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Great things happen

The Story.

APP(ideas) was founded in 2001 by Chris Ostmo in Ashland, Oregon. Click here to read a brief history.

The examples below represent the work of APP(ideas) and Chris Ostmo. Attributions are provided to give credit where credit is due.

App Portfolio

reeDminder

A cross-platform app for iOS, Android and macOS that helps musicians who play reed instruments manage their reed rotations and break-in routines. Website memberships, app store integration, subscriptions, cloud services and more.

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ShareFaith Church App & Platform

Native apps for iOS and Android that non-technical content creators could manage from a simple drag-and-drop interface. The accompanying app publishing platform handled as many as 2,500 apps on each app store.


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TimeLogger

Simple time tracking for hourly workers. Available on day-one of the Apple App Store, this iOS app boasted over 100,000 monthly users. Sophisticated data and functionality implemented with performance and simplicity in mind.

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Bravo Reviews

Native iOS and Android apps that make social media promotions a breeze for auto dealerships. Boasting a custom administration back-end with automatic social media posting and robust administration and reporting capabilities.

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ActionQI

A hybrid web and mobile app utilizing the WordPress platform. This AI-driven self-improvement program is a masterclass in simplifying UI workflow for complex user processes.



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StoryLoop Desktop

A desktop app to ease website administration burden. Why slow down your website for heavy administration tasks? This custom CDN client and API relay saves time, money and processor cycles.


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Website & SaaS Portfolio

StoryLoop

A very busy WordPress website with advanced hosting and administration needs. Incorporating multi-server WordPress and external media processing APIs through Docker and Kubernetes, desktop administration tools and more.

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ShareFaith Website Builder

The best frontend What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) content builder and editor that has ever existed for WordPress. Smooth, User Experience and performance-focused. With the ShareFaith Website Builder WYS is actually WYG.

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ShareFaith Multisite

A massive WordPress multisite allowing timed, free demos for as many as 10,000 websites. Engaging customers with their content during the trial period, then providing an easy conversion process was paramount to ShareFaith’s success.

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Gospel in Life

Artificial Intelligence for a necessarily picky audience. Generating website content in several formats from decades of contextual religious content requires careful study of the audience and training of the bots.

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LG CRM

One of the world’s largest corporations needed a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that didn’t change the way they worked. Chris and his team planned, executed and delivered the perfect solution.

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Panasonic Instant Rebates

Ever wonder what happens when you use an Instant Rebate for a new TV? If you bought a Panasonic, your transaction was tracked, audited and accounted through the system built by Chris and his team.


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Panasonic SCM

Planning sales six months in the future is hard. Chris’ team simplified the process for Panasonic by connecting legacy systems throughout their Sales and Supply Chain, enabling the marketing team to make informed decisions about availability and demand.

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TheGaslighter.news

Sometimes we just like to have a little fun with new tech. An Artificial Intelligence website with a multi-stage, (automatic) editorial process that writes absurdly false news stories and generates accompanying imagery.



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CP Sermons

A sermon manager and media player for Church Websites that operates as a WordPress plugin or standalone web app, with an easy path to publishing for mobile.




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Bespoke Portfolio

printerX

A 3D printer that’s fast, quiet and beautiful. Quality-built through seven iterative prototyping stages. printerX resolves the issues that plague most 3D printers. Electronics, hardware, software, firmware, robotics, industrial design & manufacturing…

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printerX piHat

Custom electronics and software that simplify several difficult processes for users of 3D printers. 3D printing doesn’t have to suck — unless you can’t connect all the pieces. We made pairing and control easy for printerX users.

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LED Light Controller

Electronics and mobile app for custom lighting experiences. This Printed Circuit Board and the accompanying hardware and software that we developed can transform the ambience of any space.


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PCB Production

Solidify your connections. If you have a custom electronics need, make sure it lasts. Thanks to Open Source, custom Printed Circuit Boards are within reach. From planning to prototype to production.


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StoryLoop Custom API Services

Offload the heavy work so that your site users don’t feel the impact. For StoryLoop, we developed a lattice of API services in PHP and JavaScript using Docker and Kubernetes to guarantee that media processing didn’t bite users.

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Management Portfolio

Steelhead Advertising

CTO & Partner. Architecture, development and managing development teams of all sizes during a 12 year tenure with this international marketing agency.


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ShareFaith

Lead Engineer. Lead developer. architect and and overseer of all products and projects for this award-winning, faith-based service provider.



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APP(ideas)

Founder. The software development agency that simplifies business processes, seamlessly connects disparate systems, and makes your website and apps work for you and your customers.

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Get In Touch

Talk to us

This is a sample of work since 2001, but the complete list is much larger.

Let us know if you want to talk about how we can fill your specific needs, if you have some questions or need a little help.

Please note that Non-Disclosure and Non-Compete is your responsibility prior to making contact. By filling out and submitting this form, you agree that the information provided is non-proprietary and that APP(ideas) and its representatives may use the information provided in any manner, without permission.

APP(Ideas)

Independent Results. Founder

Chris founded APP(ideas) in 2001 with the initial goal of leveraging Open Source software in enterprise environments. Later that year, he went to work for Steelhead Advertising and fulfilled that goal through them.

APP(ideas) is an independent contracting agency lead by Chris. When necessary, Chris uses and manages a small team of trusted subcontractors in the U.S.A.

Chris has a long history of getting things done with or without teams of people. APP(ideas) is where you'll tend to see the most out-of-the-box needs filled by the most specialized and creative solutions.

Highlights

Independent motivation. Always in motion and looking for the best solutions.

Agile. Not just in our approach to development. Technology changes. Your product should be able to do the same.

Relationships. Chris adamantly forges close and meaningful relationships with his clients. It's the only way to truly know what they need.

Enterprise practices. You shouldn't have skimp on Unit tests, documentation or code revision control. Chris doesn't know how to do it any other way.

Multilingual. PHP, JavaScript, Objective-C, C++, Java... The list goes on. Chris has demonstrable expert-level experience in many programming languages and knows how to pick the best tools.

Artificial intelligence. AI is working itself into the way code is written and in the features users expect to see in their apps and websites. Produce more, faster, better.

Cost-effective. Reducing the development team to a single, capable person has obvious advantages to the bottom line.

Creative solutions. Chris has a long history of thinking outside the box to deliver great products with few resources.

Steelhead Advertising

Leading Growth. Lead Engineer

Chris began working at ShareFaith in 2013, shortly after the initial version of the popular ShareFaith Church Website Builder was released. Chris was originally hired to lead the ongoing development of the Church Website Builder with one other developer as his junior.

By 2014, Chris had researched and gathered evidence indicating that a Church App and associated platform would increase sales dramatically. After a successful pitch to the CEO, Chris began development on the ShareFaith Church App and platform, which was released later that year. After architecting, testing and coding the initial version of the mobile apps and the app platform, Chris managed a small team within ShareFaith to maintain the app and platform.

