. For high-stakes environments, this means moving away from manual security reviews toward identity-first architectures and pre-approved, hardened infrastructure templates. We prioritise these patterns where the threat surface is most dangerous, ensuring your team has the guardrails to build securely without needing to be security specialists themselves.

• Business Concerns. These are the goals that define your competitive edge. If your business depends on high-velocity throughput, then performance is not an optional check; it is a mandatory architectural invariant. If cost-efficiency is your primary concern, then automated cost-tracking and resource-usage patterns are baked into your design library. Whatever the core driver of your business, we treat it as a foundational constraint, embedding the measurement of that impact (e.g., latency budgets or cloud spend) directly into your design patterns. This turns your business goals into technical reality, making the impact visible from the very first line of code.

The Mechanism of Evolution: Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)

Many teams struggle with fragmented knowledge and decision-making bottlenecks because they lack a formal way to track architectural intent. If your organisation doesn’t currently use Architecture Decision Records (ADRs), implementing them is one of the fastest ways to break down the silos I described earlier.

ADRs serve as more than just documentation; they are the primary mechanism for:

• Removing Silos. By sharing a proposed decision early, you invite input from specialists: security, compliance, or performance leads, before the code is even written. This ensures their requirements are addressed at the start, not as a gatekeeper at the end.

• Avoiding Rework. By recording the “why” behind a technical choice, you prevent future teams from repeating the same mistakes or questioning established standards, significantly reducing costly rework.

• Reducing “Meeting Fatigue”. A well-written ADR acts as an asynchronous source of truth. It allows stakeholders to review and comment on designs without the need for endless, overlapping sync meetings.

• Iteratively Improving Standards. When we embed a section for “Compliance and Non-Functional Impacts” into the ADR template, your decisions begin to form a living repository of architectural standards.

Over time, this repository stops being a collection of static documents and becomes a high-value asset. It captures the history of your technical trade-offs and guides the next team to make the right choice, ensuring your “Golden Path” evolves alongside your business rather than becoming a brittle or outdated constraint.

The Outcomes

By shifting to an integrated design model, you move from a reactive, high-friction environment to one that treats stability and compliance as an engine for delivery, not a drag on it.

• From “Disruptive” to “Embedded”. Compliance, security, and performance become “part of the work.” By baking these requirements into your design patterns, you eliminate the need for last-minute scramble cycles and audit-driven pivots.

• Reduced Cognitive Load. By providing engineers with a “Golden Path” of pre-approved, battle-tested templates, you remove the burden of navigating complex requirements from scratch. Engineers can focus on shipping features, confident that the foundation they are building on is already compliant and secure by design.

• Decoupled Decision-Making. Through the use of ADRs and standardised patterns, knowledge is no longer trapped in individual silos. You create a transparent, asynchronous flow of information that allows teams to move fast with autonomy, while still aligning with the broader architectural and risk appetite of the business.

• Measurable Resilience. You stop building “silos of functionality” and start building cohesive systems. Because these patterns are embedded with observability and measurable success criteria, you aren’t just guessing if your solution is secure or performant, you have the data to prove it.

Why Experience Matters

If the philosophy sounds straightforward, the execution is where most teams hit the wall. Building a “Golden Path” isn’t just about drafting documentation or choosing the right libraries; it is about navigating the human element. It involves untangling legacy requirements that no longer make sense, managing the cultural resistance to changing established ways of working, and bridging the often-wide gap between risk-averse stakeholders and delivery-focused engineers.

I have spent my career helping organisations move away from reactive, audit-heavy cultures toward this model of embedded design. I’ve seen firsthand how projects that used to stall for weeks due to compliance sign-offs can pivot to a “design-by-default” flow. The result is a significant reduction in lead time and, more importantly, a system that is objectively more robust and maintainable.

Moving Forward

If your team is struggling to balance the weight of compliance with the speed of delivery, the answer isn’t more checklists or more manual oversight. It’s a change in your architectural foundations.

I specialise in helping organisations audit their current technical landscape, identify the points of highest friction, and build the “Golden Path” templates that allow your engineers to do their best work without the constant, draining tax of “checking the boxes.”

If these challenges sound familiar to your current workflow, I’m always happy to chat about how other teams have successfully shifted their architectural patterns. You can find me over on LinkedIn, or feel free to drop me an email to discuss how we might start mapping your own path of least resistance.

Benefit from preparation.

J.

I’ve spent most of my career in permanent roles, comfortably embedded in the rhythm of a single department. So, when I made the move to independent contracting earlier this year, it felt less like a change in employment and more like learning a new language.

You’re suddenly an outsider dropped into the middle of established dynamics, with no tenure to rely on and a clock that starts ticking the moment you sign the contract. My first engagement was a baptism of fire, but it taught me that contracting is as much about managing your own operations as it is about delivering technical excellence. If you’re preparing to make the leap, here are the realities, and the lessons, I’ve gathered from my first stint on the other side of the fence.

The Reality of Invoicing and Cash Flow

We often focus on the day rate, but the actual flow of money is where many new contractors get caught out. When you’re signing a contract, you need to do the maths, not just on the revenue, but on the timeline of when that cash actually hits your bank account.

• Map your payment terms. It is easy to get tripped up by the time between work and payment. For example, if you bill on the first of the month for the previous month’s work with 30-day payment terms, you aren’t just waiting 30 days; you are waiting for the completion of the billing cycle plus the payment period. If you aren’t careful, you could be working for two months before seeing a single invoice paid. This is entirely manageable, provided you plan for it, it’s the surprise that hurts.

• Test your plumbing. Don’t wait until your first invoice is due to find out if your banking setup isn’t compatible with the client’s accounts payable department. I ran into issues with Mettle’s support for Fast Payments; when an invoice was overdue, we discovered the payment had simply “bounced back.” This forced a scramble to set up BACS, which introduces its own lead time, typically three business days. Check if your bank accepts international payments if your client is based abroad (Mettle does not, so I am already looking at secondary options for future contracts), and clarify their preferred payment methods early. It saves an incredibly awkward conversation later on.

Re-affirming Expectations (Early and Often)

In a permanent role, culture and expectations are often absorbed through osmosis. As a contractor, you don’t have the luxury of time. You need to be explicit from the start to ensure you are delivering value, not just busyness.

• The Week One Reset. Use your first week to document your understanding of the engagement expectations. Get your key stakeholders to review this immediately. This isn’t about being bureaucratic; it’s about ensuring you are all pulling in the same direction from day-one.

• Spotting “Solutionising”. Often, stakeholders will approach you with a “solution” disguised as a requirement (e.g., “We need to implement X tool”). Your role is to look past the requested solution and identify the core problem. Ask the probing questions: What are we trying to achieve? What is the business pain point here? By shifting the focus to the root cause, you can propose the most effective solution, which might be simpler, faster, or more strategic than what was initially asked for.

• The Scope Guardrail. You are there to meet a specific, agreed-upon outcome. The reality of project management is an inescapable balancing act: you cannot add work without adjusting either the timeline or the quality.

  • Managing Changing Expectations. When stakeholders suggest new features or tasks mid-engagement, ensure the scope is formally revisited. Adding work without a corresponding adjustment is a fast track to burn-out and under-delivering. By referencing the project management triangle: the trade-off between scope, time, and quality, you can turn a “no” into a collaborative conversation about what is actually possible. Use your initial engagement document to steer the conversation: Does this requested change still align with our original goal, or is it a new priority?

