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Portfolio Dispatch — Vol. 1 · May 2026Portfolio Dispatch← Back to Portfolio
Marc Andersson — Software Design
IT University of Copenhagen · Cand.IT
Selected Work & ProfilePortfolio Dispatch
Copenhagen, Denmark
Vol. 1 — May 2026
marclandersson@gmail.com
Master's Thesis · IT University of Copenhagen
Parallelism & Concurrency on High-Level Code
How cache coherence, lock contention, and hardware topology shape the performance of concurrent Java applications across different machines

Concurrent programming is one of the most demanding disciplines in software engineering — and one of the least understood at the hardware level. This thesis set out to close that gap, benchmarking concurrent counter and HashMap implementations across radically different hardware configurations to understand how low-level decisions propagate upward into high-level application behaviour.

The research reveals that assumptions programmers make about parallelism — that more threads always means more throughput, that lock-free data structures are universally faster — break down under real hardware constraints. Cache line invalidation cycles, NUMA topology, and contended memory buses all extract a hidden tax that no profiler exposes directly.

Using the Java Microbenchmark Harness (JMH), each implementation was subjected to controlled scaling tests: thread counts doubled from 1 to 32 across both shared-memory and NUMA configurations. The results are unambiguous — lock-free approaches scale significantly better under high contention, but introduce their own bottlenecks when thread counts exceed physical core counts.

“Hardware topology is the invisible architecture beneath every concurrent system. Ignoring it is the costliest abstraction leak in modern software.”

The practical implication for systems designers: algorithm selection must account for the deployment environment. A design optimal on a developer workstation may degrade 4× under production load on a different machine class.

Java · JMH
Benchmarking
Concurrent counter scaling results across 1–32 threads on diverse hardware, 2025

JavaJMHConcurrencyBenchmarkingThesis
3
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AI & Generative Tooling
Ongoing Personal Work
Generative AI · Python · Data Analysis
Building Workflows at the Edge of LLM Capability

The practical use of generative AI demands more than prompt engineering — it requires systematic understanding of where LLMs reliably produce value and where they introduce noise. This ongoing work builds Python-based data analysis pipelines that wrap generative output with structured validation.

Key focus areas: retrieval-augmented generation for domain-specific knowledge, structured output coercion for downstream systems, and workflow automation that degrades gracefully on model uncertainty.

PythonLLMAutomation
2
Quality & Test Strategy
QA Engineering · ITU Copenhagen
Architecture · Test Planning · Verification
Quality Cannot Be Tested In — It Must Be Designed In

The relationship between software architecture and testability is not incidental — it is fundamental. This academic work examined how early architectural decisions determine the ceiling on quality that any test strategy can reach.

Topics covered: test pyramid design, property-based testing, mutation coverage analysis, and the trade-offs between integration depth and test isolation. Special focus on the organisational conditions that allow quality practices to sustain.

QATestingArchitecture
3
UI/UX & Service Design
Design Research · Facilitation
Onboarding · Organisational Design · Workshops
Designing Onboarding for Small Enterprises at Human Scale

Onboarding failure in SMEs is rarely a knowledge problem — it is a process design problem. This project co-designed structured onboarding and learning systems with a partner company through facilitated design workshops and stakeholder research.

Deliverables included a journey-mapped onboarding programme, a facilitation guide for internal coaches, and a template system adaptable to different team structures and seniority levels.

UXFacilitationSME
Internship · IT-Connect · Copenhagen · 2024
From Systems Configuration to User-Centred Web Solutions
A year inside an IT consultancy — building digital products, configuring infrastructure, and delivering with real clients

The IT-Connect internship compressed years of academic learning into months of production reality. Working directly with clients — designing web solutions, configuring NAS and network systems, setting up remote access infrastructure — the stakes were concrete and the feedback loop was immediate.

Web solutions were developed through continuous user involvement: design iterations validated by customer feedback before any code was committed. The result was a development cadence that married user-centred practice with technical delivery rigour.

Infrastructure work spanned NAS configuration for shared file access, network printer setup, PC client deployment, and internet infrastructure management — giving direct exposure to the operational layer that underpins every digital service.


Key Outcome
Client-Shipped Web Products

Designed, developed, and published digital web solutions under real client requirements and feedback loops.

Infrastructure
Full-Stack IT Ops

NAS systems, network printers, remote access, PC client deployment, and internet infrastructure configuration.

Bachelor's Project · AAU · 2023
From Gimmick to Value: Service Robots in Education

The introduction of service robots into educational institutions is rarely a technology problem — it is an adoption and value-creation problem. This bachelor's project studied the conditions under which service robots transition from novelty demonstration to genuine operational value, applying economic theory within a design thinking framework.

Workshop facilitation with institutional stakeholders generated concrete design decisions grounded in research analysis — demonstrating that the gap between “impressive demo” and “daily utility” is bridged by organisational readiness, not technical capability.

Design ThinkingUser ResearchWorkshops
Study Project · AAU · 2022
Welfare Technology from an Employee Perspective

Technology implementation in social psychiatry settings is uniquely dependent on employee buy-in. This research examined how organisational anchoring, change management, and role development determine whether welfare technology delivers its intended benefit — or creates friction that undermines care quality.

Welfare TechChange Mgmt
Marc Andersson — Cand.IT Software DesignIT University of Copenhagen · 2025marclandersson@gmail.comValby, Copenhagen · DenmarkPortfolio Dispatch Vol. 1 — May 2026