Personal Projects
I am very interested in applying my experience with information systems to develop solutions for groups that are struggling to adopt information technology.
Accordingly, I have led several projects to develop software and information systems for groups that would otherwise not have these options available.
HostedGroups Management Service
The HostedGroups Management Service allows an organization to manage membership, event-planning, credit-based activities, and other related tasks through an easy-to-use web interface. This service operates with a custom GUI and server-side operations powered by PHP and MySQL.
Work on a precursor to HostedGroups began during the Summer of 2006 as a project designed to bring the Enloe Key Club into the 21st century with event scheduling and member management tools. The project was rebranded as HostedGroups and re-launched in August 2008 after continued development with the Enloe High School Key Club.
To date, HostedGroups supports scheduling and management data for over 800 registered users who have participated in more than 1,000 events that have resulted in over 30,000 hours of service to their communities. New development continues with the cooperation of the Enloe High School Key Club and the Enloe High School Beta Club.
Go to the HostedGroups website >>
Open-Source Academic Elections
The OSAE project is intended to allow schools and organizations the ability to conduct secure, reliable election exercises using a standard web-based interface built upon the ExtJS framework.
Developed with support from the PHP-SAM project (see below), the OSAE project includes security as a top priority to address concerns with previously established election software packages.
The Academic Elections project has undergone intermittent development and is currently on track for a release in Spring 2010 after continued development with Enloe High School.
PHP Simple Authentication Module
The open source PHP-SAM project promotes development of an easy-to-use module that can be used by PHP developers of all levels of experience to quickly create secure login functions for web applications.
PHP-SAM checks users against a secure database and lets web authors secure pages and content with easy-to-use integrability, while including developer interfaces to simplify security transactions.
An implementation of PHP-SAM was used to protect the Intranet portal of the Iowa State University Office of Student Financial Aid.
The Simple Authentication Module project is intermittently maturing; a new stable version is expected in Spring 2010.
Raleigh Little Theatre Communications Overhaul
The Raleigh Little Theatre Communications Overhaul is an effort to provide up-to-date equipment, documentation, services, and support to the staff, volunteers, and patrons of Raleigh Little Theatre. Planning and proposals are being conducted in several stages.
The first stage of the overhaul will be an upgrade of computer network components, including core switches and routers, and the addition of wireless capabilities across the RLT complex. The current plan includes segregated subnets for public and staff access. The first stage will move forward once the Raleigh Little Theatre Sprinkler Project is complete in February/March 2010.
Draft concepts for future stages include development of new data management systems to enhance the ability of staff members to analyze and utilize information regarding classes, performances, and theatre operations.
Further planning, proposals, and overhauls will continue through Spring 2010 as time and resources permit.
Raleigh Little Theatre 75th Anniversary History
The Raleigh Little Theatre 75th Anniversary History project intends to provide a unified communications medium for volunteers to compile an accurate, complete addendum to the history of the theatre. This project will be executed using MediaWiki software integrated into the RLT website that allows volunteers to document histories of seasons, shows, and events at the theatre.
Draft concepts have been considered and approved, and MediaWiki software has been installed on the RLT web server. The project is currently on hold pending the development of a MediaWiki skin to integrate the software with the rest of the RLT website. The software component of this project is expected to be completed during December 2009. The content publication of this project is expected to be complete during Winter/Spring 2010.