  • Adjusting Initial Commitments. Sometimes, the initial scope is simply too broad, or the technical debt you uncover makes the original plan impossible. Identifying this early is a sign of professional maturity, not failure. When this happens, be transparent: present your stakeholders with the trade-offs immediately. Do we reduce the feature set to hit the date, or do we extend the timeline to maintain quality? Giving them the agency to choose ensures you are not held accountable for an impossible delivery.

• Cadence Matters. Regular, brief check-ins are your primary safety mechanism. These aren’t just for status updates; they are the moments to sanity-check that your output still aligns with the stakeholder’s reality and to catch any “scope creep” before it becomes a systemic issue. If meetings are impossible due to busy schedules or annual leave, ensure you provide written updates that allow for asynchronous feedback. If you don’t hear back, don’t panic. Be confident in the value of your work; people are busy, and silence is rarely a reflection on you or your delivery.

Building Relationships with Limited Time

In a permanent role, you have the luxury of time to build rapport. As an independent contractor, that runway doesn’t exist. However, the value of these relationships is even higher; they are the primary source of the intelligence you need to deliver results quickly.

• Engineering: Your Knowledge Partners. Your relationship with the engineering team is your most vital asset. They hold the institutional knowledge of the systems and the domain. Invest time early in learning from them, not just about the tech stack, but about the current processes and the “hidden” culture. When you suggest improvements, they need to be compatible with the team’s reality. Bring the engineers on the journey; when they are part of the solution’s creation, they will champion it, ensuring your work survives long after your engagement ends.

• Stakeholders: Solving the Right Problems. Build a relationship of trust so you can move past the “solutions” stakeholders think they need and get to the root cause of the problem. Ask the hard questions: Why is this a priority now? Where is the company heading? By understanding their genuine concerns, you can tailor your consultancy to hit actual pain points rather than just following a pre-written requirement.

• The Wider Business: Connecting the Dots. Your impact often depends on knowledge that exists outside the technology silo. You need to understand how the business interacts with the systems, how processes for change work, and where the users are struggling. For my first engagement, which was compliance-focused, I couldn’t just stay in the code and with the engineering teams; I had to build bridges with legal and compliance teams to understand contractual obligations and internal policies. I also spent time with other areas of the business, including the actual system users, to get a clear view on the access and use of data at rest. Don’t be afraid to reach across the aisle; identifying the right people to talk to is just as important as the technical work itself.

Shifting Your Professional Identity

One of the biggest internal shifts I had to navigate was the change in how I perceive myself. As a permanent employee, my identity was always tied to the value I provided to my teams and the longevity of the systems I supported. I enjoyed having the time to make things better around me and invest deeply in the people and the platforms I worked on.

As a contractor, that dynamic changes. You are an external expert, and embracing that distinction is key to your psychological safety.

• Own the “Expert” Label. You were hired for a reason. There is a temptation to jump straight into “doing” to prove your worth. Remind yourself that you don’t need to know the internal history of every system on day-one. Your value lies in your objective, external perspective. Use that distance to ask the “stupid” questions or highlight the “elephants in the room” that permanent staff might have become blind to. You have experience that is valuable to the business and that is why you have been hired as an expert. Your worth will be proven by you doing your job well, so it’s better to focus on the job at hand than how others perceive you.

• Avoid the “Over-Performance Trap”. It is natural to want to work twice as hard to secure a contract extension, but over-performing to the point of burnout is a dangerous game. When you pour excessive, uncompensated hours into a client, you aren’t just risking your own health, you are inadvertently setting a precedent that is unsustainable for both you and your brand. Protect your energy. If you are consistently working well beyond your remit, the scope needs to be re-evaluated, not run faster.

The “Admin Tax” and Redefining Your Day Rate

The day rate you agree upon is not a salary. It is a gross revenue figure that has to cover your taxes, equipment, bench time, and the “admin tax” of running a business. Realising this early changes how you look at your calendar.

• Understanding Your Value. Your day rate reflects the value of your output, not just the hours you spend at a keyboard. That said, you need to be clear on the “core hours” the client expects you to be available. Most companies have a window, typically a core set of hours where you need to be reachable online or physically present in the office, to ensure you can collaborate effectively with the wider team.

• Designing Your Own Flow. Once you meet the client’s core expectations, the remaining time is where you can reclaim your autonomy. I personally work based on a target of hours per week (e.g., four days’ worth of work totaling around 30 hours). By being present and active during the client’s core hours, I buy myself the flexibility to flex the remainder of my time. This allows me to structure my day around my own energy levels, squeeze in a gym session, or tackle deep work when my concentration is at its peak. This isn’t about working less; it’s about working smarter and ensuring that your working life remains sustainable over the long term.

Personal Brand and Professional Authenticity

In the fintech and financial sectors, there’s an expectation that you need to be a chameleon, fading into the background of navy suits and stiff corporate norms. This is particularly true if you are operating at a leadership level, where first impressions as an external consultant really matter. I’ve found that you don’t need to sacrifice your identity to meet that standard. My personal style, which involves a lot of black and trends towards greb, alternative, or “goth,” is a non-negotiable part of who I am. It’s where I feel most confident, and that confidence is exactly what clients are paying for. For work, I compromise and elevate my casual day-to-day to more “corporate goth” in an office setting.

The approach here isn’t to rebel by ignoring the environment, but to find a compromise that commands respect. You have to look the part to be heard. I’ve learnt that you can absolutely retain your edge, the leather, the black aesthetic, the personal flair (including colour-changing hair), while ensuring it is “put together” and boardroom-appropriate. It’s about choosing high-quality, architectural pieces and focusing on tailoring rather than relying on stylistic shock value. You can look sharp, serious, and professional without disappearing into an image that you don’t fit into.

• Your Brand is Your Filtering Mechanism. By being clear about who you are in your digital presence, you naturally filter for clients who value your expertise over your ability to fit a traditional mould. When I arrive on-site, there is no “shock factor” because my branding already tells the story.

• The “Professional” Compromise. It isn’t about hiding your style; it’s about elevating it. The goal is to bridge the gap between “alternative” and “professional” by focusing on fit and quality. You can wear all black and leather while still meeting the exacting standards of a boardroom. Never underestimate how much your clothes affect your mindset; if you feel like you are wearing a costume version of yourself, your performance will suffer.

Wrapping Up

Contracting is a shift in mindset as much as it is a change in career path. It requires you to be your own project manager, accountant, and brand advocate all at once. It can be intense, and there are days when the “admin tax” feels like it’s eating into your creative time, or the lack of established tenure makes you feel like an imposter.

But there is also immense freedom in it. By setting your own boundaries, managing your own expectations, and refusing to compromise on your identity, you move from being just another pair of hands to being a partner who delivers real, lasting value.

Take the lessons from your first engagement and build on them. Your expertise is your currency: protect it, refine it, and ensure that every contract you take on is one that respects the professional and the person.

Onward to the next one.

J.

For years, the ‘admin’ side of contracting felt like a dark art. I’d look at the practicalities: taxes, incorporations, insurance, and decide that my permanent role was safer. I understood it, it was easy and I didn’t want the extra stress.

Now that I’ve decided to take the leap into contracting, I finally faced the fear and learned about what I needed to do. I realized that while I’m a specialist in digital, I don’t have to be a specialist in accounting. Luckily, there is a wealth of information online, and many companies offering support to make the process painless. I needed to be be able to confirm contracts, manage business expenses, receive payments and not get in trouble with HMRC. Here is how I got started without losing my mind.

