Specify 7

Specify 7 is a modern collections management platform for natural history and earth science institutions. As Product and Technical Support Manager for the Specify Collections Consortium since May 2023, I serve as the functional product lead and subject matter expert. I translate complex user feedback into technical software requirements, define the strategic roadmap for platform development, and oversee all support and documentation operations for over 450 member collections across 22 countries in 6 continents.

My work spans the full product lifecycle: strategic leadership and international partnerships, product requirements and implementation advising, quality assurance and user experience testing, direct software engineering contributions (1,700+ commits since 2024), operational management and KPI tracking, and global community engagement through workshops, webinars, and conference presentations.

• Advanced query builder workflows with geo-mapped query outputs.
• Configurable data-entry forms, taxonomy workflows, and specimen-label generation.
• Attachment management with an upgraded viewer experience.
• Built-in backup utility and administrative configuration tooling.
• Linked-record visibility and collection-level statistics for safer edits and analysis.

• Revamped the attachment viewer with pan and zoom support.
• Built the in-app database backup utility, including automatic health checks and compression.
• Delivered the System Config tool for institutional hierarchy configuration, including a D3 visualization for database structure.
• Contributed backend Django migrations to resolve data migration issues and improve upgrade reliability.
• Added timestamp support in queries.
• Defined defaults for forms, database schema, and related workflows.
• Added proper UI time-zone support for notifications and user actions.
• Assisted in UI/UX design and implementation decisions across features.
• Added a linked-records button so users can see how many records are affected before committing changes.
• Wrote requirements for all new features since 2023 and partnered closely with developers through implementation.
• Write release notes and documentation for every update, published on the Speciforum.

See the related community and documentation work on the Specify Community Forum project page .

Beyond software engineering, I have driven significant strategic growth and operational improvements for the Specify Collections Consortium:

• Pricing & Operations: Co-led the restructuring of Consortium membership levels and pricing tiers following formal cost assessments and future forecasts, ensuring alignment with operational costs, cloud infrastructure expenses, and global market demands.
• Infrastructure & Cost Optimization: Architect and maintain AWS cloud infrastructure (EC2, RDS, S3), ensuring high availability for mission-critical portals across 6 continents.
• Operational Management: Established new internal development processes using staged milestones to ensure software aligns with community needs. Monitor KPIs and metrics to evaluate service quality and operational effectiveness.

I played a part in a multi-institutional collaborative effort to design and launch GeoSpecify, a specialized extension of Specify 7 for managing geological and mineralogical collections. This represents the Consortium's strategic expansion beyond biological collections.

• Conducted extensive requirements gathering with geological curators and researchers across multiple institutions to define information models aligned with international geological data standards.
• Orchestrated the design phase with cross-functional partners including the Swiss Academy of Sciences, Naturhistorisches Museum Bern, and a steering committee of curators and researchers from Switzerland and beyond.
• Standardized the requirements-gathering process for new domain extensions, creating a replicable framework for future platform expansions.
• Successfully mapped geological workflows and partnered with the development team through implementation, launching to public release in late 2025.

See the GeoSpecify project page for more details on this expansion effort.

I have built the Specify Collections Consortium into a thriving global community through intentional engagement, support infrastructure, and knowledge sharing:

• Specify Community Forum: Architected and launched the official Specify Community Forum in 2022, transforming it into the primary global support hub. Authored 600+ forum posts and created 500+ knowledge-base topics, creating a durable, self-service technical repository for the global community. The forum has become the #1 source of information for the Consortium.
• Support & Supervision: Recruit, train, and supervise student support staff who provide responsive technical assistance for over 450 member collections. Direct daily workflows to ensure consistent, high-quality support.
• Mentoring & Onboarding: Mentor 15+ undergraduate students in biodiversity informatics, providing guidance on software development and technical support methodologies. Developed hundreds of documentation articles for onboarding and training new team members.

I am a prominent voice in the biodiversity informatics community, delivering technical training and presenting research at major international conferences: