Jan McCleery, Author and retired Software Evangelist

Software Technology and Management

Jan has over 20 years’ experience as a Software Engineering executive. In 2007, she started Duck Pond Software to provide software technology and professional services consulting related to the Azerity/Model N product, which was the product created by her start-up company.

Author

In 2015, she published her first book to share her start-up experience: “It Starts with an Idea” – How a little software company competed against the big software gorillas by turning an idea into practical software.

In 2015, after her granddaughter Serenity (who’s nickname is Sassy) continually asked for stories about the past, Jan wrote her memoirs, “Class of ’67”: On growing up in Utah in the ’60s. The story of a shy geek in the rowdy, ruckus, Salt Lake central city schools. And how that little girl ended up with everything she could have ever hoped for, and learned that, “It’s your life, and you can do what you want with it.”

While still consulting in Silicon Valley, Jan moved to Discovery Bay in the heart of the California Delta. Jan became actively involved in the California water wars to oppose the Delta Tunnels (“WaterFix”) and other projects that would destroy the Delta and surrounding communities, farms, and environment. Jan was President of Save the California Delta Alliance, a 501(c)3 non-profit grassroots organization, from 2009 to 2019. She now serves as Past President. In 2018, due to her contributions to the Delta communities, Jan was named “Citizen of the Year” for Discovery Bay, California.

To educate about the water issue, Jan wrote a children’s book, “The Fable of the Farmer and the Fish” – about the California water wars and the need to be good stewards of our environment. In 2018 Jan wrote her second children’s book, “Sassy the Salmon,” about fish and the circle of life.

Jan found she loved writing books. She started on her spy novel series, “The Secret Lives of Jessie Monroe” She completed the first book, “Alias Juno Wolfe” in 2017, the second “Who Is Juno Wolfe?” later in 2017, and the third, “Finding Jessie Monroe” in 2022.

In parallel, she wrote a short novel, “Doug’s Last Laugh,” to honor a man she loved like a father.

In addition, she wrote a short fantasy book for her granddaughter called “Star Child (A Serenity Book).”

Today the website is called “from the Duck Pond” and includes all of her books – nonfiction, fiction, fantasy, and children’s books – as well as software tips for engineers and managers.

Prior Technical Positions

Duck Pond Software Technical Consultant (Model N/Azerity)
Software 2020 Co-Founder/Partner
Azerity Co-Founder/CTO/VP Engineering (sold to Model N)
Director/VP (Ingres, ASK, Dow Jones, Varian, Digital.Market)
Ford Aerospace/Space Systems Loral Engineer/Manager

Technical Background

After obtaining a Masters in Math from the University of Utah, Jan and her husband Mike moved from Salt Lake City, Utah to Silicon Valley to take jobs at Ford Aerospace in 1973. She began as a scientific programmer and worked up to management positions. She was awarded the prestigious San Jose Mercury TWIN (Tribute to Women in Industry) Award. Ford Aerospace was bought by Loral and Jan served in the honorary position of Loral Software Engineering Steering Committee (SESC) Chairperson.

She then held senior software management positions at Ingres, ASK/MANMAN, Dow Jones, and DigitalMarket.com, a dot.com start-up.

Azerity “ProChannel”

Having caught the software start-up “bug”, Jan and two business partners formed Intelic (later renamed Azerity). As Co-Founder/VP/CTO, she was instrumental in the design and development of the Azerity Sales Management product (called “ProChannel”) as well as designing SD Tracker, a software development process tracking tool for the Azerity team’s use. Azerity was sold to Model N in 2006. Jan continued to support Model N as a consultant performing key roles in Product Development, Product Management, and Professional Services. Jan retired from software in 2014. The Azerity product, now called Model N High Tech (HT), continues to be the market leader among global semiconductor companies and is used by over 30,000 users.

Software 2020

Jan and co-founder Freeman Michaels formed Software 2020 in 2012. Jan designed and Freeman built the next generation software tracking tool, Software 2020 – a unified Requirements Manager, Agile Story Manager, Bug Tracker, and Call Tracker.