The Essentials

To be ready to take on work I needed to have:

• a company set up.
• an accountant and advice on managing my accounts.
• a business bank account.
• someone to assess any contracts to ensure they are compliant with tax laws.
• any necessary insurance policies.

After researching, I decided to use a company that offered to do the most of the work for me, rather than manage these concerns myself.

✔ Set up company

Gorilla have an offering to form a limited company. This includes registration with Companies House, Certificate of incorporation and Memorandum and articles of association.

The most difficult thing I needed to do as part of this process was decide on a name for my business. It took an embarrassing amount of thought and consideration to figure out what to call my company, but we all know naming is hard!

The name of the business needed to fit the following needs:

• Avoiding the words “consultancy” or “consultant”. The word “consultancy” has developed negative associations. Although the services I offer and the manner in which I conduct myself is consultative, describing it in this way puts off potential clients. Sadly, a number of companies have had poor experiences with consultancies. My approach is not to dictate change, but work with companies to provide advice and ensure it’s practical for the teams that will implement and support solutions. Nonetheless, I have to consider first impressions and if the word “consultant” doesn’t lend itself to this image, I need to avoid it.
• The name needed to sound like a business and not an individual. I want the name to reflect this is a professional business. This is for any correspondence, administrative needs and for contact details.
• However, I did want my name reflected in the business name. I’ve known contractors who have had issues when having temporary accounts set up with their clients because of the name of their company. There is one that sticks in memory as their accounts were set up under their business name and not their actual name. To this day I can’t recall what they were actually called. It made for some tricky interactions on calls. For this reason, I chose to have my name reflected in the name of the business I was setting up.
• Avoiding something I would later find embarrassing. Think back to your first email address or MSN login (showing my age there). It would be a fair assumption to make that it isn’t what you’d want a company you run to be called. In some industries (like game development) you can have a fun sounding name, but for my needs, it would likely hinder my chances of being selected for certain contracts.
• Ensuring the name reflected the work. I wanted the name to reflect the work I was engaged in. “Services” felt generic, “Technology” was another option, but I decided on “Digital”.

Taking all the above points into consideration, I have decided on JBrentnall Digital.

You can set up your company by yourself, and the process isn’t overly complex. There are a lot of guides on how to do this available online.

✔ Find an accountant

I also chose to use Gorilla for my accountancy needs. It’s been really easy working with them. Once the company was set up, they assigned one of their accountants to my business.

An initial phone call was set up where I met the accountant I would be working with going forward. She is fantastic and talked me through what to expect, talked me through what I needed to consider and do in the short term and sent me extra reading.

The conversation included:

• considering if I wanted to be VAT registered, as well as what that would mean.
• information about expenses.
• important dates.

It was agreed that a later call would be set up once I had a bank account set up so that we could walk through the accountancy software I would need to use. In this case I will be using FreeAgent.

As for VAT, I am holding off until my second contract before registering. My rates for my first contract have been agreed without me being VAT registered, and I have not earned enough money that I have to be VAT registered yet. The VAT registration threshold is currently £90,000 in the UK (2024-2026). Taking all this into account, my accountant and I agreed we could delay this to line up with the next contract. It keeps things a bit simpler for now.

✔ Set up business bank account

If I were to go through this process again, I would set up the bank account first and far in advance of the other actions. I was aware that this would take some time. In this case, I left it until I was completely certain I wanted to pursue contracting which I’m comfortable was the correct choice, but also it would have relieved some stress to get the account set up further in advance.

The choice of where to set up the business bank account was guided by Gorilla as well. They suggested Mettle by NatWest as it’s got a handy integration into FreeAgent, making managing accountancy easier. It means I don’t have to spend my Sundays manually matching receipts to bank statements; the tech does the heavy lifting.

In terms of experience, the application form for setting up the business bank account was seamless. I’ve had a business bank account with another bank before (I won’t name and shame in this case), and that was a chore to set up. The other bank required in person meetings, and a lot of paper work. Applying for a business bank account with Mettle by Natwest was a simple form using their phone app.

It can take 10 - 20 days for an account to be set up. At the time of this post, it’s definitely heading towards the 20 day mark. This is a relatively standard time frame from my previous experience of setting up business bank accounts as well.

✔ Consider insurance

There are a number of different options for insurance. I reached out to Qdos for a quote and they gave the options for two types of coverage:

• Professional Indemnity: Covers you for the legal costs and compensation should your client allege negligence or error with your services, and take legal action to recover their losses.

• Public Liability: Covers you for the defence costs and, if necessary, your legal liability to a third party where you have caused, or are alleged to have caused injury or property damage in the provision of your services.

For my purposes I don’t need public liability, but I have opted for professional indemnity.

There are other forms of insurance that can be considered, but I don’t need them for the initial set up of the business. There are some options I will look into down the line, especially given I live with an invisible illness/disability. When it comes time I will write about the experience, including what I have to set up to prepare for the worst case scenario when it comes to my health. I am keen to ensure that I not only set myself up, but also have plans in place to ensure any clients aren’t negatively impacted if my health declines at any point.

✔ Get contracts reviewed

It’s recommended to have a lawyer/solicitor assess any contracts to ensure they are compliant with tax laws and helps demonstrate “reasonable care” to HMRC, minimizing risks of penalties. For those new to this: IR35 determines if you’re effectively an employee in the eyes of HMRC. Getting this wrong leads to a lot of headache and negative repercussions I am eager to avoid!

Qdos, who I set up my insurance with also had a service for reviewing contracts against IR35 legislation. To keep things easy, I asked them to review my contract as part of the agreement with them. Again, there are many options available.

✔ Little Extra: Business Email and SEO

Email

I set up all the above using my personal email, but it was pointed out to me during the process that having a separate business email gives a better impression. Also, gmail accounts can get stuck in certain company filters. I use google for my personal email, and to keep things easy I used Google to set up my business email.

With Google you can buy a domain using Squarespace and have a “business” email with the familiar Google Mail interface.

I considered a couple of different options for the email address. I chose a domain that matched my business name "@jbrentnalldigital.com". For the prefix I considered "info", "contact" or "services" but with some light research found out that email addresses with these prefixes can get stuck in spam or blocked entirely due to company filters. They also feel impersonal, which does not match the feel of the branding I’m trying to align to. My full name felt long and redundant ("jessica.brentnall@jbrentnall" felt far too repetitive). As such, I decided on "jessica" as the email prefix.

Website

As I already have a website, I decided against making a separate one for the business. Instead, I made changes to improve the SEO of this website and ensure people are directed to it when they Google “JBrentnall Digital”.

To achieve this I used a combination of Google Lighthouse and taking advice from Copilot. As you may have noticed, the website now mentions the company name and the company logo is at the bottom of the blog posts and the favicon has changed to the company logo as well.

Now I’m Ready To Work.

There are further options for support including wealth management, advice for pensions and other forms of insurance. For now, I have set up what I need to be able to contract. When I am more established I may explore further support.

Lessons Learned (The “TL;DR”)

If you are thinking about making the jump from perm to contract, here is my “cheat sheet” based on the last few weeks:

• Start the bank application yesterday. Even with modern “challenger” banks, the compliance checks can take weeks. Don’t wait until you have a contract in hand to start this.

