Welcome to the World of Andrew Johnston

Previous Experience

Development Support Manager / Quality Manager with Eurotunnel Plc. (1989 - April 1994)

As Eurotunnel moved from construction towards operation, I helped formalise system development and procurement for this unique binational and bilingual entity.

Specifically, I defined, and managed the subsequent use of:

Programming and user interface standards
A development method extended to include support for procurement, formalised system testing and creating user documentation and training material.
A method, standards and procedures for testing, which included breaking new ground in the effective testing of systems with poorly-defined user requirements, and those written in Fourth Generation Languages
An integrated development environment to supplement proprietary offerings
The processes of quality review and inspection for the application systems
The training programme for the development team.

I was also actively involved in the procurement process for several major application systems, including contract negotiation, and subsequent management of formal contract and project control processes.

Managing Systems Engineer with Digitus Ltd. (1986 - 1989)

Digitus Ltd. was a small but successful software house in London, concentrating on the creation of complete systems based on open operating systems. My project leadership and quality management roles on several major projects included:

Inchcape Plc.

An integrated shipping management system for the various shipping companies within the Inchcape group. I helped to define standards, operate the QA function and provided wide-ranging technical support.

British Airways

Development of their treasury system, which had previously had several false starts. I was one of two project leaders managing a team of both Digitus and BA personnel who delivered successfully.

Petrogulf

Creation of a trading room environment for this small company of oil traders. I analysed and developed the systems and established a number of business opportunities Digitus later exploited.

Senior Engineer with Racal-Decca Advanced Developments Ltd. (1982 - 1986)

I joined Racal’s fledgling Satellite Systems Division as a graduate trainee. We undertook a variety of study and development projects for the European Space Agency (ESA) and the International Maritime Satellite Organisation (INMARSAT), among others. These included:

Codec 

I led the development of signal processing software for mobile satellite communications capable of transmitting data at relatively high speeds in a noisy environment.

LAMOCOSAMIS

I managed the Racal contribution to a study into possible interfaces between satellite communications and cellular telephones, including Racal’s then unique experience of actual mobile operation (Vodaphone).

INMARSAT

I was project co-ordinator on a study to investigate the next generation of Maritime Satellite Communications, bringing together Racal contributions ranging from naval electronics to electronic warfare.

Navsat

I was involved in both technical research, and also preparing various project reports on this proposed global satellite navigation system.