On (Modern?) Software Development

On (Modern?) Software Development Services

Photo of Alex during „Thoughts“ presentation at Software Architecture Meetup Nuremberg
Craft Conference Budapest, 29.05.2025
Photo of Alex during „Thoughts“ presentation at Software Architecture Meetup Nuremberg
Software Architecture Meetup Nuremberg, 12.03.2025

Who am I?

My name is Alexander Thurow.

Since 01.03.2025 I have been offering my 20+ years of experience in the field of professional software development as a freelance speaker, consultant and pair programmer.

> full CV <

Speaking
Consulting
Pair Programming

„In times like these it is not primarily about your attention-
grabbing five minutes of fame or your financial (mega-)glory, but
about moving constructively forward – together.“

“Thoughts on (Modern?) Software Development“ talk, Craft 2025, Budapest

Watch the talk

Service Offering

Slide: „The Real Challenge - The Cloud"

Consulting

Have you ever been wondering in your busy day-to-day trenches of your professional software development or management career, why the beast you are trying to tame day in and day out seems to be such a stubborn, nasty and – alas – mighty creature?

> more details <

Slide: „Imagination!"

Speaking

Over the last years I have been creating different talks addressing professional software practitioners and students of computer science. These talks pin down what I – sometimes painstakingly – learned during my 20+-year career progression as a professional software developer.

> more details <

Slide: „Challenges (Micro 3) - Simplicity"

Pair Programming

Since July 2025, Frank Gerhardt and Alex Thurow are offering their Java software development know how to customers interested in a senior developer pair.

> more details <

Customer voices

“I had expected a presentation about technical or organizational developments. These expectations were far exceeded. The entire evening was full of inspiration on culture and team development. […] Whoever is thinking about developing an organization would do well to engage Alex as a consultant and coach.”

Jens Rehsack
19.08.2025

“A clear recommendation – be it for software development teams, architects, product managers or tech executives. If you experience Alexander you will leave his talk with new thoughts – and the urgent wish to build better software.”

