A man with glasses wearing a sports coat sits in front of a computer.

About Me 📜

Designer, Developer, Artist

Hi, I'm Trent N. Ford. I'm a tech professional, personal coach, and creative with a diverse background that spans multiple fields. I hold a master's degree in Computer Science, (Computer Systems and Software Design with a concentration in Security). My professional journey has taken me through roles as both a software developer and web developer, giving me a solid foundation in the digital world.

In recent years, I've become deeply involved in the field of personal knowledge management, helping others optimize their information organization and boost productivity. I've also taken on freelancing and coaching in creative areas like presentation design, graphic design, and art.

One of my greatest passions is tabletop gaming. I've spent years as both a player and a game master/game manager (GM), and I've even published game supplements for D&D 5e. Another passion is building things, especially with LEGO. This combination of technical expertise, creative skills, and gaming knowledge allows me to bring a unique perspective to my courses.

I'm excited to share my diverse experiences and knowledge with you, whether we're working through tech topics, exploring creative processes, or venturing into the world of tabletop gaming.

Email: thetrentford@gmail.com

Text on the image says TLDR, after that there are sketches of a computer, code editor window, a graduation hat and diploma, a hand drawing wireframe diagram, a film strip image with the standard play video triangle, a 20 sided die, a lego brick, and the turtle mascot.

Education

Master of Science

Computer Systems and Software Design

Jacksonville State University; Jacksonville, AL

Concentration: Information Security and Assurance
GPA: 4.00
Graduation: December 10, 2021

Bachelor of Science

Major: Chemistry - Minor: Computer Science

Jacksonville State University; Jacksonville, AL

Concentration: Information Security and Assurance
Overall GPA: 3.35
Minor GPA: 3.71
Graduation: April 29, 2016
Elite Honors Scholar, Honors Program Graduate

Experience

Information Delivery Specialist (Freelance)

Every Line Design

Jan 2024 to Present

Rigorously apply the Every Line Method™. (Every Line Method™ means that every line of code, every line of a graphic element or art piece, and every written or spoken line will receive the attention needed to enhance your information’s delivery.)
Help businesses and people put their data, info, products, and stories out there in the form that best suits it.
Full-service freelancer for web development, presentation design, graphic design, UX/UI design, and branding.

Digital Wizard (Sole Proprietor/Freelance)

Construct Turtle Studio

June 2023 to Present

Has a focus on digital publishing and related areas, primarily tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) supplement and board games creation, to create high-quality products.
Creating courses and articles to help bring knowledge management, time-management techniques, and organizational strategies to the world of tabletop gaming.

Developer II

Agile Defense / PEO Missiles & Space

Feb 2023 to June 2023

Work as a member of an agile development team.
Build custom web applications.
- Primarily use C#, HTML, Javascript, and CSS.
Contractor (Agile Defense) for PEO Missiles & Space at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL.

Senior Software Developer

Fairwind Corp. / RGNext / RTS Operations Center

May 2022 to Feb 2023

Work as a member of a waterfall development team.
Support missions.
Maintain, support, and troubleshoot software related to optics sites.
Analyze, improve, and modernize documentation and manuals.
Primarily use C and C++ for coding, with Java and Python in some components and systems
Subcontractor (Fairwind Corp.) to prime contractor (RGNext) for the RTS Operations Center in Huntsville, AL. Supports Reagan Test Site - Kwajalein, RMI.

Research Publication 2022

Performance Evaluation of Different Raspberry Pi Models as MQTT servers and Clients

Trent N. Ford, Eric Gamess and Christopher Ogden. 2022. Performance Evaluation of Different Raspberry Pi Models as MQTT servers and Clients. In International Journal of Computer Networks & Communications, Vol. 14, No. 2, March 2022. 18 pages. https://doi.org/10.5121/ijcnc.2022.14201

Research Publication 2021

Performance Evaluation of a Widely Used Implementation of the MQTT Protocol with Large Payloads in Normal Operation and under a DoS Attack

Eric Gamess, Trent N. Ford, and Monica Trifas. 2021. Performance Evaluation of a Widely Used Implementation of the MQTT Protocol with Large Payloads in Normal Operation and under a DoS Attack. In 2021 ACM Southeast Conference (ACMSE 2021), April 15–17, 2021, Virtual Event, USA. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 9 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3409334.3452067

Senior Software Developer

Hexagon PPM

Feb. 2019 to Feb. 2021

Worked as a member of an agile development team (used Scrum). - Designed, implemented, enhanced, and maintained functionality for SmartPlant 3D products.
Performed and wrote production code, unit tests, automated tests, and code reviews.
Collaborated with other scrum teams to promote cohesive code integration.
Worked in multiple environments including co-located on-site and fully remote, depending on environmental factors.
Contributed to planning Hexagon PPM’s first global hackathon.
Primarily used C# and C++ for coding.
Used TFS in Visual Studio for version control and check-out, code reviews, and check-in of files.
SmartPlant 3D products worked with Oracle and Microsoft Server SQL databases (only one at a time), so sometimes debugging involved interrogating the database.