• Don’t DIY the boring stuff. Unless you love HMRC paperwork, find an all-in-one package (like Gorilla/FreeAgent). The monthly fee is worth the peace of mind.

• Naming isn’t permanent. I spent way too long agonizing over “JBrentnall Digital”. Pick something professional and move on—you can always rebrand later if you pivot!

• Audit your “Safety Net”. Transitioning from an employer-led pension and sick pay to being your own boss is a mindset shift. Prioritize Professional Indemnity insurance from day one.

• Ask the “Stupid” Questions. Your accountant has heard it all before. I felt silly asking about VAT thresholds, but that 15-minute call saved me hours of Googling.

• The “Dark Arts” aren’t that scary. Once you pull back the curtain, contracting admin is just a series of checklists. Don’t let the fear of paperwork keep you in a role that no longer fits.

Until next time,

J.

I’ve decided that my next role won’t be a permanent position. Instead, I want to work on a contract basis.

With this decision there were a couple of key things I needed to consider. As a contractor, what do I have to offer a company? What experience and skills have I developed that provides maximum value to a business in a short period of time? How do I set up businesses up for success going forward?

I needed to consider myself as a product.

What I Offer as a Contractor

Over my career, I’ve worked in leadership positions in highly regulated environments, responsible for technical strategy, roadmaps, and team development. I’ve learned how to set businesses up to succeed, ensuring that teams, systems, and processes are ready to deliver efficiently and effectively.

Some of the experience I can leverage to help companies and the teams that work in them includes:

• Worked in leadership positions in highly regulated environments and been responsible for technical strategies and roadmaps.

• Developed and grown departments, fostered engineering cultures that drive innovation and produce quality products and set up recruitment and succession plans.

• Grown practices and procedures to ensure businesses are compliant, consider regulation and security as part of design. This involved building bridges between professions for a high level of collaboration.

• Assessed pre-loved systems and supported teams in bringing a second lease of life to them, making them maintainable, sustainable and valued again.

• Designed and reviewed designs of technical architectures to check that they are appropriate for the needs of the business, are secure and compliant.

All this to say, my skill set lies in setting up businesses and teams to succeed. I can set up strategic roadmaps and the processes and culture to ensure that the teams are set up to deliver efficiently and to a high level of quality. I’m also experienced in technical design, ensuring that those responsible for the systems have the support and advise needed to build and maintain the right systems.

You can explore my full range of contracting services here.

My Approach: Consultative, Collaborative, and Sustainable

Where I believe the true value I provide is in how I approach work. It’s important to me, and to the success of the projects that I drive, that I make efforts to ensure those who are implementing and investing in the solutions understand why they are appropriate, are bought into the solution being the best option and have what they need to maintain it going forward.

From my experience, the best solutions come from working with domain experts and the teams that interact with these systems every day. I provide a level of insight and expertise to identify solutions and how to achieve them, but it is my responsibility to ensure that the people implementing the changes and maintaining those systems going forward understand the justification for those solutions. As part of providing roadmaps and rollouts I would need to make sure that the team have the necessary training and experience for the solution to be appropriate.

This approach is consultative. I want to ensure that any change I propose will provide value to the business, but also won’t be detrimental to the experience of the teams supporting it.

Throughout my engagement I will bring the supporting teams along the journey. I will make sure we have clear communication lines and that I am being transparent with all the work I conduct and the research and reasoning behind my proposals. Throughout, I will garner feedback from stakeholders at all levels to make sure that the proposals are practical. At the end of the engagement, I’ll hand over everything needed so that the future of the work will be successful.

Throughout my career, I’ve aimed to be a good scout: “leave places a little bit better than when you arrive”. In my view, the most lasting way to do that is to interact and work with the teams who will continue the work long after you have left.

I’ve found that the best solutions come from working closely with the teams who use and maintain them every day. My approach is consultative: I provide insight, guidance, and strategy, but I make sure that the teams responsible for implementation are fully supported and empowered.

Key Experience & Impact

I’ve worked with companies of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, and across highly regulated industries, particularly in FinTech.

Some highlights include:

• Engaged in multiple platform migration projects, at all levels including change in hosting provider, onto better suited infrastructure and changing languages and frameworks used.
• Managed governance and compliance assessments and audits including PCI v4, GDPR and ISO 27001
• Completed Security and architectural reviews for tenders for contracts with clients.
• Driven a culture of best practice across teams for techniques and practices including observability, testing, security, governance, IaC and CI/CD.
• Developed and planned architecture and strategy for multi-cloud environments across Azure and AWS.
• Built and grown teams across engineering and architecture.
• Led technical change and strategic initiatives aligned to business objectives inc delivery efficiency, cost reduction, resilience and client onboarding.
• Managed roadmaps and teams with a focus on supporting products and business needs across security, infrastructure, engineering and architecture.

If there are any specific asks, I’m happy to share whether I have appropriate experience or not in an early stage conversation.

Next Steps

First of all, thank you for reading this far! This was a long one.

For full transparency I’ve had early stage conversations with a couple of companies about potential opportunities. If you are interested in hiring my services later down the line, the best way to contact me is on LinkedIn.

Next for me: I’m going to continue studying for my exams during my time off and I will be doing the admin required to set myself up to contract. I will be writing about those experiences as well, as I’ve had a few people reach out to say they are interested in this journey.

I look forward to working with you.

J.

This past month, as well as relaxing and enjoying my time away from work, I’ve been considering what I want to do next. When I wrote my last post I had some vague notions on what I would like in my next role, but I hadn’t really contemplated the specifics. I’ve decided to do something I haven’t yet done in my career. I’m going to work on a contract basis.

Throughout my career so far, I’ve only worked in permanent positions. This has allowed me to grow and build up my experience while having a strong degree of stability and support. I’ve had the opportunity to work on interesting challenges, technical and interpersonal, while working in highly regulated environments. I now have built up a portfolio of experience that means I can help businesses with a variety of challenges.

Contracting to companies to help with technical and culture transformation is something I used to talk to my friends and colleagues as a “sometime… when…” ambition. It used to be something I saw as a far off fantasy, whereas some of my close colleagues saw it as an inevitability for me. I enjoy my work helping companies with strategic change, infecting engineers with enthusiasm and driving purpose in my engagement with teams, leaving places in a better state than when I arrived. I love problem solving and supporting people in identifying and understanding their challenges and developing a plan with them for the implementation of a solution. I’ve now got a lot of experience of doing just that at different levels.

Documenting the journey

Moving from permanent positions to contract is a little daunting. It’s new for me and change always brings with it a degree of uncertainty. I tend to find pushing myself out of my comfort zone results in positive outcomes, unexpected opportunities and lessons learned. I will tackle this challenge the way I do most things: with structure, research, planning and reflection.

There is a lot of information about what you need to do and consider when taking the step into moving into contract/consultancy work and the many options available. I won’t be writing all of that up. It’s readily available and mostly quite dry reading. What I will be writing is my experience.

For those who are interested, I plan to write about the practical steps, but also what I’m doing personally to set myself up as a contractor. This will include understanding myself as a product, what my service offerings will be and high-level insights into what I was expecting versus the reality of working for myself.

Maybe it will make the idea of going contracting less daunting to someone considering doing the same, and help them feel more confident in taking the chance. I certainly will be asking advice from those I know who have taken this path themselves, so to pay it forward in some small way would be nice.

Plan for the next month

I have a “To Do” list for the end of March, which will also give you and idea for what to expect in upcoming posts.