During Chris' tenure at ShareFaith, he came to oversee all development operations, and continually researched and studied user trends and behaviors to make informed decisions with the CEO about how to best use ShareFaith's limited resources for the greatest impact. He also spent a lot of time managing vendor relationships and resources, and working with the Customer Support department so that he knew the impact of ShareFaith's development efforts and could make informed decisions about how to best direct ShareFaith's development resources.

Highlights

Care to growth. Developing new products and knowing through methodical research what would "hook" the customers lead to a tripling of the company's acquisition rate and a halving of its annual attrition.

Technical lead. Responsible for the quality and timeliness of all deliverables from a development team that never exceeded five people.

Mentor. Chris adamantly forged close and meaningful relationships with developers, vendors, customer service representatives and the CEO, removing obstacles and guaranteeing long-term success in business and life.

No bugs. Strict adherence to test-driven development. When it came to tech deliverables, the buck stopped at Chris, and he's always taken that responsibility very seriously and personally.

Know the audience. Having empathy for the user and truly understanding what they want and need was the necessary first step in delivering the best solutions. Chris researched and engaged with ShareFaith's target audience continually.

Creative solutions to impossible problems. Some of the technical challenges that had to be overcome to launch the Church App platform were literally impossible when Chris embarked on that endeavor. The solutions required ingenuity and assertively seeking relationships with third party vendors.

Agile process. ShareFaith had no formal development process when Chris arrived. He quickly employed Agile practices, improving time to delivery while satisfying the CEO's desire to see continual improvement.

Project management and extermination. Chris implemented Project Management and bug tracking software for ShareFaith's development team, improving efficiency and insuring that customers were getting the attention they deserved.

Reporting, informed decisions. A continual practice of studying user trends and behavior aided in weekly meetings with the CEO, in which business decisions required backing research.

Customer support. Without customers, there's no business. Chris paid special care to his relationship with the Customer Support department to make sure their job was getting easier every day.

Steelhead Advertising

Vision. Partner & CTO

Chris began working for Steelhead Advertising as an independent contractor in the Spring of 2001. Before long, he had pitched and won large contracts, which lead to becoming an employee, then an agency partner and CTO.

Steelhead's impressive client list included brands like Mitsubishi, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Leatherman Tool Group, Guitar Center and Blackberry. Through Chris' work and leadership, Steelhead went from "no technology products to offer" to being a busy and respected enterprise software development agency. To be clear, they were already kicking ass in the creative ad-space.

While Chris wrote a lot of code during those years, his role transformed as the jobs became more frequent and bigger in scope. Chris managed development teams of varying sizes to perform the work, while also maintaining close relationships with clients and acting as a liaison between clients, developers, and accounts and project managers.

Chris spearheaded architecture, and often provided initial code "skeletons" specializing in Object-Oriented design patterns. Working with Steelhead's project and account managers, Chris managed the input and output of the development team, kept his team on a learning trajectory, oversaw Steelhead's technical operations, and was responsible for the quality and timeliness of all deliverables.

Highlights

Business-builder. Successfully building substantial projects and selling new contracts, resulting in rapid creation of a technology and development department.

Managed. Architected and managed the development of mission-critical SaaS apps for LG Electronics, Panasonic and many others. Team size typically ranged from 12 - 18.

Relationships. Chris adamantly forged close and meaningful relationships with project owners and developers, removing obstacles and guaranteeing long-term success in business and life.

No bugs. Strict adherence to test-driven development. When it came to tech deliverables, the buck stopped at Chris, and he's always taken that responsibility very seriously and personally.

Design patterns. Object-oriented development practices with design patterns make code easier to write and maintain -- and are just better in every way. Chris' team members were well-trained on these principals and practices.

Culture of learning. Technology is improving all the time. Chris lead efforts encouraging his team to continue learning and exploring so that Steelhead's clients always got the best tech for the best results.

Agile process. Iterative execution and delivery to minimize time to deliverables and improve client relations. The term "Agile" hadn't been coined when Chris started at Steelhead, but he implemented those practices because they made sense and got the work done.

Get it done. Especially in corporate environments, the urge to get it done on-time and on-budget is very strong. Chris' psyche was never happy with slipped schedules or failed projects, so he's made a career of getting projects over the finish line.

StoryLoop Custom API Services

Heavy Work Without The Impact

To support advanced and heavy administration needs without impacting end-users, Chris developed an array of custom connected servers, services and applications that offloaded the heavy lifting.

StoryLoop's public-facing website was built on the WordPress platform. Utilizing a lot of PHP and Node.js, the best available technologies were employed for the most robust, efficient, maintainable and future-proof features.

Highlights

Video processing. A Docker-based, on-demand Linux server that processes videos to produce various video and still image assets. Controlled and monitored via WordPress API, this Kubernetes-enabled service automatically scales up and down to meet real-time demand -- or save on costs during idle times.

Technologies employed: Docker, Kubernetes, PHP, JavaScript, Node.js, first party API, secure CDN integration, WordPress REST API, ffmpeg, ImageMagick, Linux administration.

Zip/file processing. A dedicated Linux server that hosts a first-party API in Node.js. This server and service prepares (massive) Zip archives of related files for quick and easy end-user download. The service has API status endpoints, allowing the WordPress administration site to report the progress of all work.

Technologies employed: PHP, JavaScript, first party API, WordPress REST API, Node.js, Express, Linux administration, secure CDN integration.

Dropbox integration. A standalone Node.js server and service that authenticates users to their Dropbox account and relays site files on the user's behalf. A complete, robust and invisible relay to an important service.

Technologies employed: PHP, JavaScript, Dropbox API, WordPress REST API, Node.JS, Express, Linux administration.

Desktop application. A React app that is, at its core, a CDN client that uploads new videos directly to their destination, then communicates with the WordPress REST API, which kicks off the video processing mechanisms. The "typical" way to handle CDN uploads is to use the WordPress website as a relay, but with packages coming in as large as 1TB, that option was not available to StoryLoop. It wouldn't have been practical, anyway.,

Technologies employed: Electron, React, JavaScript, first party API, third party APIs, WordPress REST API.

Custom, enterprise server architecture. Regardless of how much of admin had been offloaded, some processes still required a lot of server resources, and we did not want to “borrow” those resources from website users. Chris’ solution was to separate WordPress front-end and admin into separate servers, which was not an easy or well-documented task.

Technologies employed: Linux server administration, nginx, Apache, PHP, Elasticsearch, redis cache, multi-server shared-session architecture.

Scope

The StoryLoop custom tools and services were architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris under the employ of Mission Lab. Mission Lab provided website interface design, affiliate payout functionality and ongoing support and maintenance after initial site launch.

Check out the StoryLoop sample in the "Websites & SaaS" portfolio section for more details about the StoryLoop website.

Printed Circuit Board Production

Stable, Custom Electronics

Open Source and the emergence of small, quality CNC routers have put cost-effective, fast prototyping of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) within reach.

From planning, to design, to prototype, to testing, to production. We make small electronics ideas come to life.

Highlights

Simple, stable production. A few solders, and you've got a permanent and stable solution.

