I've been active in XML and its precursor, SGML, since 1992. In that time I've done many different jobs for several companies. I'm currently employed at Sun Microsystems, Inc, as a Senior Technical Program Manager in the Business Alliances Group of the CTO Office.
- Product Management
- Product management (sometimes also called program management) is the intersection between development, marketing, and sales. I have experience in talking to customers (including resellers) to find out what they're using the products for and what issues they face, and then working with the development team to find solutions. I've written product brochures and given talks, both technical and sales, to technical audiences and strategic customers. I've also been on support visits to strategic customers and assisted in pre-sales visits.
- Marketing
- Technical marketing is increasingly needed as products become more complicated and therefore harder for non-experts to grasp. I can explain technical issues in a way that is both correct and understandable. As an example, I evangelized the Document Object Model (I chaired the W3C Working Group) with the result that it is now the accepted standard that is widely implemented. I've given talks (including keynotes) at several international conferences, written press releases, and given media interviews.
- Partner and Reseller Support
- Every software producer needs partners to resell, install, or support their products. I have experience in working with resellers and partners to determine their needs, whether that be for product features, training, pricing, or simply supporting them on a sales or customer visit.
- Project Management
- I have led schema design committees, project-managed conversion projects and managed developers on software products. I've successfully managed technical committees consisting of whomever the various companies wanted to send, where the representatives could be replaced by other people at any time. I chaired the world's largest XML Conference from 2001 to 2005, managing the strategy, determining the content, and handling a large amount of detail work.
- Standards
- I'm probably best known for my work in standards. I have been chair, editor, and member of technical committees for several years, chiefly in OASIS and World Wide Web Consortium, where I currently serve on the W3C Advisory Board. I have seen committees that are successful and those that aren't, and understand what talents committee members need to have to be persuasive within the committee.
- Event Management
- I chaired the largest annual XML conference from 2001 to 2005, and watched the conference grow. It is now the conference of choice for many XML practitioners, often the only one they go to each year. I am also helping to organise a Vancouver Blogging Conference.
One interesting project was the Reach (Irish e-government department) Public Services Broker procurement project, where I advised the Reach team on technical issues related to each vendor's proposal.
My resumé contains more details of my professional life, and you can reach me at lauren@textuality.com.