ProcServe

ProcServe is a company that span out of the PA Consulting venture program in 2006.

ProcServe provide an online collaborative procurement system called the ProcServe Trading Network. Essentially this is an online business to business trading system that allows organisations to buy and sell to and from each other like you or I would from Amazon.

Where the ProcServe system differs is that it allows for unique pricing (via contracts) to be displayed between specific buyers and suppliers and also allows organisations who use different procurement tools internally to connect to a common interface to exchange trading information (like orders and invoices) online. This solves the problem that many organsiations face when their own systems are not compatible with their supplier’s or customer’s systems, making it hard or impossible to trade online together.

The ProcServe Trading Network powers four of the UK Government’s biggest procurement systems; Zanzibar, OPEN, xchangewales eTrading and xchangewales eTrading for Schools.

I worked at ProcServe from 2007 until 2009 as their Front End Architect. I was responsible for the User Experience of their products and solutions and was instrumental in establishing their development processes.

During my time at ProcServe I:

• established and chaired the company’s Development Council, a group that included the CEO, and three heads of department. We developed the company’s product roadmap, determining which requested features were developed into the ProcServe Trading Network and when
• developed the concept and design for a product called OTIS, a flexible online interface for the ProcServe Trading Network. To find out more about OTIS see the OTIS project page
• designed and developed the ability to skin the ProcServe system, allowing individual customers to have their own branding and design when using the underlaying ProcServe technologies
• designed the Zanzibar interface
• designed the OPEN interface
• designed the xchangewales interface
• worked with numerous ProcServe customers to define requirements and designs for bespoke features to be added to the ProcServe systems.

What people said about my work at ProcServe

“James has the rare skill of being able to successfully combine business analysis, usability and solution design abilities in one person. This results in simplistic and elegant applications, which are enjoyable for the end users to use. He is diligent in his work and always strives to deliver excellent quality work. I have enjoyed working with James and learned a lot from him.”
Jesper Lynge Petersen, Head of IT Development, ProcServe

“James is a very insightful, intelligent and creative person. As a project team member, he consistently delivered exceptional work. James would be a great asset to any organisation.”
Terrence Hines

Business & Technical Skills used

• requirements workshops (both with internal and external clients)
• requirements analysis and design
• system specification design
• Information Architecture (IA) design
• User Experience and Interface design
• xHTML & CSS development
• Accessibility design