Consumer application. Professionally-produced consumer electronics components.

PCB Prototyping. Quick and efficient local Printed Circuit Board prototype turnaround using CNC routers.

Branded, professional PCBs. Cost-effective, professionally outsourced Printed Circuit Boards with Quality Assurance baked-in. Branding and silkscreening included.

The code. Chris is a highly-experienced, cross-platform software developer with a decades-long history of delivering complete, quality solutions.

Do it your way. You have a product idea. Don't give up and don't compromise. It can be done.

More Info

You can read Chris' detailed writing about PCB prototyping at this Instructable.

LED Light Controller

Custom Consumer Functionality

A custom Printed Circuit Board (PCB) that houses a WiFi-enabled microcontroller and connections for two multi-color LED light strips. Functionality is completed by a React Native app for iOS and Android that enables users full control of the light color and intensity.

OK. If we're being totally honest, this began as one of Chris' personal projects that got a little out of hand. With the initial goal of testing prototype PCBs, the end result is production-quality electronics and software with a wide application.

Custom electronics for consumer applications are within your reach.

Highlights

Simple, stable production. A few solders, and you've got a permanent and stable solution.

Consumer application. Professionally-produced consumer electronics components.

PCB Prototyping. Quick and efficient local Printed Circuit Board prototype turnaround using CNC routers.

Branded, professional PCBs. Cost-effective, professionally outsourced Printed Circuit Boards with Quality Assurance baked-in. Branding and silkscreening included.

The code. To make it all work, Chris' expertise as a software developer produced code in C, C++ and python, utilizing the NodeMCU and Arduino platforms. The cross-platform mobile app was written in React Native (JavaScript).

Fiercely Open Source. As firm believers in building and contributing to the community, all hardware and software are Open Source and available at github.

Scope

This entire project was architected, prototyped, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris from start-to-finish. Several prototypes have been tested, and a few beta versions went through professional production.

You can read detailed build instructions at this Instructable.

printerX piHat

Solid Simplification

Most 3D printers require users to transfer files through SD cards and awkward file selection mechanisms on a text-based screen. The alternative is to connect a computer and web server to the printer, which can provide a nice drag-and-drop interface from any web browser. OSTMOXY chose that direction.

There are still challenges, however. To remain stable and beautiful, the web server needed to be housed inside the printer's case, and getting the web server connected to a user's home network required that the user connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Yikes! That's a terrible first-use experience, and Chris finds such things to be particularly intolerable when you want people to fall in love with a product.

The OSTMOXY solution was to create custom hardware, utilizing the powerful, Open Source ESP8266 microcontroller. This custom Printed Circuit Board (PCB) plugs into a Raspberry Pi's GPIO ports and houses a microcontroller and fan. The custom PCB is professionally manufactured for ease of integration and quality.

When printerX powers up, the microcontroller starts a WiFi Access Point Active Capture Portal. Users connect their mobile device or computer to the Access Point and enter their network's credentials. The microcontroller then relays the credentials to the web server, which connects to the user's home network. We've turned a necessarily technical and difficult task into an easy and familiar process.

This custom PCB also accommodates the addition of a cooling fan, which greatly increases the efficiency and lifespan of the web server.

Highlights

Simple, stable production. A few solders, and you've got a permanent and stable solution.

Easy install. Plug and Play hardware that serves your specific needs.

PCB Prototyping. Quick and efficient local Printed Circuit Board prototype turnaround using CNC routers.

Branded, professional PCBs. Cost-effective, professionally outsourced Printed Circuit Boards with Quality Assurance baked-in. Branding and silkscreening included.

The code. To make it all work, Chris' expertise as a software developer produced code in JavaScript, C, C++ and python, utilizing the NodeMCU and Arduino platforms.

Fiercely Open Source. As firm believers in building and contributing to the community, all hardware and software are Open Source and available at github.

Scope

This entire project was architected, prototyped, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris from start-to-finish. Several prototypes have been tested, and a few beta versions went through professional production. The current version is 2.2.

printerX

Robust Consumer Robotics

In 2018, Chris founded OSTMOXY ("3D Printers with Attitude") and he started working out how to resolve the frustrations he was having with 3D printing. By early 2020, he had built seven distinct prototype iterations, and a final product that was getting ready to launch in local stores.

When COVID hit, part of the necessary supply chain collapsed, printerX's distribution channel went out of business, and the money for this self-funded project ran dry. It was a classic country song, tech style! Chris is still hoping that there's a market in education or maker's spaces, but is so far the only person to own (and use on a daily basis) OSTMOXY's printerX (he owns five of them, and still curses out loud whenever he has to use another brand of 3D printer -- printerX is, objectively, a great printer).

Chris designed, tested, built –- then did it all over again until it was right -– the entire system. Every piece. printerX boasts fully upgraded parts, a built-in web server for printer and job management, a custom-made wi-fi controller, custom-engineered electronics to ease user burden, higher print speeds with fewer defects and less noise, a webcam that provides real-time streaming and time lapse video, custom-tuned firmware, a unique Z-axis/lift mechanism designed and engineered by Chris, and a beautiful wood encasing.

To put it succinctly, printerX is fast, quiet, beautiful, robust and entirely upgraded.

Highlights

Upgraded. When you buy a 3D printer, you're nearly guaranteed to be frustrated by the dozens of compromises that were made to save a few bucks. You're paying the price in speed, quality and stability. Wouldn't you rather spend a few extra dollars and get a better printer?

Fast. printerX is fast. Other 3D printer makers tout their speed, but usually gaslight their potential buyers by leaving out important details, such as acceleration. We've tuned every aspect of printerX's hardware and software so that it's actually fast.

Quiet. Did you know... It only costs about $15 to have quiet motors? Your 3D printer maker knows that, but they gave you noisy motors anyway. We've also spent a lot of time tuning all of printerX's cooling fans for maximum results with the least noise.

Fiercely Open Source. As firm believers in building and contributing to the community, all hardware, software and models are Open Source and available at github.

Stable. All axes are guaranteed to be square and secure, insuring that a properly-calibrated printer stays that way. We're so confident in printerX's stability, we added a handle to encourage people to move it around.

Built-in web server. No more SD card transfers to start a print! Hidden inside the case is a Raspberry Pi that provides a drag-and-drop, browser-based interface for transferring files, controlling printers and streaming video.

Easy connect. Custom hardware and software adds a WiFi Active Portal so that connecting the built-in web server to a home network is a breeze.

Bespoke electronics. A custom-designed and manufactured Printed Circuit Board (PCB) provides a solid connection for fans and inter-operable electronics, stabilizing internal electronics and enhancing the user experience for otherwise technically difficult tasks.

Power. It's all 24V, offering the most efficient use of energy, the fastest heat-up times, the most stable heat-range hold, and the highest speed and torque that the motors can achieve.

Gorgeous. Being from the Pacific Northwest, we love the aesthetic of wood. printerX is the first 3D printer with an entirely wood encasing. We use that beautiful wood to hide the extreme nerdery that's going on inside.

