About Me

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Professional (Long) Bio

Neal Ford is an internationally recognized software architect, author, and speaker. He is currently an independent software consultant, specializing in software architecture and modern software engineering practices.

Neal has a degree in Computer Science from Georgia State University specializing in languages and compilers and a minor in mathematics specializing in statistical analysis. He is an internationally recognized expert on software development and delivery, especially in the intersection of agile engineering techniques and software architecture. Neal authored magazine articles, nine books (and counting), dozens of video presentations, and spoken at hundreds of developers conferences worldwide. His topics include software architecture, continuous delivery, functional programming, cutting edge software innovations, and includes a business-focused book and video in improving technical presentations. His primary consulting focus is the design and construction of large-scale enterprise applications. He is a innovator in building concrete verification mechanisms for software architecture, for humans or agents. If you have an insatiable curiosity about Neal, visit his web site at nealford.com.

Short Bio (approximately 150 words)

Really Short Bio (50 words)

Curriculum Vitae

Books

I have written a number of books and edited/contributed to several anthologies when they had a brief surge of popularity. For those who remembermagazines, I published a number of technical articles in a variety of publications from 1994 through the early 2000's.

• Software Architecture Fundamentals 2nd Edition
• Head First Software Architecture
• Building Evolutionary Architectures, 2nd Edition
• Software Architecture: The Hard Parts
• Software Architecture Fundamentals
• Building Evolutionary Architectures
• Functional Thinking
• Presentation Patterns
• The Productive Programmer
• Art of Java Web Development
• JBuilder 3 Unleashed
• Developing with Delphi: Object-oriented Techniques
• Anthologies
  • ThoughtWorks Anthology Volume 2
  • 97 Things Every Software Programmer Should Know
  • 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
  • 97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know
  • ThoughtWorks Anthology
  • No Fluff, Just Stuff Anthology, Volume II
  • No Fluff, Just Stuff Anthology, Volume I

Employment History

Working as an independent consultant, instructor, and author.

2005-->2026 Thoughtworks, Inc.

Neal started at Thoughtworks as an application architect and worked his way through the roles of director until finally inaugurating the Distinguished Engineer role. His entire career was spent in professional services, working on hundreds of applications. He was also part of the Thoughtworks Technolgy Board, helping to create the Thoughtworks Technology Radar and helped build more than 30 editions of it.

1993-->2005 The DSW Group, Ltd.

From 1993 through 2005, Neal worked at The DSW Group, a small training and consulting firm based in Atlanta, GA. Starting upon graduation, he eventually worked his way to the role of CTO as the company grew and expanded. He left The DSW Group to move to Thoughtworks.

Education

Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from Georgia State University, 1993.

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