Introducing the Visual Studio ALM Rangers – Michael Fourie, also known as Mike
This post is part of an ongoing series of Rangers introductions. See An index to all Rangers covered on this blog for more details.
Who are you?
Michael Fourie, but most people call me Mike. I’m a Visual Studio ALM MVP, originally a Team System MVP. I’ve been a consultant in the UK for the past 11 years and currently my day job has me dealing with Continuous Delivery on enterprise systems. I’m a keen developer with a strong passion for SQL Server though I’ve not spent much time with it for some time. When I’m not busy with the day job I contribute to various forums and open source projects.
What makes you “tick”?
Improvement. Faster, better, more efficient. Any improvement to things I see, use and do makes my day. Obviously most of this is around software, but I spend a lot of time reading and watching scientific programs to see how the world is evolving. When it comes to software I’m just pedantic. I’ll spend hours on an algorithm or help file to make sure it’s right. If I end up revising it, I always take a step back and think about how things have evolved to require the change. Sometimes it’s just a correction, other times it’s a breath of fresh air as I realise I’ve learnt something.
Where do you live?
In the office and occasionally I go back to my house in Reading (UK) to visit my dogs and mow the lawn.
Where do you call home?
That’s a tricky question. I’ve been in the UK for 11 years now but people still say I have an accent. When I go back to South Africa people say I have an accent. My immediate family is spread far and wide, so I guess home for me is currently in the UK with my two dogs.
Why are you active in the Rangers program?
Again it’s down to my passion for improvement. The Rangers have produced an amazing set of materials to help those in the development community improve the way that they work. It’s a great honour and opportunity to get involved and I look forward to helping produce more guidance for the fellow development community.
What is the best Rangers project you worked in and why?
I’m new to the Rangers team, but I look forward to working on the Team Build Customization guidance. Ask me this in a year and hopefully I’ll be able to list various projects and what I liked most about them.
Comment from the Rangers family …
One of the phenomenal productivity tools used by the Rangers and many others, that was developed by the one and only Mike, is the Controlled Vocabulary. Go here to get more information and give this add-in a try!
Mike’s blog: https://mikefourie.wordpress.com