Certifications

Study for and pass AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-CO3) and Professional (SAP-CO2) exams. I plan to do some Azure certifications in the future as well but not in the coming month.

Getting ready to contract

There is a lot of little tasks I need to do but it will include getting set up with an accountant, setting up the business, structuring a service offering, marketing, talking to companies about potential contracts and setting up expectations and commercial terms documents.

Think you might have work for me?

I don’t plan to be ready to jump into work until April, but if your needs aren’t immediate and you think I might be able to help your organisation please do reach out. I’ll be adding details to this site soon about how I can help and what services I offer but I am more than happy to discuss any opportunity.

The best way to contact me is using LinkedIn.

Wish me success.

J.

Last year I took a slightly different approach to growing myself in my career. I stepped away from events and focused instead of growing in my own day-to-day work. This was not an easy choice and meant walking away from the work to stay a Microsoft MVP, talking at events, and even aligned with finally saying goodbye to DDD East Midlands Conference. Those who know me personally, know how hard this was personally. I invest my whole self into my community endeavors, and it has been a source of satisfaction and of my own internalised sense of value.

I did this for a few reasons. Firstly, I was tired. I’m an introverted soul at heart and to put all my energy into doing my best at my day job for my team, then doing more outside of work - I was focusing all my energy on other people and not spending any of it on me. I was heading fast to full burn out (which is always a balance). Another reason was at the end of 2024 my position changed at work to being a Head Of, and that meant my responsibilities and nature of my work changed. I was responsible for the technical strategy of a whole platform, for teams and individuals and their growth, for quality of design and software, and I was now having meetings with senior leadership and clients. I’m proud of the work I do and the teams I work with and I wanted to perform at my best. To do so, while adapting to this change I wanted to focus my energies on doing the best I could in this role and growing into it.

Looking back, I have no regrets about this decision. Part of the reason is, though I have always enjoyed work and found it interesting, in all my previous roles there was always something missing. I filled that gap with community work, helping me achieve the balance I needed. Turns out, a leadership role (like being the Head of Architecture) is the sort of role that hits every note for me. I’m challenged by it and I am genuinely passionate about driving decisions that help the long term strategy of a business but also the people working with and around me. I’ve really enjoyed my job, and because of that I genuinely believe I grew to be really pretty good at it. I wouldn’t have been able to settle into it as well if I hadn’t focused all my attention into doing so.

Once I settled into the rhythm at work, I started to spend some of my “work energy” on learning again. I did my TOGAF exams which is something I’ve wanted to do for a while but never found the time for previously. I sorted out learning and progression plans for others. I started mentoring and coaching again. I grew in different and unexpected ways.

Then December came.

In December 2025, NewDay and I parted ways. The company have gone through some changes and as part of the restructure it was decided my role was no longer needed. There is a lot that I would have loved to have done, but I am proud of what I’ve achieved in my 3 years at the company. I got to work with fantastic people and I believe I was a good boy scout, leaving NewDay in a bit of a better state than it was when I arrived.

My last day was December 19th, which meant the two weeks that followed were filled with Holiday distractions. I had Christmas with my family followed by Chrimbo-Limbo and New Years with friends. I’ve spent this first full week of 2026 cleaning up after all the events in my house and letting everything finally hit me and settle in.

This is the first time I’ve left a company not knowing what is next. It’s quite surreal. What adds to the strangeness is that I can afford to take a bit of time to figure out what I want to do. I think I do need a little break before the next professional adventure, but also I don’t need to rush anything, I can make sure that what is next is the right thing.

What can we expect in 2026?

I am well aware that life happens in spite of the plans made, so I can’t predict what will happen in 2026. Here is a list of some of the things I’d like to do early this year for myself:

• renew and do some more of my AWS Certifications once I’ve recouped the energy.
• write more on this blog
• build a couple of talks to submit to conferences. (I know what I want to create, and I would like to find the time to do it well).

In terms of professionally, I want to keep leading. I’m hoping to find a great company that will take me on in a senior leadership position, ideally with more management than my previous role, but still working on technical strategy. What role that looks like, well it depends on whats in the realms of the possible. I’m always looking to push myself and so far, each time someone has thrown me out of my depth I have swam.

What do I offer?

I am experienced in cultural and technical change, having completed major projects across multiple companies. I’ve worked in all sizes of companies, at different states of maturity, mostly in highly regulated environments.

If you are looking for someone who can plan and lead large scale changes, who is experienced in communicating at all levels, who is bizarrely organised, pragmatic and tries to build up those around her and make them as enthusiastic and bought into their work as she is - please, get in touch.

The fine print

In my next role I would like to be as remote based as possible. With NewDay I went to the London office once a month and worked fully remote during flu season (end of Oct - March). I am immunocompromised and as such avoiding enclosed spaces, particularly in London, during flu season is essential for my health. I also find I’m more productive remotely and have demonstrated in a number of roles that I do not need to be in person to build relationships and culture.

In my most recent position I found my time was not best spent coding (as much as that is painful to say). I keep technically current, and I am great at getting up to speed on domains and specifics quickly. I had to be good at that being responsible for the architecture of between 48 and 52 engineering teams at any one time. I have learnt that companies get better value out of me if I leave the coding to those who build every day and I work at a higher level. As such, I won’t be considering roles that need me to code regularly for my next position.

How am I doing?

I’m doing ok, thanks for asking. Change is always scary, especially when it’s not one you’ve planned; but with change comes opportunity. I’m excited for what this year will bring; the new challenges, meeting new people and maybe even picking up some old habits and hobbies again.

Meanwhile, if there is any topic of content you would like to see from me on this blog or in a talk format let me know! I’ve got a few ideas, but I would love to hear from you and what you would like me to talk about.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope it’s great for all of us.

Watch this space.

J.

This month I studied for and passed both the TOGAF® Enterprise Architecture Foundation and Practitioner exams. This has been surprising to a few people that know me. Not that I passed, but that I decided to pursue certification through exams. I’ve always been the student who prefers to write a dissertation or do coursework than sit in an exam. I’m not a fan of exams, and historically they are not a fan of me! I made a decision that I wanted to challenge myself, demonstrate some of my architectural capability while also finding better coping mechanisms for going through exams.

Why did I choose to get certified? Why TOGAF?

These are probably the most common questions I’ve been asked since sharing that I was going to study for and complete these exams. There are a few reasons why I have now decided to get certified and why I chose TOGAF as a start.

Spoiler: I plan to do more certs soon.

1. To demonstrate expertise in a commonly accepted format.

Honestly, I personally don’t look to certification to demonstrate skill or capability. As someone who performs better in a more applied or coursework based setting I’ve never found they’ve been a good measure of my own capability. Since leaving university I have struggled re-entering classroom based environments, as they tend to trigger panic attacks. I’ve never done well in artificially timed settings and have actively removed myself from interviews which have required timed coding challenges.

This is amusing to me to some degree as if there is an actual crisis with time deadlines and real-life impacts: I’m the person you want in the room. In the real situations, I’m level headed, always looking to what can be done next to make the next increment of progress to resolve the situation. For some reason I’m still trying to understand, it is only artificial pressure I don’t do well under.

This is a long way of saying, from my lived experience as someone with multiple degrees (honestly not trying to humble brag), I don’t believe the certifications and qualifications truly represent where I provide value. Even when I started in the industry, I saw how those who had come up through apprenticeship and experience were miles ahead of me and my expensive piece of paper. That being said, I recognise the effort it takes to achieve those qualifications, and that my lived experience doesn’t represent everyone’s.

