Phil Diegmann
Software engineer and information systems researcher. I build data pipelines and LLM-integrated workflows with humans-in-the-loop, and lead the process changes around them. I also mentor developers, coach student teams and supervise theses.
Open to roles as software engineer or project manager.
Evidence
Selected work
FeedForward: formative feedback for open-ended process modelling tasks
A SolidJS web application for individual formative feedback on open-ended BPMN tasks; it does not grade. Deterministic checks run first, the AI suggests and phrases, and the instructor decides every finding that reaches a student.
- SolidJS
- TypeScript
- LLM workflows
- Human in the loop
LLM judges for BPMN process model annotation
LLM judges label a process model dataset against human-written rubrics. Labels are checked for agreement between two judges and against mutants with known ground truth.
- LLM-as-judge
- Rubric design
- Fine-tuning
- Python
Trace data pipeline for open-source coordination research
8 open-source projects, 1,169,489 developer actions on issues, pull requests and comments, prepared as time-ordered event sequences. Published in MIS Quarterly (2024).
- GitHub API
- Trace data
- REM
- Data reconciliation
Pseudonymised linking of survey and trace data
A keyed-hash pseudonymisation scheme that links survey responses to the same team's Jira and GitLab trace data. Pseudonymised data remain personal data.
- Pseudonymisation
- Jira
- GitLab
- Data protection
Android migration of a B2B task-management and location-tracking app
Led the migration of a B2B task-management and location-tracking app from Windows Embedded CE to Android, rolled out to several hundred devices. The team grew from one developer to four; I onboarded, reviewed and paired with the new developers and introduced Scrum.
- Android
- Java
- Legacy migration
- Scrum
Self-hosted Kubernetes platform across home and cloud
A Talos Kubernetes cluster across home nodes and a cloud VPS, with single sign-on, DNS, tunnels and encrypted secrets, all managed as code.
- Kubernetes
- Talos
- Flux
- Authentik
Reproducible team metrics from GitLab for project courses
Same snapshots in, byte-identical output out, and every ambiguous rule decision recorded. The lecturer keeps the grade.
- Python
- Hypothesis
- mypy (strict)
- GitLab API
Research to practice
Publications as practical transfer
From mid-2020, my papers appear under my former name, Phil Hennel. Earlier papers appear under Phil Diegmann.
MIS Quarterly2024 The Entrainment of Task Allocation and Release Cycles in Open Source Software Development
Lindberg, A., Schecter, A., Berente, N., Hennel, P., Lyytinen, K.
In practiceTask allocation and release rhythms in open-source projects become entrained over time. The coupling can be measured.
Project Management Journal2021 Investigating the "Socio" in Socio-Technical Development
The Case for Psychological Safety in Agile Information Systems Development
Hennel, P., Rosenkranz, C.
In practiceIn agile software teams, psychological safety and social agile practices reinforce each other; without it, practices such as retrospectives lose their effect.
HICSS 532020Best Paper Award The Impact of Modes, Styles, and Congruence of Control on Agile Teams
Insights from a Multiple Case Study
Dreesen, T., Diegmann, P., Rosenkranz, C.
In practiceHow control is enacted matters more than which controls are used: an enabling control style and congruence between controllers and controllees go along with team autonomy and performance.
HICSS 542021 “The Second Vice is Lying, the First is Running into Debt.” Antecedents and Mitigating Practices of Social Debt
an Exploratory Study in Distributed Software Development Teams
Dreesen, T., Hennel, P., Rosenkranz, C., Kude, T.
In practiceSocial debt is the consequence of poor communication, collaboration and coordination in a team. The study names its antecedents and practices that mitigate it in distributed teams.
Teaching and enablement
Teaching that transfers to industry
I have supervised more than 86 Bachelor's and Master's theses since 2015, in person and fully remote.
Bremen · Master's · 2023–25
New Forms of Development
Master's course on project-driven low-code development, designed and assessed fully online. The digital portfolio replaces the written final examination.
