After obtaining my masters degree in Biology, I worked as scientific researcher at the Hugo-de-Vries laboratory of the University of Amsterdam. There, I studied the ecology of Dandelions, in Latin called Taraxacum – that’s why… While elaborating my research data, I was caught by the field of automation, as it was called at that time. So, in 1980, I switched to the IT domain.

I started my IT career at the Volmac subsidiary G&D Software (which later became part of Sogeti) as a COBOL programmer. Over the next decade, I became analyst, designer, project leader and consultant through assignments to development projects at all kinds of clients: banks, insurers, oil, catering, government. Also, I got a function as HR manager.

Next, I was asked to become Manager Operations at another Volmac subsidiary, Brainforce, which was in a management crisis at that time: a medium sized consultancy firm that specialized in data and information management. When Brainforce was on track again after one year, I combined my management function with external roles as account manager and consultant.

In 1992, Brainforce was incorporated in Volmac. I was assigned to the newly formed department of Quality Management, which at that time focused on quality management systems. As a quality manager, I have helped several internal and external organizations to acquire the ISO 9000 certificate. After the merge with Cap Gemini I became the internal Quality Manager of the division Public.

However, my passion for external services remained. Together with four colleagues, in 1995 I founded INQA, primarily focussing on quality management, and soon extended with project management and service management. With the Y2K hype, test management got in sight, a field that highly appealed to me. I have been involved in several substantial test projects. I also got involved in TestNet, the Dutch association for software testers, where I fulfilled content and management functions for many years.

When the market for quality management decreased after the 2008 crisis, I decided to specialize in software testing. In 2011, I joined Polteq, for which I did all kinds of test management and consultancy jobs at a wide range of clients at home and abroad.
Also, I became involved in developing and giving test trainings. In that context, I was asked to develop a training about requirements, as requirements are the basis for all testing. I started studying requirements engineering and discovered a new challenge there through contacts with IREB, the International Requirements Engineering Board, where nowadays I am a board member of the Executive Committee.

In order to fully focus on requirements engineering, I left Polteq in early 2017. Ever since, I offer services in that field (and adjacent, quality related domains) through Taraxacum: independent, but not alone!

I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience in the IT field with professionals who need it. That is why I have been teaching with great pleasure at the part-time HBO-ICT course at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences since 2018.