Custom firmware. Over years of research and testing, we've tuned a version of the Open Source Marlin firmware to optimize speed and quality for printerX's specific hardware and build.

Physics. All moving parts were specifically designed to reduce weight and improve performance and quality while enabling higher print speeds. Reduced ringing with fewer artifacts at higher speeds is possible when those who made your printer care. And study. And tune. And test.

Touch control. printerX uses a touch screen for local status and control. The chosen screen, made by BigTree Tech, needed some changes to operate well with printerX, so Chris contributed the needed software changes, which are now part of the screen's official, public code.

Environmental isolation. Care has been taken to isolate printerX from its surroundings. What does that mean? It means that your desk is no longer your 3D printer's vibration amplifier! In other words, quieter, smoother operation.

Watch it. The built-in webcam allows users to watch prints in real-time and capture time lapse videos.

Sensorless homing. Utilizing the advanced physics and electrical attributes of printerX's chosen motors, horizontal axes find their home without extra sensors or wires.

The right lift. Most 3D printers make one of two mistakes with their Z-axis (lift) mechanism. First case: A single motor and "screw" are used, leaving one side of the axis susceptible to drooping. Second case: Two motors and screws are used, in which case, motors must stay completely in-sync -- which is physically impossible. Those mistakes become your problem.

The resolution of this particular issue is what initially inspired Chris to produce printerX.

Chris designed, then prototyped and produced an entirely new Z-axis/lift mechanism that uses a single motor and keeps two opposing screws synchronized. The result is entirely effective, and we expect for other 3D printer manufacturers to eventually adopt this design. Several hobbyists and "clone" printer makers have already done so.

Scope

This entire project was architected, prototyped, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris from start-to-finish. Over half-a-dozen full-build prototypes were produced, and the initial production run had started when the effects of COVID on the supply chain and printerX's distributor halted operations.

printerX is a fully-ready-for-market product.

CP Sermons

Cross-Platform WordPress Plugin

CP Sermons, short for "Church Plugins Sermon Manager," is a WordPress plugin that is exactly what the name implies.

A React app that was built from the ground-up to work as a WordPress plugin, as part of a headless WordPress instance, or as a standalone desktop or mobile app (with a little conversion work). It's fast, capable, and supports a sophisticated data and feature set that's unique to the target market.

Highlights

Cross-platform React. CP Sermons was written in React. This enabled a write-once codebase that operates as a WordPress plugin, and can easily be converted to a standalone web, desktop or mobile app.

Performant and lively. As a React app, CP Sermons isn't boxed into the limitations of typical web pages. React's state variables, combined with tight WordPress integration, offer speed and User Experience benefits that we could only dream about a few years ago.

WordPress blocks. Leveraging the WordPress block editor, website content owners can easily drag and drop filtered sermons anywhere.

Simplified data. CP Sermons' sort and filter capabilities enable users to sift through a potentially long and rich history of content with ease and speed.

Timestamp markers. Conveniently placed "notches" in the timeline allow users to quickly jump to specific spots in your video or audio. A beloved feature of churches.

Theming. A flexible templating system enables website owners and developers to customize the look and feel to their heart's content

Scope

The initial working CP Sermons prototype was architected, engineered and deployed by Chris under the employ of Mission Lab. Mission Lab has continued developing and refining the product, to which Chris has made a few, minor additional contributions.

CP Sermons is part of the Church Plugins suite of WordPress plugins developed by Mission Lab. Note that the "Simplified Data" capability is due, in large part, to Mission Lab's expertise in Church related taxonomies.

You can find out more at the Church Plugins - CP Sermons page.

TheGaslighter.news

Artificial Intelligence Practice

Artificial Intelligence is taking over the conversation in many ways, but 2023 and 2024 were not providing Chris with enough professional opportunities to satisfy his curiosity. That’s why he spent a couple weekends writing the code for TheGaslighter.news, a website that generates absurdly false news stories.

In today’s world, we’re getting gaslit on a daily basis, and AI is becoming increasingly effective in tricking people into thinking that false is actually true. For fun, Chris wanted to see how much time and energy would be required for a single developer to create a website that could pass as real news, even though everything it posted was false.

Ethical considerations compelled Chris to make sure that the site doesn’t take a particular side (or tries not to, anyway) and that the stories are so preposterous that people will find them funny instead of offensive. It also serves to point out the absurdity of gaslighting by exaggerating the real-life phenomenon.

Given the limitations and the expense of OpenAI at the time of development, the API services of Cody AI are used for daily training and to write rough drafts. OpenAI’s API is used to create a final draft of the story. Finally, getimg.ai’s API is tasked with generating a featured image. The end result is automated fun.

Highlights

Multi-stage editing. To achieve the desired results, one bot writes a true news story, a second bot makes the story absurd, and a third acts as an editor.

Live feed. At the time of development, OpenAI did not have access to the live Internet, so Chris developed automated, command line processes to gather news daily from RSS data feeds and train a bot on current events.

The store. An online store with some silly things to buy. A customized WooCommerce instance with manufacture-on-demand products from Printful.

Payment services. Secure on-site payments and card management through Stripe.

WordPress integration. Custom functionality implemented as a custom WordPress theme.

Cron it. Automated processes to gather current events and generate new stories multiple times per day.

Social media posts. Custom mechanism that posts all new content to Twitter automatically.

Image generation. Appropriate, context-specific images generated for each news story via getimg.ai's sophisticated and capable API.

Leverage. Utilization of several third party APIs for functionality that has only recently become practical.

Hands-off. Chris never has to touch anything. It's all automated, and apart from plugin updates and other routine maintenance, months often pass without any input at all.

Scope

This entire project was architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris from start-to-finish. As stated in the intro, this project was undergone primarily as a way for Chris to stay up to date on AI development during a time that his career was offering few such opportunities.

Panasonic Supply Chain Management

Making Informed Decisions Using Disparate Data

Panasonic was so pleased with the Instant Rebate tools we made for them, they hired Chris’ team to build a custom Supply Chain Management (SCM) tool that tied into their archaic accounting system, its warehouses and several of its supply chain partners.

In a company as large as Panasonic, making correct decisions can lead to millions of dollars in gained (or not lost) revenue. The SCM tool, a SaaS app, was able to combine sales history, raw material availability and warehouse inventory, enabling Panasonic's marketing team to make informed decisions about what products to promote with special sales in the future.

Highlights

Technical lead. Chris contributed to initial architecture, then managed the work of his development team.

Your workflow. No off-the-shelf system could exist for this specific corporate need. We worked closely with Panasonic to craft a solution that worked for them.

Linux & security. This highly-specialized SaaS app was housed in a secure facility in Panasonic's network. To manage the servers and services, Chris was granted secure access to the data center in New Jersey and occasionally had to manage Panasonic's IT staff, who were IBM employees.

No bugs. Strict adherence to test-driven development was paramount for this mission-critical app.

