Since beginning Influential’s Internship programme in Autumn 2013, Richard Smith has gained experience of software development on various platforms.

“During my time at Influential I have worked on a range of technologies with a number of project teams, all operating using an Agile Scrum methodology. These projects have included the development of a SharePoint .Net cloud-based application, and PHP-based applications for a major publishing company. I have been impressed by the importance attached to ensuring that all projects have a good test coverage, and have set up a Selenium Grid server for the project teams within the office. I have significantly developed my technical skills in a large number of areas during the programme including: Database technologies (Microsoft and Oracle), C# programming, Perl programming, PHP programming, SharePoint development, Powershell scripting, Selenium testing, unit testing, and the use of associated frameworks and professional Integrated Development Environments (IDEs). I have also significantly developed my skills in the area of cloud computing – including the use of Microsoft’s Azure platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google cloud. I recently attended the AWS DevOps conference in London where I observed a number of examples from other companies using test-driven development in the cloud, which I brought back to the development office.”