CompetenceBuilding working software in teams with low-code tooling, and documenting decisions over a whole project.
Cologne and Bremen · Bachelor's and Master's · since 2015
Thesis supervision
More than 86 bachelor's and master's theses supervised since 2015, through regular one-to-one meetings, written feedback on drafts and the final assessment.
CompetenceHelping people build their own judgement, and saying clearly when work is not there yet.
Bremen · Bachelor's · since 2024
Information Systems & Business Process Management
Process modelling with BPMN. FeedForward grew out of this course; the BPMN LLM judges project is related.
CompetenceModelling business processes and judging the quality of process models.
University of Cologne · 2019–2023
Capstone Project
Converted to a fully online, flipped-classroom format with a redesigned digital assessment. I designed and ran a two-week web development crash course (React, Tailwind CSS) for student teams building prototypes.
CompetenceOnboarding into an unfamiliar web stack quickly, and running a student project fully online.
Experience
Career timeline
2023 – present
Built FeedForward, a SolidJS web application for LLM-assisted formative feedback, and builds LLM evaluation pipelines and data infrastructure for research. Teaches English-language courses in Information Systems, Business Process Management and Digital Innovation, and supervises bachelor's and master's theses. Industry study on AI coding tools with a large enterprise partner: keyed-hash pseudonymisation and data linking design, among others. Co-founded the Business Innovation & Transformation (BIT) Institute.
2023 – 2024
Co-designed and delivered practitioner courses on digital product development, business process management and agile methods for business analysts.
2021 – 2023
DFG SPP 2267 Digitalisation of Working Worlds, project DiAct (healthcare); contributed substantially to the second-phase renewal proposal. Acquired industry fellowships for the institute.
2017 – 2021
Owned the data collection and preparation pipeline behind the MIS Quarterly paper of 2024. Converted database and capstone courses to online formats. Designed and ran a two-week web development crash course (React, Tailwind CSS) for the capstone course and coached student teams through building working prototypes. Supervised bachelor's and master's theses.
2012 – 2017
Client web and mobile applications, including Java for Android. Self-employed technical and project lead for client blueworld GmbH: led the migration of the client's proprietary B2B task-management and location-tracking app from Windows Embedded CE to Android, rolled out to several hundred devices. The team grew from one developer to four; I onboarded the new developers, reviewed their code and paired with them, and introduced Scrum into the development organisation. Agile coaching for small and medium-sized companies.
2008 – 2011
Web-scraping and data-acquisition applications feeding a price-comparison platform, in C# and .NET.
Education
2015 – 2021
PhD (Dr. rer. pol.), Information Systems
University of Cologne, Germany
2013 – 2015
M.Sc. Information Systems
University of Cologne, Germany
2010 – 2013
B.Sc. Information Systems
University of Cologne, Germany
Languages
- GermanNative
- EnglishFluent
- SwedishLearning
Skills
Skills as evidence, not bars
- PlatformsKubernetes across home and cloudPersonal homelab: Talos cluster, single sign-on and encrypted secrets, managed as codeSelf-hosted Kubernetes platform
- Data1,169,489 actionsEight open-source projects, prepared as event sequences; published in MIS QuarterlyTrace data pipeline
- Data protectionSurvey data linked by keyed hashSurvey responses linked to Jira and GitLab trace dataPseudonymised linking
- AI evaluationLabels via two-judge agreementLLM judges label process models; labels are checked for two-judge agreement and against mutated models. Human expert validation is planned.LLM judges for BPMN models
- EducationFeedback between submissionsLLM-assisted formative feedback on process models; it gives feedback and does not gradeFeedForward
- DeliveryLegacy app moved to AndroidWindows Embedded CE to Android, with Scrum introduced to the teamAndroid migration
Contact
Get in touch
I am looking for a role that combines engineering and working with the people actually affected by the product. Preferably remote; start date flexible.