Sophisticated database. An Oracle database with advanced functionality implemented in stored procedures.

Advanced legacy integration. Connected to Panasonic's accounting, inventory and warehouse systems.

Meaningful data. Corporations deal with so much data, they often let it simply float-by. We created tools that gave meaning to the data and enabled Panasonic to quickly make the right decisions about future sales.

Agile development. Iterative execution and delivery to improve app with client's real-time collaboration. Based on proven success, Chris employed Agile processes before that term was coined.

The human touch. The success of this project was largely due to Chris and his team's ability listen to their clients and get to know them. How they work, where they live, what about their job stresses them out the most?

Once we understood the client's complex and nuanced needs, we were able to implement simple, testable solutions.

Scope

Chris was introduced to Panasonic while he was a partner and CTO of Steelhead Advertising.

Chris worked with a small team within Steelhead to plan and architect Panasonic's Supply Chain Management tools. Chris did very little of the coding for this project, but managed the work of one or two developers at various times (depending on schedules and timelines), guaranteeing the quality and timeliness of the deliverables. Chris also worked closely with the client and his long-time business partner during the life of the project.

Panasonic Instant Rebates

Mission-Critical B2B SaaS

Panasonic North America tapped Chris and his team at Steelhead to develop a system to automate processing of instant rebate submissions from their customers -- Consumer Electronics retailers -- while rooting out fraud.

The implementation of the system had to pass internal audits, external audits, required access to secured facilities, and required for Chris to manage a large team of IBM tech workers for several days – in addition to his in-house staff of 6 for the entirety of the project.

The system found and recovered several million dollars of fraud the first week it was turned on, and it enabled Panasonic to reassign approximately 200 employees to new positions. Panasonic was so pleased with the results, they hired Chris’ team to build a custom Supply Chain Management (SCM) tool, which is covered in more detail elsewhere in this portfolio.

Highlights

Development lead. Chris architected the solutions with his team, which he would lead by coding and managing the results.

Your workflow. No off-the-shelf system could exist for this specific corporate need. We worked closely with Panasonic to craft a solution that worked for them.

Linux & security. This highly-specialized SaaS app was housed in a secure facility in Panasonic's network. To manage the servers and services, Chris was granted secure access to the data center in New Jersey and occasionally had to manage Panasonic's IT staff, who were IBM employees.

No bugs. Strict adherence to test-driven development was paramount for this mission-critical app. Code and results had to pass Panasonic corporate accounting audits, and internal audits had to pass external audits.

Sophisticated database. An Oracle database with advanced functionality implemented in stored procedures.

Advanced legacy integration. Connected to Panasonic's accounting, inventory and warehouse systems. Some of them were not designed to be connected to!

Meaningful data. Corporations deal with so much data, they often let it simply float-by. We created tools that gave meaning to the data and enabled Panasonic to identify both good customers and those committing fraud.

Agile development. Iterative execution and delivery to improve app with client's real-time collaboration. Based on proven success, Chris employed Agile processes before that term was coined.

The human touch. The success of this project was largely due to Chris and his team's ability listen to their clients and get to know them. How they work, where they live, what about their job stresses them out the most?

Once we understood the client's complex and nuanced needs, we were able to implement simple, testable solutions.

Scope

Chris was introduced to Panasonic while he was a partner and CTO of Steelhead Advertising.

Chris provided the initial architecture of the Panasonic Instant Rebate project, which was carefully planned with the client and Chris' long-time business partner. Chris then managed development teams of varying sizes to perform the work over its lifetime, while also maintaining a close relationship with the client. Chris often provided initial code "skeletons," specializing in Object Oriented design patterns. Working with Steelhead's project and account managers, Chris managed the input and output of the development team, kept his team on a learning trajectory, oversaw Steelhead's technical operations, and was responsible for the quality and timeliness of deliverables.

LG CRM

Custom Enterprise SaaS

LG Electronics America needed a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, and no commercial products fit the bill. After meeting with SalesForce and others to see how their needs could be met, LG turned to Chris and his team at Steelhead to fulfill their needs in a way that no other company could.

The end-product was a PHP-based system that LG used to manage its clients and sales channels for day-to-day operations. Iterative updates to the CRM system involved integrating with LG’s legacy accounting and inventory systems. Chris lead development from start-to finish and managed as many as 10 developers on a single project.

Highlights

Proven trust. As proof of the CRM's success, LG continued adding features to the product continually for more than five years.

Development lead. Chris architected the solutions with his team, which he would lead by coding and managing the results.

Client relationship. The project began as the result of a working relationship Chris had forged with the project owner.

No bugs. Strict adherence to test-driven development was paramount for this mission-critical app.

Your workflow. Off-the-shelf CRM solutions were going to require for LG to change the way they worked. We tailored a solution that worked for them instead.

Advanced legacy integration. Connected to accounting, inventory and HR systems. Some of them were not designed to be connected to!

Multi-database. To meet corporate requirements, different parts of the project used either Oracle or PostgreSQL. Chris wrote a common library so it didn't matter which.

Linux & security. This highly-specialized SaaS app was a regular target of corporate espionage attempts. Chris handled most system administration, but when push came to shove, a specialist was often employed.

Meaningful data. Corporations deal with so much data, they often let it simply float-by. We created tools that gave meaning to the data and enabled LG to make informed marketing decisions.

Agile process. Iterative execution and delivery to improve app with client's real-time collaboration. The term "Agile" hadn't been coined when this project started, but Chris implemented those practices because they made sense and got the work done.

Scope

Chris was introduced to LG while working as a contractor to Steelhead Advertising in 2002. While performing that contract, Chris began pitching the CRM project, which he eventually landed. That lead to Chris going to work full time at Steelhead, and eventually becoming a partner of the agency where he was CTO.

Chris provided the initial architecture of the LG CRM, which was carefully planned with the client and Chris' long-time business partner. Chris then managed development teams of varying sizes to perform the work over its lifetime, while also maintaining a close relationship with the client. Chris often provided initial code "skeletons," specializing in Object Oriented design patterns. Working with Steelhead's project and account managers, Chris managed the input and output of the development team, kept his team on a learning trajectory, oversaw Steelhead's technical operations, and was responsible for the quality and timeliness of deliverables.

Gospel in Life

Picky, Contextual Artificial Intelligence

Gospel in Life had many years of sermon audio transcripts in various formats, representing thousands of sermons. Chris’ task was to convert those transcripts into HTML, then feed the HTML through a chain of AI tasks: 1) Create a long-form summary of the message, 2) create a concise, three-point summary of the message, and 3) rank each sermon against a list of keywords as defined in a custom-trained AI bot.

The size and complexity of the dataset and of the task required the use of langchain, OpenAI, JavaScript, PHP and Node.js.

Further, churches are particularly sensitive to AI creating “offensive” or inaccurate content, so custom, multi-step workflows that mimic corporate work environments were developed and implemented using AI.

During the execution of this project, OpenAI released beta features, and Chris’ ability to quickly adapt lead to training custom AI bots and using AI Assistants, which greatly improved the quality of the product and the time to delivery.