My personal, slightly self-deprecating, view aside; certificates and qualifications are a common way to demonstrate knowledge. They are an easy thing for people to look for in CVs, some are well known as being of a high value, and known to test specific knowledge. There is definitely value to them in this respect, and often the information that comes with those certificates can be useful as well.

2. Because of the industry I happen to work in.

I researched what qualifications companies desire to see someone in my role possessing. Particularly within Finance Technology. Through happenstance, a lot of my career has been spent in Finance Technology. This highly regulated environment is one of the older areas in technology and there is a culture surrounding it which is reflected in that. My research showed a lot of job specs have TOGAF listed as a desirable asset for architectural roles to have.

This is why I set my eyes on TOGAF to complete initially. I’m currently a Head of Architecture. I love working in architecture, and I adore leading teams and building up people. In my future career, I would like opportunities to lead larger teams and departments; building upon the skill-set I’ve developed and continuing to do work that I’m passionate about.

TOGAF as an architectural framework, has aspects I can utilise in my current role and the content is useful to me. Alongside this, I treat myself in my career as a product. As with any product I want to demonstrate I am keeping up to date in areas businesses consider important. I want to maintain my skill-set and be marketable as a product when it comes to the day I need to search for work again.

3. Unconscious bias.

I was debating on whether to share this as part of my decision process. I have tried to be as open and honest in this post as possible, and this was a big factor to my decision process; so I will reiterate, this is based on perception of my lived experience. Others may not have the same views, and that’s fine.

I am successful for my age, and I tend to be younger in appearance than I actually am as well (based on comments I’ve had). I am also multi-ethnic and female presenting. All this you can tell on sight, it won’t be news to any of you who have seen a photo or met me. Unfortunately, all of these can carry the risk of unconscious bias.

In this particular context, ageism has been the most visibly negatively impacting factor. Some of my other “diverse characteristics” have had some negative associations as well. People question how I’ve got to where I am at my age; especially if they have not had similar experience and opportunity. Is it nepotism? Have I failed upwards? Is it because I’m a diversity hire and a company needed to show D&I efforts? I have actually been asked these questions. Sad, but very true.

People have verbally doubted that I got to this position because I am genuinely qualified, capable and good at my job. I know I am all these things. That’s not being cocky, but I have to be aware of my own worth and build up my own confidence when I have to hear doubt from those who have never worked with me. I measure successes and learn from failures. I need to keep these metrics to honestly get an idea of where I am at and where I can improve.

One of the thing I find helps abate these early concerns is to have certifications and qualifications. Demonstrable, tangible, evidence that I know enough to pass an exam, and can point to.

4. For my own self confidence and mental health.

Despite the heading I think this point is a positive one. The role I’m in often has a long feedback loop. My success in my role often is demonstrated in the success of those around me. Sometimes that can be difficult to attribute back.

To combat this, I like to have small achievable wins. Scoped items inside or outside of work that I can complete, tick the box and get a rush of endorphins from a job well done. I know, it’s a bit daft, but it’s what I do.

Despite my slight rant early in this post, I take pride in passing exams. It’s something that isn’t easy for me, but that I can achieve in a short amount of time.

Training course

I signed up for a course by Advanced Skills. This was a four day, fully remote course which covered the content needed to take the TOGAF® Enterprise Architecture Foundation and Practitioner exams, plus extra reading and vouchers to take the exams.

This was the bit I was most nervous about. The last time I was in a classroom setting I had a panic attack. Luckily, it was a japanese course I was taking for “fun”, so there weren’t any huge impacts to this reaction. It was just after the pandemic, and was in person. All in all, I was throwing myself in the deep-end that time. I’m immunocompromised, and as such the pandemic was incredibly isolating for me. When we were allowed to socialise again I had severe social anxiety. Add on my discomfort with classrooms - honestly I don’t know what I was thinking.

Back to the TOGAF course, it was run by Krzysztof Grynienko and he was fantastic. At first I was very quiet, unsure, and nervous. He made it the classroom a very safe space, inclusive and set it up to encourage interaction (impressive for a fully remote and international class). Once it was clear that not only was there no judgement for incorrect answers, but also the value of being more involved, I participated to the level that I wouldn’t be surprised if I was borderline annoying to some of my classmates.

For me the course content was easier to remember and learn when it was being applied to actual cases people had gone through at work. We shared how we would apply the framework at work, where it would be useful, where it would need adapting etc. This turned a memory-by-rote exercise to instead be focused as applied learning. This really suits my learning style.

Krzysztof ensured everyone had room to be heard and to ask questions. The information was shared through text and visually with pictures, and regularly we had activities, questions or conversation to encourage the application of what had been learnt.

The unexpected benefit of this course was being introduced to others at the same stage of their career as I was in across different companies. I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to network like that and meet like-minded individuals going through similar challenges and growth. I’ve kept in touch with a couple of my course-mates since.

Certification

The first exam is “a closed-book, multiple-choice test with 40 questions, lasting 60 minutes, and requires a minimum score of 60% (24 correct answers) to pass”. The second exam is “a complex multiple-choice, scenario-based questions, with a 90-minute time limit”.

I’m not going to put any tips here, or mention anything about the content of the exam. Sorry, but it’s in the terms and conditions you sign when you take them! I chose to go to my local Pearson Vue center to take the exams. Honestly, clearing my office would take too much effort to do the exam remotely. There are a lot of books and nic-nacks in that space.

The first exam was pretty much what I expected. There was an aspect of the second the exam that surprised me; but chat to me after you’ve completed it and we can exchange notes on that one!

I did the exams within a week of each other. You need to pass the Foundational before the Practioner, and you get your results pretty much as soon as you complete the exam. I chose to do them separately rather than combined. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck doing exams for two and a half hours with the risk of failing the first one, so the second one being negated anyway! Turned out I didn’t have to worry.

Last notes.

Now I’ve ripped off the plaster, I’m going to continue doing more exams. I want to brush up on some of my technical skills, and have a demonstrable output for some of the knowledge I’ve gained in the last couple of years. This is a great way to do it. Next I’m considering some AWS certs, CIPT certification, PCI certification or maybe even some AI or security related qualifications. I’m not sure yet.

For the immediate future my goal is to get rid of the cold I caught after my last exam. As soon as I relaxed and the adrenaline wore off I caught the sniffles. Always the way.

Until next time.

J.

I’ve been involved in the .NET Foundation in one capacity or another for around 4 and a half years now. Throughout I have been an active member in the Membership committee, who review applications, try to figure out how to make the membership offerings beneficial and drive initiatives to improve the experience for members of the foundation. I’ve also been included in some nomination committees, helping the process for board elections. Two years ago, I was encouraged to put myself forward for the Board of Directors, and much to my surprise, I was elected.

Now that my term has come to an end, I want to reflect a bit on my time on the board.

Some of the challenges

I first want to explore some of what makes volunteering for the .NET Foundation particularly challenging; to the point where it detracts from the enjoyment of being involved in the organisation.

The perception vs the reality

A lot of people think that the .NET Foundation is Microsoft run or that Microsoft are some unseen puppet master behind the .NET Foundation. This is not even close to reality. There is one member of the Board of the Directors who is a Microsoft representative, but they have no extra power than the other board members and don’t particularly push for anything strongly. .

