Douglas Squirrel

Growing Productive Software Teams Since 2004

CTO of a financial software firm using agile methods to build web applications for the world's largest investment banks and hedge funds. Eleven years of inspirational management experience, including building a technology organisation from nothing to 48 people while retaining unusually high levels of quality and resilience.

See the details in my curriculum vitae (CV in PDF format). I enjoy discussing all aspects of software development, so please email me to discuss further.

Root Cause Analysis

I speak and consult regularly on the practise of Root Cause Analysis and have developed principles and methods for conducting these analyses. As an example, you may enjoy the below video, which includes a cameo by Wallace and Gromit! You can also download the slides for the RCA talk (PDF).

London Tester Gathering 2011: HANDS ON ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS: Douglas Squirrel: 16/05/2011 from Skills Matter on Vimeo.

Research

I have not done as much maths research as I might have hoped to - running a software organisation does tend to consume all one's time! - but I have managed:

• To complete a Reed College thesis (under Joe Buhler, based on an idea from Hendrik Lenstra) on computing power residue symbols.
• To conduct Research Experience for Undergraduates investigation under Paul Cull on Warnsdorff's Rule knight's tours on square chessboards.
• To carry out summer research at TU Darmstadt under Johannes Buchmann, later becoming a master's thesis at UC Berkeley, on computing kernels of integer matrices.

Personal Matters

I live in the hamlet of Frogholt, near Folkestone, in a medieval cottage. You can see pictures of the cottage if you are interested.

Possession of the Doyle Owl is the pinnacle of achievement for all honourable Reed College students. I have a collection of Doyle Owl photos and documents accumulated when I was part of a team of students in possession of the fabled Owl.