Highlights

Corporate workflow. To get the desired results, a workflow was developed to mimic that of a marketing agency's copy writing department. From creative to editor to clean-up... Correct output every time.

AI summarization. To overcome AI token limits, original content had to initially run through a langchain summary process, and the output had to be perfect.

Multi-level training. At each phase, the AI bots had to be specially trained by dictionaries and kept "on the rails" by assistants to guarantee that the bots do not hallucinate or cross doctrinal boundaries.

Adjust with tech. AI is still taking shape. OpenAI released its "Assistants" feature in the middle of this project, and Chris had it added to the features within a week. Assistants really simplified things.

AI to Elasticsearch. To make it easy for users to sort and filter through a long and rich history of content, the AI bots ranked each piece of content against a large taxonomy tree. To keep the website performant into the future, Elasticsearch was deployed.

Multilingual. To insure the fastest delivery with the best tools available for integration into this WordPress website, most of the AI processing code was written in Node.js (JavaScript) for the command line. There was also a heavy presence of PHP for the command line, as WordPress plugin code, and for server-side processing of AI content.

Context-aware. Every AI bot was programmed to understand the work it was doing, the input it was receiving, and the audience it was serving at every step.

Agile process. Iterative execution and delivery to improve app with client's real-time collaboration.

Working with humans. Despite being an AI-heavy project, the people are always most important. Given the subject matter, it's easy to see how an untrained robot could produce material that offends. At each stage of the project, we worked with the client and their team to validate that the content that was being produced was accurate and on-point.

The AI bots made it possible. The people made it work.

Scope

The AI portions of the Gospel in Life project were architected, engineered and deployed by Chris under the employ of Mission Lab. Mission Lab's other team members provided project discovery, research, design, AI prompt engineering, testing, content vetting, some last-minute AI outputs, and the Gospel in Life website and its features.

Chris also made some minor refinements to the website's Elasticsearch implementation, but 10up's ElasticPress plugin does most of that work.

ShareFaith Multisite

Massive WordPress Multisite, Seamless Customer Conversion

ShareFaith was facing two problems. First, users taking a free demo were unable to convert their work into a live site, and that frustration was hindering sales. Second -- even before it began to gain popularity -- demo websites were slow and left users with a bad impression of the product.

Chris worked with ShareFaith's hosting vendor to maximize server resources, then built the tools needed to get a 100% complete and accurate website conversion from demo to completion. The result was a WordPress multisite that ran between 8 and 10 thousand websites at any given time. Once users decided to convert to paying customers, the process from checkout - to conversion - to DNS configuration - to go-live was just a few clicks. Simplifying these very complicated processes for users was part of an overarching plan that lead to a tripling in new customer acquisition.

Highlights

Server architecture. Chris worked closely with the hosting provider to maximize caches and other network and server resources to insure the best experience.

One-click conversion. Converting from demo to production with any domain name while maintaining content is a technical challenge. Chris built the pieces that removed the hurdles for ordinary users.

Make it your own. Chris spearheaded internal efforts to add features that encouraged demo users to make it personal. The impact on sales was immediate and sustaining.

Customers are partners. Chris began outreach efforts that lead him to encourage treating demo users as partners -- someone whose needs should be known and resolved.

Robust and tested. Demo sites and conversions had to work every time. Using test-driven development, Chris built the tools to work and last.

OpenSRS integration. Chris integrated DNS registration through OpenSRS to guarantee seamless conversion from demo to live domain.

Custom DNS APIs. To support easy conversion for as many users as practical, Chris adapted and connected ShareFaith's demo conversion tools to the most popular DNS provider's APIs.

Agile. Chris used Agile development practices for continual integration and delivery.

Scope

The ShareFaith multisite demo website and associated tools and services were architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris under the employ of ShareFaith. The product being demoed, ShareFaith Church Websites, was developed by ShareFaith -- developed and managed in-part by Chris.

ShareFaith Website Builder

Deep, Seamless WordPress Integration

ShareFaith was the leader in Church Websites. They produced an impressive, front-end website editor for WordPress that was fully WYSIWYG. Even more impressive, it was fast, smooth, and not at all glitchy (unlike most page builders).

Chris was responsible for leading and overseeing development efforts from version 1 until the product's final release.

Lead architect. Architected and oversaw code changes from version 1 until maturity, implementing and enforcing coding best practices, utilizing design patterns, implementing Agile project management, and bringing test-driven coding practices.

Building for scale. Responsible to guarantee that thousands of sites could be launched, updated, monitored and controlled at all times.

Interoperability a must. Had to guarantee that nearly any third party WordPress plugin worked within our system -- and that our system properly used and obeyed the proper WordPress and third party hooks.

Stability could not be questioned. With thousands of websites, downtime is not an option. Chris managed the server vendor resources, internal site operability, monitoring and emergency response.

Beauty was paramount. Chris was provided designs from a very creative and talented team and had to make sure the end-result was pixel-perfect as a WordPress theme. Further, the front-end, WYSIWYG editing interface had to guarantee that each pixel stayed in its final destination at all times, while never creating a “slow” user experience. This was a challenge that required cross-discipline, a bit of ingenuity, and good measure of patience.

Responsible for growth. Chris’ position at ShareFaith required careful analysis of sales and losses numbers so that he could make informed decisions. The results had to be easily demonstrable, and not only did they meet that expectation, they were quite remarkable.

Project Management. Chris introduced and implemented in-house project management practices.

Agile. Chris converted ShareFaith's team from "no methodology" to Agile development practices for continual delivery.

Customer service, communication and empathy. A big part of Chris’ success at ShareFaith was his interface with the Customer Service department. This experience enabled him to build on the important foundation of listening to customers, feeling their pain, and fixing their problems. This care to customer support lead to significant sales growth and a sharp decline in customer cancellations.

Other Highlights

  • Leading development efforts of market-leading front-end WordPress editor
  • Immense WordPress multisite management
  • Introduced and practiced test-driven development
  • Hyper-focused on quality of product and how that quality impacts sales and support
  • Custom WordPress theme integration and functionality
  • Vendor and customer support liaison
  • Significant, measurable growth through process improvement, developer mentoring, product vision and product improvements

Scope

ShareFaith had just released its initial version of the Website Builder when they employed Chris. Chris oversaw project and resource management and technical execution of subsequent updates and releases, while contributing to code and building and managing other projects and products.

StoryLoop Website

Extreme WordPress

StoryLoop already had a large user-base and a great product-offering, but their current technology had reached the limits of its capabilities and the site’s users were paying the price. Mission Lab was tasked with rebranding, a site redesign and technical execution. The vast majority of technical execution was in Chris’ hands.

StoryLoop required enterprise execution, and they got it.