The board, the committees, everything that has an impact on the foundation and how it is run, is done by volunteers. These volunteers aren’t working for or representing Microsoft in any particular way. Yes, a number of people are Microsoft MVPs, and volunteering for the foundation can be put forward as part of your MVP contributions, but this isn’t for any planned influence or bias. It just so happens the Venn diagram of the people who are likely to be Microsoft MVPs and those who are likely to volunteer for the .NET Foundation has a high degree of overlap.

Microsoft are important to the foundation in the respects that they helped the Foundation get started with advice and that they are one of the sponsors of the foundation. I am not going to ignore the history and facts there. However, a lot of people appear to have this assumption that the .NET Foundation is just a form of marketing for Microsoft and that is certainly not the intent.

The vocal minority

As mentioned, the .NET Foundation is driven by volunteers at all levels. The work done for the foundation by the board and by the committees is not done for any compensation or financial gain. People are spending their own time and resources trying to make the .NET Foundation successful.

I make this statement as my perception is this is often forgotten. It is easy to forget when there’s not a lot of exposure of visibility about this.

The downsides to many volunteer run organisations is that change takes time, there’s often a degree of disorganisation and, without concerted effort, the transparency for what the organisation is doing and what it is trying to achieve is often lacking. Let’s be honest, when work is being done without compensation it’s not unlikely that it will not be at the top of peoples priority list. When a persons day job gets difficult, when personal concerns come up, or when other things are preoccupying your time, the work you are doing on a purely voluntary basis may be neglected to a degree. I know I have been guilty of this in the last couple of years. Unless it is a driving passion, sometimes it won’t be the most important thing you’ll be concerned with.

Personally, this feeling increases when you become the outlet for others frustrations. This leads to an inescapable Catch-22. Members of the Foundation will get frustrated at what they see as minimal progress or communication coming from the foundation; or people who aren’t part of the foundation are concerned about what they’ve heard about the foundation. This frustration gets pent up, or when expressed online isn’t expressed in a constructive way. Those who are volunteering for the foundation (particularly Board members) are often the focus of these frustrations. Part of the issue being, though these volunteers are trying hard with their efforts to keep the Foundation running and improving the experience of it, communication about what is being done or how the foundation runs never seems to meet the need. After a while, the complaints make the effort feel like a thankless task. The motivation to do the work being done decreases. The cycle continues.

I’m not saying this is the case for all those who volunteer for the Foundation or that are members of the Board. This was certainly my experience though. As such, when I got asked if I wanted to run for re-election at the end of my term I knew my answer was no. I was tired and it was time for someone with fresh enthusiasm to take my place. It had reached a point where I felt I was constantly at battle and there was no way to satisfy the vocal minority. It wasn’t worth my energy anymore.

I’m all for people being empowered to take control of their own destinies. What I would say to those who are frustrated with the .NET Foundation or have concerns over a perceived influence from Microsoft is don’t complain; take action. Join the committees, drive the change you want to see. Don’t rely on others to influence the change you are passionate about: drive it yourself!

All of the committees are eager for volunteers, and each committee has a member of the board attending. It’s the easiest way to influence change in the .NET Foundation, or to get information on why certain changes aren’t possible if that is the case.

Ambiguity of purpose

The ambiguity of purpose and goals is something the Foundation has tried to tackle numerous times in the last couple of years, and I think despite many efforts it’s still unclear. Is it only for projects, maintainers and contributors? The majority of the Board historically have said no; but I’m not sure this aligns with some peoples views of the foundation. Is the Foundation for a wider .NET community, supporting projects, maintainers and contributors but also speakers, students, and all those included in the .NET community? Some, including myself would say yes, but how does that differentiate the .NET Foundation from other similar communities?

The .NET Foundation does do great work, and helps host some good events but until there is clear agreement on the purpose of the .NET Foundation I think there is always going to be challenge around showing progress towards aims, being able to support people as they expect to be supported making it clear why people should be engaged and want to be involved in driving it forward.

Timezones

During my time on the Board something I have enjoyed is working with a diverse range of people, but one aspect of this diversity causes challenge - where everyone is located.

This has become more of an issue in the past 12 months as there are members in America, Europe, Australia and the UK. Trying to find a time for the board to meet that suited everyone was near impossible. Trying to tackle the work asynchronously was not always practical. As the Foundation grows, this challenge will increase; but the benefits of having more cultures, communities and locations being represented and included in the board far outweighs the issues with this challenge.

What I hoped to achieve

The main things I wanted to achieve during my time on the board was removing the membership fee, improving transparency and introducing a “Champions” programme.

The first I did achieve with the help of the previous Board member Bill Wagner. We both wanted to have the $100 fee for membership removed as it did not provide a significant financial gain for the .NET Foundation and was a barrier to entry for a number of people. We were both passionate about the .NET Foundation being an accessible community. The fee was removed and the membership of the foundation has grown significantly since then.

For increasing transparency, I vastly underestimated how much effort this would require. The Membership Committee, of which I have been Chair for the last 2 years do publicly publish the meetings and agendas for all their meetings. They are available for anyone interested but maybe they are not shared widely enough. Nicole has done amazing work with the Newsletters and other means of communication. This is all her work and I take no credit for any of that. There have been improvements, but there is arguably a lot of work required to improve this area further.

The final point, the membership committee has made some great initial steps towards. The DNF Champions programme has the aims to recognise and provide support and benefits to individuals who do voluntary work that benefits the .NET Foundation. Similar in respects to the Microsoft MVP Program. This work is being picked up by those joining the Board and I have full faith that it will happen in the next year.

What’s next

I’m going to have a bit of a break to start with. I am going on honeymoon soon and need to step away from the Foundation so that I can return refreshed. When I am ready I’ll go back to being a member of the .NET Foundation Membership Committee. I am very fond of the people who are involved and I like what we are trying to achieve in that committee.

What’s good?

As a member of the Board of Directors I learned a lot. I gained experiences which have them helped me in my day job including contract assessment and negotiation. I understand and have experience of managing budgets to a greater degree than I had before.

Personally though, what I benefited from the most was working with some brilliant individuals. Working with such passionate, smart and experienced people over the last few years has been a true pleasure and I hope to get the opportunity to do so again.

Would I recommend it?

Would I recommend being a silent member of the .NET Foundation? Not really. Would I recommend being a member if you are looking to be involved in committees and eventually running for the board? Definitely. For me, the amount you are engaged in .NET Foundation is paid back in kind. I enjoy being part of this community and everyone who voices their opinion and ideas is listened to and considered respectfully. It’s full of brilliant people and this is why I plan to be involved still, but in a different capacity.

This post may come across as quite negative, but I have no regrets around being a member of the .NET Foundation, it’s committees and my time on the Board. Though it is a lot of work and for the reasons explored, the experience can be waring, as a whole I think it’s worthwhile and for the most part I’ve enjoyed my time.

Final note.

I want to thank everyone who voted for me back when I was appointed to be a member of the Board. Thank you to all those I’ve worked with in the past 2 years and for your support. This time has meant a lot to me. Thank you to those leaving the board (Joe, Iris and Rich) for all the hard work you’ve put in.

For everyone else, thank you for your patience. I didn’t achieve all I hoped, but that is fine. Turns out the post was more challenging than I anticipated!

To those joining the board; good luck! I hope you enjoy the experience! Never hesitate to reach out if I can help.

Keep up the great efforts

J.

