About
An independent consulting practice.
I am Matthew Steele, and Corner Milestone is my consulting practice. It has operated on a contract basis for several years and now develops its own software products alongside the client work.
My background is in finance, operations and sales rather than computer science, and that informs how the practice works. I came to building systems through running the processes that poorly designed software made more difficult. As a result, each engagement begins with the business problem and addresses the technology second.
In practice, the early part of any engagement is spent understanding how the work is currently performed, where it falls short, and what an improvement is worth. Development begins only once that is clear. Systems are designed around the people who will operate them, costed in detail, and built on a foundation that can be maintained over time rather than a collection of isolated scripts.
I work from Buenos Aires with international B2B clients, primarily remotely. The practice is deliberately small, so clients work directly with the person responsible for building the system.
How I work
The same principles apply to every engagement, regardless of the client.
- Process before technology
- The business process is defined before any tool is selected. The software is then built to implement a decision that has already been made, rather than to dictate it.
- Research-backed and sourced
- Formulas, benchmarks and default assumptions are traced to named, recognised authorities. Where a figure informs a decision, its source is documented and available for review.
- Designed around the user
- Each system is designed around the people who will operate it, and the buyers it serves, before development begins. Systems are not adapted to a generic persona after the fact.
- A consistent, maintainable foundation
- Systems are built on a consistent, proven foundation, with the right approach chosen for each task rather than forced through one tool. This keeps them maintainable over time rather than dependent on isolated scripts that break when someone moves on.
- Costed and specific
- Operating costs are estimated in detail, down to the unit and the per-run cost of each external service. The cost of running a system is understood before it is deployed.
Interested in working together?
If this approach suits how you would like your systems built, please get in touch. I will give you a candid assessment of whether it is the right fit.