Off-site video processing. Each new video or graphic asset added to the site requires as many as 6 size and resolution variations, each product may have several dozen videos, and each video may be as large as 100 GB. That translates into many thousand of videos and dozens of terabytes of content. To eliminate the burden on site administrators and end-users alike, Chris developed a system that processes images and videos off-site. Prior to this project coming to Mission Lab, videos were processed one at a time, in serial, on the public web server. This caused massive slow-downs of the main website, and added days, if not weeks to the process of adding a new product. The system developed by Chris launches an external Kubernetes cluster to process each new asset in parallel. This has enabled site administrators the ability to manage dozens of assets per day while having no impact on end-users. In addition to coding the WordPress REST API, Chris wrote several Node.JS API servers and services to control the work, provide real-time status feedback, recover from errors, fine-tune the (very technical) parameters of the video and image processors, and more. Technologies employed: Docker, Kubernetes, PHP, JavaScript, first party API, third party APIs, WordPress REST API, Node.JS, ffmpeg, ImageMagick.

Off-site zip processing. As a new requirement for StoryLoop.com, the client wanted for customers to have access to ZIP files that contained very large, related files, which meant that instant access was needed to dozens of zip files that may be (as Geico would say) up to 100 GB or more. Chris designed and developed a system that detected when changes were made that required new zip files, then created the files needed. Technologies employed: Docker, PHP, JavaScript, first party API, third party APIs, WordPress REST API, Node.JS.

Dropbox integration. The limits of “simple” Dropbox integration end at 1 GB. Since this site commonly has files that exceed 100 GB, Chris developed a custom, server-based API that authenticates users to Dropbox and facilitates file transfers between StoryLoop’s CDN provider and Dropbox. Technologies employed:  JavaScript, first party API, third party APIs, WordPress REST API, Node.JS, OAuth.

ElasticSearch integration. StoryLoop has thousands of products and tens of thousands of assets spread across more than a dozen taxonomies. Regardless of the amount of money the client was willing to spend for more database resources, the strain on the MySQL system was proving too much to bare. Chris implemented a complicated Elasticsearch integration, based on 10up’s ElasticPress plugin. The end-result was a site that will never get slower due to the size or complexity of its data. Technologies employed:  PHP, JavaScript, first party API, third party APIs, WordPress REST API, ElasticSearch customization.

Desktop application. To administer products, StoryLoop needed to upload as many as 50 videos to be processed at once. The strain was too much on the web servers and the client alike. Chris developed a custom desktop application that acted as a CDN client for uploading new videos directly to their destination, then communicated with the WordPress REST API, which kicked-off the video processing mechanisms. Technologies employed: Electron, Node.JS, JavaScript, first party API, third party APIs, WordPress REST API.

Custom, enterprise server architecture. Regardless of how much of admin had been offloaded, some processes still required a lot of server resources, and we did not want to “borrow” those resources from website users. Chris’ solution was to separate WordPress front-end and admin into separate servers, which was not an easy or well-documented task. Technologies employed: Linux server administration, nginx, Apache, PHP

Other Highlights

  • Complete multi-platform, multi-server solution
  • Complex data structure made performant through custom ElasticSearch implementation
  • Custom API servers and services written in Node.js
  • Offloaded heavy admin tasks to desktop app
  • Automated complicated data relationships
  • On-demand, offsite media processing via Kubernetes and Docker
  • Enterprise Linux server administration
  • Robust Dropbox relay server and services
  • Extensive use of WordPress RESTful API
  • Agile processes used for continual delivery

Scope

The StoryLoop website and associated tools and services were architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris under the employ of Mission Lab. Mission Lab provided interface design, affiliate payout functionality and ongoing support and maintenance after initial site launch.

StoryLoop Desktop App

Ease Admin Burden

Don't make your website users pay for your complicated, long-running processes.

StoryLoop had a problem. Its admins needed to upload as many as 20 files at a time, and the files can be as large as 50GB each. Despite the fact that the files were headed for CDN, a traditional website setup would require that the files be uploaded to the website first, then the website would relay the files to CDN. That's not a practical solution for the possibility of 1TB at a time!

Chris designed, architected and developed a desktop app for Windows and macOS that enables StoryLoop administrators to upload files directly to their private CDN. Once the CDN upload is complete, the app communicates with a custom WordPress API, which uses Docker and Kubernetes to process the incoming media files and report status.

Highlights

React desktop app. Secure React app works on Windows and macOS.

First party APIs. Custom RESTful API services to connect the app and Wordpress admin.

AWS services. Easy to use CDN client creates a bridge between AWS CDN and the administrator.

Intuitive. Minimalistic drag and drop User Interface. Get in, do the job, get out.

Service relay. Controls workflow of external processing workers.

Robust. Complete error handling, failed upload recovery and status feedback.

Scope

This entire project was architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris under the employ of Mission Lab from start-to-finish.

ActionQI

Cross-Platform Web & Mobile

ActionQI is a WordPress plugin and mobile app that offers a unique and user-friendly approach to self-improvement. Working closely with the product owner, the concepts were carefully translated to a simple User Interface, geared to maximizing the chances of success.

Highlights

Cross-platform React. Chris wrote the ActionQI app in React, using the Material UI framework. This enabled a write-once codebase that operates as a WordPress plugin or a mobile app on iOS or Android.

Memberships. Tightly integrated with BuddyBoss and WooCommerce for group and membership functionality and payments.

LearnDash integration. Leveraging the popular WordPress Learning Management System (LMS) for cost-effective functionality.

Guided workflow. Coded highly-conditional automated user workflow to minimize necessary actions and improve engagement and usability.

Payment integration. Connected to WooCommerce and Stripe for a seamless payment experience.

Agile process. Iterative execution and delivery to improve app with client's real-time collaboration.

Scope

The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) was architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris under the employ of Mission Lab. Mission Lab provided the project discovery, design and Figma wireframes.

Bravo Reviews

B2C Social Engagement

The Bravo Reviews App enables automotive dealerships to easily capture customer comments and a photo at the time of sale and post to their Social Media accounts while the customer is still excited.

A custom backend, written in PHP and JavaScript, provides administration tools, automated rules-based processing, advanced reporting via email and automatic posts to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The mobile apps are written in native code (Objective-C for iOS and Java for Android) as no workable cross-platform framework existed at the time of initial development.

Highlights

Native apps. Apps for Android and iOS.

Multilingual. Written with Objective-C, Java, PHP and JavaScript.

Custom APIs. First party in-app and website APIs.

Auto-post. Automatic posts to various Social Media feeds.

Intuitive UI. Minimalistic, intuitive User Interface, iteratively designed with the client.

Cron. Never-fail scheduling of automated tasks.

Sys admin. Linux server and service administration, hosted at AWS.

Multi-tier admin. Nested authentication and content administration permissions.

Reporting. Advanced reporting, delivered automatically via email.

Agile process. Iterative execution and delivery to improve app with client's real-time collaboration.

Scope

This entire project was architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris from start-to-finish.

Fun fact: The first release of the Android app was completed, submitted and released while Chris was visiting St. Petersburg, Russia. When asked for comment, Chris said, "I can't believe I went to Russia. I can't believe I'll never get to go there again."