During the pandemic I received an email inviting me to consider speaking at NewCrafts, Paris. As anyone who follows me on social media will know I’m immunocompromised, and for the last few years that means I’ve been very restricted. My situation is still somewhat less than perfect, as I still mask, I can only travel outside of flu season and I have to take a number or precautions; but it’s better now than when it was when I got that first email from Maxime.

I explained my situation, apologised and turned down the opportunity. Not the first, and not the last. I figured that would be the end of it.

However Maxime was understanding, and his replies reflected that. A couple of years later, he emailed me again to see if the circumstances had changed. This time, I could respond with a resounding yes. I’m really glad I did.

Day One

After an uneventful trip on the Eurostar (which I am now a big fan of. It’s much better than a plane) I arrived in Paris. I settled into the hotel and headed downstairs. The first evening there was a speakers dinner, which I was nervous about as I hadn’t met any of the speakers or organisers of the conference before.

There are little communities that spring up around certain conferences or groups of events. If you speak at a number of events, you’ll get to a point where you’ll recognise a couple of faces if the event is around a familiar topic area. Historically I’ve spoken at quite .NET focused events, and the Developer! Developer! Developer! conferences. A part of the appeal of NewCrafts was that it’s a completely new community for me. Well… appeal because meeting new people is interesting and provides opportunities to learn; but also some apprehension as I don’t find social situations easy. I find it intimidating to talk to people I am not familiar with and as such, I know I don’t make a winning first impression.

I did not need to be worried though. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. I had a really enjoyable night getting to know some of the speakers. The food was delicious and it was a very low pressure, fun dinner.

I had an early night, to be ready and bright for my talk the following day.

Day Two

The morning of Day Two brought the time for my talk. I explained to the organisers that I preform talks best early in the day (as I get anxious if my talk is in the afternoon). They kindly accommodated for this and made sure I was supported to be at my most confident.

With the exception of hosting DDD East Midlands conference, this was my first in-person talk since the pandemic. This was the first time I had presented my own content, in- person, on stage since the pandemic began. Nervous didn’t begin to cover how I felt about it. I was worried I wouldn’t know how to deliver a talk anymore, that I was out of practice.

These nerves only grew as the room began to fill up. Peter did a great job at helping distract me and make sure I was ok before the talk.

For the talk itself, I’m proud of what I produced. I ran a bit fast (I talk fast when nervous) and I missed some of my planned content; but the talk seemed to go across well. From the feedback I had after, the attendees enjoyed it and found the content valuable. I’ve taken notes on how to improve and will be applying them at NDC Oslo next week.

I liked the way that NewCrafts handled the ratings. Simple and elegant. Pieces of paper with axes for Liked and Learned, and sticky dots for the attendees to position where they thought was appropriate.

Once the adrenaline wore of (or close enough), I got to enjoy the rest of the conference. I made the most of the opportunity to see a number of talks.

Going to the conference was really good for me as seeing the talks, as well as presenting my own, injected me with enthusiasm for what we do and how we do it in this industry. It’s easy to lose the sense of magic in the day to day repetitive tedium, and I’d recommend an event like this if you start to lose that sense of magic too. I also spent some time talking to some of the speakers at the event, hearing more about what they deal with and work on. All of it was immensely inspirational.

Diana Montalion’s lock-note “Don’t Hit the Iceberg” is a talk I would recommend for any tech leader or architect to watch. It was a powerful talk and a fitting close to the first day of the conference.

That evening I took part in the Women Tech Makers, Paris event. This was hosted at NewCrafts and was a Panel discussion on the topic of Craft Culture.

Yulianna Khorolich and Adriana Nava Aguilar ran the event fantastically and asked questions of the panelists who were: Laura Kalbag, Dorra Bartaguiz, Krisztina Hirth and I. The conversation was really interesting and everyone at the event were engaged and took part in some of the back and forth. It was refreshing to be at a Women In Tech event where the focus was about a range of diverse characteristics beyond gender, and how to work and grow in tech.

It was a great end to a brilliant day, though I was exhausted at the end of it all. I had a lovely meal out that evening and went to look at the Eiffel Tower, with its glittering lights. When in Paris…

Day Three

Day Three of NewCrafts was as good as the day before.

I did arrive a bit later, as I wanted to get some macrons while in Paris (a guilty pleasure of mine. I love them), so I took time early in the morning to enjoy the sun and walk up the Seine. During the day I needed to do some work for my day job as well. Nonetheless, I made the most out of the time I could and attended talks between my work commitments.

As well as seeing some fantastic talks, one of the highlights was a short conversation with Anaelle Ea. Anaelle had been at the Women Tech Makers meetup the evening before where I encouraged people to talk to speakers at conferences, and I’m glad they then acted on that advise the next day. I won’t share here what we discussed but the interaction made me really happy and I hope to keep in touch going forward.

Kevlin Henneys lock note was a great wrap up. His talk on Technical Neglect fit in nicely with the theme of a number of the talks and is an area I have particular interest in.

Last Notes

NewCrafts was an amazing experience. The organisers, volunteers and videography team were lovely and very professional. NEWCAP was a brilliant venue and the security staff were really nice. Additionally the quality of the talks and speakers at the event were phenomenal.

There are a number of posts about the organisation of the conference and the inspiring work they’ve done to ensure a level of diversity at their events, so I can’t do much more justice on that topic. What I will add is that the event was a really safe environment. Every person at the event was welcoming, respectful and helpful. It’s a wonderful community.

I haven’t given any detail on the talks I saw, as there are many I want to catch up on on Vimeo and honestly, I don’t want to spotlight specific talks when the quality of all the talks was so high. I was honoured to share a stage with these speakers. I still can’t quite believe I was lucky enough to be listed alongside them.

I will definitely be applying to speak at the future NewCrafts events and I really hope I’m fortunate enough to come back next year.

Watch the talks

You can watch recordings of all the talks on the New Crafts Vimeo.

Stay inspired.

J.

A few years ago, Moreton and I started DDD East Midlands and the experience has been phenomanal. We’ve run with conference (with help) through firealarms, a global pandemic and an economic crisis. Despite every challenge, I’m proud of each and every event and adore the community that has grown around it.

2023: An announcement of change

This year at the event, during the closing notes, I shared that Moreton and I have decided to step away from DDD East Midlands. We’ve run 3 events over the last 5 years, and though we are proud of what’s been accomplished it is time for us to focus on other things.

It’s an emotional decision and I don’t know yet what it means for the future of DDD East Midlands Conference and it’s associated events. It’s my hope that it will be taken over, and will continue on; but that’s yet to be confirmed. It’s a community event, but we do need someone to take over the associated business and though there are people we have in mind there is still some arm twisting to do.

An amazing community.

It takes a village to run a community driven conference like DDD East Midlands Conference. This includes the organisation committee from this year, and the amazing volunteers at each and every event. Also, all of the speakers, partners and sponsors that make the events as great as they have been.

I appreciate all that this community has done and grown. I’ve made friends and memories at each and every one of these conferences and could not be more grateful.

What’s next?

I honestly, don’t know. If we find someone to take on the conference I hope to attend, maybe even volunteer! Or perhaps I’ll apply to speak! In whatever capacity I’m allowed to, I’d still love to contribute to the event as it is very close to my heart.

For me, I’m looking to move away from behind the scenes and back to creating presentable content. I shall be dipping my toe back into speaking at conferences again, and concentrating on my day to day job - developing within my career.

Thanks for the good times.

J.