Introducing the Visual Studio ALM Rangers – Jesse Houwing

This post is part of an ongoing series of Rangers introductions. SeeAn index to all Rangers covered on this blogfor more details.

Who you are?

I’m Jesse Houwing, a senior consultant working for Avanade Netherlands, living in Utrecht and working primarily from Almere. I’m specialized in developer productivity and application lifecycle management and come from a .NET custom development background (though I’ve dabbled with Java, ColdFusion and even some PHP). In my spare time I try to solve complex FxCop, LINQ and Regular expressions which serve as a replacement for sudokus and cryptograms. I love a good cup of coffee in the morning - meaning strong espressos, wine in the evening, read fantasy and sci-fi  and take pictures everywhere I go.

What makes you “tick”?

I love helping people. I love to solve problems. I love the creative process that goes with it. Whether it’s a reporting need, a way to improve developer productivity, a picture waiting to be taken or anything else that crosses my path. I love how it requires you to think out of the box. It might also be my greatest pitfall, since  a problem is often ‘solved’ before it is actually ‘fixed’.

Where you live?

I live in Utrecht, in a small house built in 1889 together with my lovely wife. The house soon be my next big project, as we’re planning to move the bathroom up one floor and make the attic a living space as well (instead of a room to store aging computer equipment).

Where is the place you call home?

Until I met my wife, I always had trouble answering this question. Now it’s clear. With her in Utrecht J.

Why are you active in the Rangers program?

I’ve been using the Rangers’ products quite a few times and I’ve always had a lot of ideas, even started a couple of personal projects. When I was asked to join, I didn’t have to think twice. It will be nice to be able to bounce ideas against my fellow rangers and to both receive and provide feedback and support.

What is the best Ranger project you worked in and why?

I’ve submitted a project proposal and feedback in the past, but have not yet contributed to any projects directly.