Allan Stewart

picture of Allan

Software Craftsman, Speaker, Husband & Father — Lehi, UT

I love writing code. Over the years as I have learned to do it professionally, I have found that I am as interested in the methodologies and practices around software development as I am about actually writing code. I am an advocate for Agile and Lean methods combined with practices such as test-driven development, continuous integration, and continuous delivery.

I currently work at SynkedUP as a lead engineer. Previously, I worked at Emmersion and Pluralsight where we built successful distributed systems and practiced mob programming daily. I am a regular attendee of the Utah Software Craftsmanship group and I speak at local conferences and meetups.

Online you can find me on the Crafting Code Podcast where my co-hosts and I share our thoughts on how to develop software professionally. In the community, I am a regular attendee of the Utah Software Craftsmanship group and I speak at local conferences and meetups. Sharing experiences and learning from others is something I believe is very important for our industry; I also really enjoy it.

You can also find me on GitHub and LinkedIn.

Influences

I was interested in computers and code from a young age. The catalyst for me getting into a software development career was working on simulator controls in HyperCard for the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center. This led me to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science.

After graduation from college, I found that I still had a lot to learn to be an effective professional. I wanted to write software well rather than just get a job done, so learning about better ways to write software became important to me. On the job experiences (both positive and negative) taught be much, but lacking a strong mentor I relied on the Internet and books. The following books have had the most impact on how I think about software development:

I believe that we need more professionalism in our industry. Individuals need to choose that path and demonstrate the value to businesses. When applied collaboratively in teams, the professional's practices make those teams more effective. And once we've found practices that work, we need to share them with others.