My First Github Project

2015 action items for improving my technical skills, my people skills, improving my network of great people in order to increase job satisfaction and achieve some career goals that have been floundering.

Step 1: Start this blog, check.

Step 2: Get  more involved in local user groups, check and check.

Step 3: Be more active on LinkedIn and networking in general, check.

Step 4: Start a GitHub project, check.

Here is the git hub project I started earlier this week: https://github.com/mwrand/SaraCms/tree/dev

I know, I know, not another CMS system!  There is totally no need for another CMS system. However, for my entire career this is the thing I've done.  My first real exposure to professional development was as the technical lead at a couple of web design companies.  And even past that, all the projects that I have worked on have had elements that would make great additions to a repeatable, extendable framework/system that would  allow for code reuse, easy deployment of large applications, and the tools developers need to make their projects extremely valuable by leveraging past projects to allow them to focus only on the "new work" in their current projects.

Given that there are literally hundreds if not thousands of CMS projects on github, and hundreds of commercial CMS systems on the market right now, I have no idea if I can get anyone working on the project with me, but with new adventures like this you have to start with what you know, what you are passionate about.  And as a developer, a development lead, there is little that gets me as excited as development/business productivity.

In addition a CMS system gives me the opportunity to tie together code I've written, and  dreamed about writing in the FIFTEEN different jobs I've had over my 12 year career.  When you have worked as a contractor, and on short term assignments as much  as I've had there is a real (mental/spiritual) value in being able to tie all of that history together.  I also think that if I can hold my motivation on this project there is a chance a number of side projects (libraries, frameworks, etc) can be pulled out and be useful to others.

But ultimately, I want a large project, a large code base, that I can point prospective employers to, because I love working on large projects with big teams.  Having a large CMS is a great way to show my skills for working at that scale.