TimeLogger

Beloved Business App

Before the iOS App Store was available, Chris had developed mobile apps professionally for palmOS, Windows Phone and Blackberry. His employer and company at the time dealt with enterprise B2B applications and offered no opportunity for consumer app development, so he embarked on his own journey and created the popular TimeLogger iPhone app. TimeLogger eased the mundane task of tracking time for hourly wage earners.

At its zenith, TimeLogger was being actively used by over 100,000 people daily and was regularly featured as a #1 in-category app. TimeLogger was coded in Objective-C and, despite being a personal project, adhered to Chris’ strict code management guidelines and was the result of test-driven development.

The first smartwatch that became popular was from Pebble, and Chris was actively involved in Pebble development and the Pebble developer community. TimeLogger was proudly the very first business app for smartwatch. The Pebble app was coded in C and C++.

Highlights

Early adopter. Delivered iOS app on App Store day-one.

Multilingual. Written in Objective-C, C, and C++

Wearable app. Accompanying smartwatch app.

Connectivity. Bluetooth integration.

SQLite database. Performant, fast, secure and robust data storage for a complicated data structure.

Bugs not tolerated. Strict adherence to test-driven development for the entire product lifecycle.

APIs. First and third party API integration.

First-to-features. Early in-app purchase adoption and other newly-introduced functionality.

Scope

This entire project was architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris from start-to-finish.

APP(ideas)

A Brief History

Chris began programming dynamic websites in 1995, while working for Rosenet Internet Services in Roseburg, OR. Looking for sustainable growth for this emerging technology, he settled Rosenet on a LAMP stack in 1997 and has been pioneering, improving and executing web-based and mobile solutions ever since. (1997 was before "LAMP" had its own acronym -- people were still amazed by the words "dynamic website" back then)

In 2001, Chris launched APP(ideas) with the goal of bringing Open Source to the enterprise. Before long, he was made a partner of the international marketing agency Steelhead Advertising, landing lucrative contracts and executing mission-critical projects for huge companies like LG Electronics, Mitsubishi and Panasonic.

Since the beginning, Chris has been dedicated to refining his expertise and contributing significantly to various organizations, either as an employee or consultant, in roles as Developer and Development Manager. His work has spanned a wide array of technologies and projects, including sophisticated WordPress execution, large-scale mobile application development and distribution, specialized and utility desktop software, custom APIs, RESTful services, and even integrated hardware solutions. This portfolio showcases a diverse range of successful projects.

ShareFaith Church App & Platform

Popular Mobile Apps & Platform

ShareFaith was looking to grow its customer base with new products, and Chris’ passion for and previous experience with mobile app development gave him the inspiration to design and architect this popular app platform, which enabled churches of any size to have a unique and beautiful custom app that used their existing website for content management. The product was an immediate success and propelled ShareFaith into an entirely new class of business.

In addition to architecting and developing all of the necessary APIs and related services from the ground-up, Chris coded version 1 of the iOS and Android apps. Chris was responsible for the successful launch and maintenance of more than 2,500 apps on each of the iOS and Google Play stores.

Total solution, from the ground-up. Chris architected and built a complete system with many moving parts that enabled people who have a website and a lot of media to create their own, unique app. This involved WordPress REST API creation and the creation of a number of custom server-based APIs to communicate between apps and websites, websites and third party services, and to monitor and control app submissions and updates.

The mobile apps. Chris developed version 1 of the mobile apps without aid from other developers. Due to the lack of reasonable cross-platform development tools at the time, the app was coded twice – once for iOS using Objective-C, and a second time for Android using Java. The end-products behaved the same on each platform, and were subjected to a battery of Unit Tests on each update. Version 1 start-to-finish project timeline: 6 months.

Busy, robust APIs. Several mission-critical APIs were architected and coded from the ground-up by Chris. Those include services for authenticating websites, synchronizing conent in apps, tracking publication statuses, tracking user activity, logging errors, executing app updates and more. Various APIs were built to handle thousands of requests per minute.

Ultimate automation. Manually managing the update and distribution of thousands of apps would be a full-time job for a hundred people. Chris wrote code so that it could be done by one person as part of her normal day. All possible and appropriate technologies were tried, and what didn’t exist was made. In the end, Chris built a system that automated the entire process using Java to update and prepare apps, FastLane (Ruby) for most app submission tasks, and Selenium (more Java) for tasks that “had” to be performed by a human.

Managing the results. Chris had the aid of the ShareFaith team in art direction and in the building of a web-based management interface in WordPress, which Chris architected. After those parts of the system were complete, Chris managed the ongoing maintenance, updates and technical operation of the App product and its systems.

Other Highlights

  • Provided initial product vision
  • Native iOS and Android apps
  • Streamlined and automated distribution
  • Architected, prototyped and coded all apps and systems
  • Multi-platform unit testing
  • Management of first and third party human resources
  • Google Firebase integration
  • Massive ecosystem architected and built
  • Sophisticated and robust first party RESTful API for WordPress
  • Managed all development and developers
  • Team and product management after initial launch
  • App store release automation when such automation was technically in violation of App Store Terms of Service

Scope

This entire project was architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris under the employ of ShareFaith from start-to-finish, with the exception of the web-based Content Management System (CMS). The App CMS was built on top of WordPress. Chris architected the CMS and coded the initial prototype and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for that CMS. In addition to the technical management and execution of this project, Chris managed several human resources to insure a successful product launch while requiring a toolset that was necessarily in violation of App Store policies (publishing automation was not previously available or allowed).

Following initial product launch, Chris managed developer resources, acted as a liaison between developers, management, customer support and third party vendors, personally performed updates to the iOS app, and monitored and reported on sales trends and customer behavior.

reeDminder

Complete App Execution & Integration

Chris loves music, and he recently began playing the clarinet. After managing his reed collection on chalkboards and spreadsheets for a while, he started looking for an app to help. Surprisingly, none was found. Now available on App Stores, reeDminder is a feature-rich app that helps woodwind musicians (clarinet, saxophone, oboe and bassoon) achieve their best sound with ease. Bringing simple, yet complete reed management to the pocket of musicians for the first time. See a need, fill a need.

In addition to being a performant and useful React Native app, reeDminder has a deep custom API integration with its supporting WordPress membership and discussions website and various Cloud Services. (iOS App Store link)

Highlights

Cross-platform mobile app. React Native mobile app for woodwind players.

Memberships. Custom WordPress membership integration with seamless in-app signups.

CDN backup. Secure CDN data backup and recovery for app users.

Cloud services. Dropbox and Google Drive integration for exporting audio recordings.

WordPress integration. Website platform implemented as a custom WordPress theme.

RESTful API. First party RESTful APIs in PHP and Javascript

Third party functionality. Multiple third party integrations.

SQLite database. Performant, fast, secure and robust data storage.

User group functionality. Tight integration with BuddyPress/bbpress.

AI assist. Developed using the help of AI assistants.

Scope

This entire project was architected, engineered, tested and deployed by Chris from start-to-finish.