Tobias Mehre
19.06.2025
Title slide: „Solutions for (Modern?) Software Development - Approximations From a 20-Year Journey"
Slide: „Umm, so Alex: What is IT all about? Complexity, cognitive load, human interactions, how we as humans tick"
Slide: „Ok now, Alex: What’s the goal? (2)"
More customer voices…
  • „I attended Alex’s talk, “Thoughts on (Modern?) Software Development – Observations from a 20 years-long journey”, at Craft in Budapest this year. I’m a sucker for talks that understand software development with a historical context, as opposed to “it’s all novelty” or “here’s how to…”, and this is no exception. Alex’s talk embraced both personal and collective history, as well as offering broader suggestions and insights on systems and, well, life!”
  • “When I first met Alex it was impossible to know the scale of the impact he would have on my business strategy. Over the course of our conversations, he generously shared resources and intellectual context with astonishingly exact relevance, broadening my perspective and enriching my decision-making processes. After having the opportunity to view his presentation for Craft Conference 2025, I began to understand how the specific lens of software development could be applied more widely to the assessment and appreciation of the human condition. I was able to see this inflection and apply it to various aspects of my own work. Alex’s lucid interpretation of how things fit together combined with his encyclopedic recall of historical wisdom provides a foundation — and a catalyst — to imagine more.”
    • Sharyl Volpe, MS IOP, Work Culture Strategist & Leadership Coach | AI Mental Health Collective Founding Member
  • “I have recently hosted Alex for one of his talks on Modern Software Development and AI and I was truly impressed with the amount of data Alex was able to discern and talk to us about. An enormous amount of books and references helped us all to understand the current challenges and what the future plans for all of us. What impresses me most:
    – His ability to distill two decades of experience into lessons that are both technically sound and practically applicable.
    – His openness to engage in dialogue: his Q&A sessions show that he cares about understanding different perspectives, exchanging ideas, and pushing forward the community’s thinking.
    – His dual fluency: presenting in both German and English, across remote and in-person formats, he adapts well to different audiences and brings inclusivity.
    – His commitment to craftsmanship: quality, thoughtful architecture, maintainability are not just theoretical themes for him—they are actionable principles he encourages others to live by.
    If you are looking for a speaker, mentor, consultant or collaborator in modern software, architectural discipline, or exploring AI’s place in software ecosystems, Alex is someone you can rely on.”
    • Paulo Dias, Accreditor for ICAgile training courses and Instructor Authorizations, 20.09.2025
  • „I recently heard Alex speak on the topic “Thoughts on (Modern?) Software Development” at an online event. As a software engineer myself, I found his talk cut right to the core of many of the challenges I’ve seen time and time again; from why providing accurate estimates is so difficult, to what gets sacrificed when pressure to deliver skyrockets, to how the human aspect of development works. I remember feeling like I’d been seeing many of these challenges in black & white for a long time, and someone had just switched the colour on! I highly recommend and look forward to hearing more of Alex’s talks.”
  • „I had the privilege of gaining insight into Alex’s discoveries from his journey through professional life at a joint event by Softwerkskammer Köln and Rewe digital Events. I had expected a presentation about technical or organizational developments. These expectations were far exceeded. The entire evening was full of inspiration on culture and team development. I already knew that my view of the sea comes from a cutter trip around Rügen. Alex showed us glimpses of the ocean – from the ship and from the air. My biggest bonus: I can identify a possible cause of mentoring problems in the team and can already formulate the first part of the solution. Whoever is thinking about developing an organization would do well to engage Alex as a consultant and coach.”
    • Jens Rehsack, Senior System Architect (Embedded/IoT), 19.08.2025
  • „With his talk ’Thoughts on (Modern?) Software Development – Observations From a 20-Year Journey’ Alexander brings to the stage what is clearly distinguishing him: clarity, experience and the capability to communicate profound thoughts in an accessible way. Instead of getting lost in questions about technology and framework selection, he poses essential questions: How do we tackle complexity? How do we reduce cognitive load? How can we make sure to keep the human – developers and users – in the center of our reasoning? This talk is an inspiring reflection for all colleagues who not only want to build software but want to understand and responsibly shape it. A clear recommendation – be it for software development teams, architects, product managers or tech executives. If you experience Alexander you will leave his talk with new thoughts – and the urgent wish to build better software.”
    • Tobias Mehre, IT Recruiting Consulting and Training, 19.06.2025
  • „I did see Alexander’s talk ‚Thoughts on (Modern?) Software Development‘ at the techcamp Hamburg in 2025. My assigned category: ‘Mind-blowing‘. Very fascinating insights into a 20-year spanning career in the field of professional software development.”
  • „An honest, reflected and at the same time entertaining talk about the challenges of modern software development. Alexander manages to highlight known problem from the field by shedding new and different light on those – smart (in the best sense), close to the practitioner and with a wink of an eye. Very recommendable!”
  • “Alexander thank you for your very inspiring talk and the ensuing discussions. It was a real pleasure to get to know you and I am sure that your work will be providing many organizations with real benefits in the future.”
    • Sabine Hipp, Principal UX Designer, Opportunity Lead, 04.06.2025
  • „Alexander Thurow is an outstanding speaker with profound IT knowledge, which he very eloquently offers to his audiences by covering a wide range of topics. His talks offer a multitude of head starters and are inviting the listener to deepen his or her own knowledge. Very much recommended!“
    • Kenneth Keck, Software Engineer | IT Freelancer, 15.05.2025
  • „Thank you, Alex, for these inspiring impulses – I am blown away!“
  • “I had the pleasure of working with Alexander Thurow, and I can recommend him unreservedly. If it comes to software development, real success often cannot be found in the resolution of technical challenges, but in the capability to identify and address „soft factors“ like unclear requirements, insufficient communication or wrong team composition. Alex repeatedly shows that he is able to address and resolve these, often invisible, but critical topics. With his broad and long-standing experience he identifies these hidden „bugs“ in the software development process – e.g. the so called technical debt that accrues over time and leads to a „grown and crowded system“. He clearly addresses those topics and brings them to the light of day, before they become major problems for the development organization. One of his especially impressive capabilities is his ability to take team dynamics into account (e.g. the assessment of a teams’ own capabilities) and to thereby improve the quality of its software development system. For me his work is a valuable eye-opener that should also inspire managers to pay more attention to the not immediately visible, but crucial aspects of their respective software projects. I can highly recommend Alex as an expert and valuable consultant for every software project that will be coming your way.”
    • Ralf Koch, IT executive (also on a journey that has been going on for a while 😄), 16.03.2025
  • „Alexander’s talk at our Software Architecture Meetup in Nürnberg was refreshingly different: different content, different style, and a different perspective. Drawing from his experience and numerous notable citations by renowned authors in and around the field of software development, Alex’s talk ‘Thoughts On (Modern?) Software Development‘ distilled the essence of software development: a people’s business where the success of projects is deeply rooted in the quality of human communication and interaction. Recognizing the challenges most developers often face in this area, Alex highlighted these issues and provided insights aimed at enhancing team dynamics and achieving successful software development outcomes. If you want to know what might be blocking your software development teams from being productive, listen to Alex’s talk.“
  • „’Thoughts On (Modern?) Software Development‘ is a talk worth hearing. It reminds listeners of the words regularly spoken by senior software professionals: software development is not only about ‚writing the code‘ in your lonely cubicle – instead it is a complex and collaborative team endeavor. Especially in our times of rising numbers of software developers in our industry, coinciding with the simultaneous steep increase in demand for software knowhow, we need more colleagues like Alexander. He employs his twenty+ years of experience in order to pass on urgently needed background knowledge to colleagues.”
    • Kai Reeh, Domain Lead Development, 20.02.2025
  • „Alex’s talks are controversial, inspiring and always thought-provoking. So watch out, throw in some glucose to prevent your head from exploding. 🙂“
  • „I got to know Alexander when he was starting out his career as a software developer. Twenty years later I met him again when he presented the takeaways from his time as the software development professional he became in the meantime. Personally, I perceived the talk as very inspiring and I am sure that the talk provides every software developer, manager or superior with new impulses for reflection and discussion.”
  • „This year I was really sad, that I cannot participate in the CCC congress. At least until I heared Alex‘s talk in Karlsruhe – because it was a good compensation for the fact, that I will not be heading to Hamburg for the CCC.”