Technician

Ford Service Company

2012 to 2018

Performed a variety of jobs including website building, bookkeeping, construction, remodeling, maintenance, employee management, and manual labor.
Responsibilities have ranged from being an assistant to crew leader to technical support.

Coursework

Graduate Coursework (2018 -2021)

Research: MQTT and Internet of Things (IoT)
- Benchmarking Performance – Used Mosquitto and Paho libraries to test build different versions of the benchmark using C. Development primarily on Linux.
Embedded and Real-Time Software Development
Wireless Networking & Security
Human-Computer Interaction
Distributed Computing Systems
Applied Software Engineering II
Advanced Computer Security
Applied Software Engineering I
Database Management Systems

Undergraduate Computer Science Coursework (2012-2016, 2018)

At Jacksonville State University, the undergraduate computer science classes primarily used Java. I received a minor in computer science. At JSU, the computer science minor is most core classes required for computer science majors. The one core difference was Computer Networking, which I took in 2018 prior to starting my graduate coursework. My undergraduate level courses are:

Computer Networking
Database Systems
Software Engineering I
Fundamentals of Computer Operating Systems
Honors Computer Organization and Architecture
Computer Programming II
Computer Programming I
Fundamentals of Computing

Selected Skills

C
C#
C++
CSS
Git
HTML / HTML5
Java
Javascript
Python
SQL

Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere
Aseprite
GIMP
Godot (open source game engine)
Procreate (iPadOS version)
Visual Studio / VS Code
Scrum (Agile Methodology)

Bricklink Studio (Stud.io)
Da Vinci Resolve
Digital Publishing
Game Design
Illustration
Layout Design
Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)
Presentation Design
Project Management
Wireframing

Operating Systems Experience: I have used development environments on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux - Notable Linux distro exposure: Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, Kali Linux, Raspberry Pi OS

Professional Training

CompTIA Security+ Certificate

Aug. 2022
Code: YZKQZ9WQL2RQ175Q - Verify at: http://verify.CompTIA.org

Fundamentals of Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Apr. 2022
Taught by Red Hat at coursera.org. https://coursera.org/share/...

Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design

Mar. 2022
Taught by Google at coursera.org. https://coursera.org/share/...

Graphic Design Certificate

Mar. 2022
Verify at https://www.coursera.org/...
5 Course Specialization track at coursera.org from California Institute of the Arts.
Courses in track: (1) Fundamentals of Graphic Design (certificate), (2) Introduction to Typography (certificate), (3) Introduction to Imagemaking (certificate), (4) Ideas from the History of Graphic Design (certificate), (5) Brand New Brand (certificate).

HTML, CSS, and Javascript for Web Developers

Dec. 2021
Taught by Yaakov Chaikin, John Hopkins University. https://www.coursera.org/...

JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures Developer Certification

Oct. 2018
FreeCodeCamp, https://freecodecamp.org/...

Additional History

I am familiar with Git and use GitHub personally (some projects are set to private) and GitLab with RTS Operations Center. Here is my GitHub link: https://github.com/DrFretNot

During my undergraduate degree (2012-2016), I was part of the Student Government Association Senate. To do this job effectively (and to be elected), I communicated with other JSU Senators and the student body to advocate to the administration on behalf of the students. I also helped run events for students. In addition, I was an Elite Honors Scholar with the JSU Honors program which required a certain GPA as well as work on various service projects.

I have experience working on a software development team at Hexagon PPM, RTS Operations Center, and Agile Defense and performing solo work through my graduate research and freelancing. I can work in either environment equally well. Before Covid, I worked in an office bay with my team at the Hexagon PPM Headquarters. After Covid (around March 2020), I worked at home and did everything remotely. At RTS Operations Center, I shared an office with a coworker and generally worked in-person.

I have used multiple IDEs, with the most experience with Visual Studio / VS Code. I have also used NetBeans and Eclipse.

As noted in the Hexagon PPM section, the software used a relational database to store information, so I am familiar with them and how to use SQL to investigate databases.

Exposure to Azure DevOps through Hexagon PPM. Additional exposure in graduate school and/or personal projects: AMQP, ASP.NET Core, ASP.NET, Angular, AngularJS, CoAP, Conceptual Framework, DDS, Entity Framework, FTP, jQuery, IP, Kendo UI, IoT 5-layer Architecture, IoT 3-layer architecture, Lua, Model-View-Controller Framework, Node.js, Open Data Protocol, React, REST APIs, Single Page Apps, TCP, Typescript, UDP, VS Code, Web Forms.

About Me 📜

Designer, Developer, Artist

Resume

Education

Master of Science

Bachelor of Science

Experience

Information Delivery Specialist (Freelance)

Digital Wizard (Sole Proprietor/Freelance)

Developer II

Senior Software Developer

Research Publication 2022

Research Publication 2021

Senior Software Developer

Technician

Coursework

Graduate Coursework (2018 -2021)

Undergraduate Computer Science Coursework (2012-2016, 2018)

Selected Skills

Professional Training

CompTIA Security+ Certificate

Fundamentals of Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design

Graphic Design Certificate

HTML, CSS, and Javascript for Web Developers

JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures Developer Certification

Additional History