Microsoft Edge
DevTools
A Microsoft Edge engagement focused on AI‑driven in‑browser features, including real‑time content simplification, alongside integrated developer tooling and structured feedback systems.
In Detail
This engagement formed part of Microsoft's "Web We Want" initiative, which focuses on strengthening the relationship between developers and browser vendors in collaboration with the World Wide Web Foundation and W3C‑aligned stakeholders.
Working closely with external stakeholders and industry leaders, I helped identify and prioritise opportunities for exploration within the browser, shaping a roadmap of experiments and MVPs to improve both developer feedback loops and the wider browsing experience.
To support that work, I assembled and led a small external engineering team responsible for turning selected ideas into practical demonstrations and early‑stage implementations. My own hands‑on focus was on the developer tooling strand, helping define and deliver new capabilities integrated directly within Microsoft Edge DevTools.
In a subsequent engagement at Microsoft's Redmond campus three years later, I returned to work with stakeholders on further experimentation into AI applications within the browser runtime. A key prototype explored real‑time analysis of web pages, intelligently identifying and removing distracting or non‑essential elements to improve clarity, focus, and usability without requiring changes from site authors.
Together, these engagements formed part of a broader programme of exploratory work within Microsoft Edge, investigating how the browser could better support both developers and end users, several years before AI‑assisted browsing experiences became increasingly common across the industry.
AI‑Assisted Content Simplification
A prototype exploring how AI could operate directly within the browser to improve clarity and focus by interpreting and restructuring live web pages in real time.
The system analysed page structure and content to identify non‑essential or distracting elements, including adverts, overlays, and visual noise, and removed or suppressed them without requiring any changes from the site itself. This resulted in a cleaner, more readable experience, demonstrating how intelligent systems could augment the browsing experience at runtime rather than relying on upstream optimisation.
In‑Browser Developer Tooling
A set of in‑browser tools my team and I developed within Microsoft Edge DevTools to create a direct and structured feedback channel between developers and browser teams. Rather than relying on external issue trackers or fragmented reporting mechanisms, this approach embedded feedback capture directly into the developer workflow.
The tooling enabled developers to raise issues in context, preserving relevant page state and reducing friction in reporting. AI‑assisted analysis was used to help classify and enrich submissions, improving signal quality and making feedback more actionable at scale.
Developer Feedback Pipeline
My team and I developed a structured feedback pipeline connecting in‑browser developer tooling to internal Microsoft systems, transforming ad hoc reports into actionable product signals. Issues raised within DevTools were captured with contextual metadata, enriched through automated classification, and routed into triage workflows to help browser teams identify and prioritise real‑world problems.
The Outcome
Across two engagements with Microsoft Edge, my work took ideas from early exploration through to working prototypes and developer tooling, combining hands‑on engineering with technical leadership and collaboration across the organisation and the wider web community.
These projects explored ways for the browser itself to play a more active role for both developers and end users, from creating a more direct feedback channel between developers and browser teams to experimenting with AI‑assisted browsing within the browser runtime itself.
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John Kavanagh's biggest strength is his ability to deal with conflicting priorities in high‑pressure situations. Along with his excellent development skills, John's ability to manage difficult stakeholders and requirements is one of the key reasons that the projects he led were completed on time without too many problems."
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John Kavanagh is a very talented front‑end web developer. He is enthusiastic, up‑beat, very knowledgeable in his field and has a great eye for detail. He brought a lot to our team and to the product, I would be happy to work with him again."
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John Kavanagh is a passionate and highly skilled developer with a wonderful ability to calmly concede downward business pressures whilst pragmatically delivering the project at hand.
John is never fazed by project management/requirement issues as are common in these environments, instead, he always finds a way to deliver value to both the end consumer and the business. It's not always easy to remain level‑headed and calm on high‑pressure projects but John's good nature and professionalism invariably remain infallible. It's an absolute pleasure working with him."
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John Kavanagh is enthusiastic and enjoys getting work completed, he is happy to challenge priorities where he sees there is a quicker ROI to be made from his development. His opinion on how we have developed features has been key to our success this financial year. He is fun to work with, always vocal and the dynamic he brought with PO/UX/UI has driven us to deliver better quality features faster than before."
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I had the pleasure of working closely with John Kavanagh at Selfridges. He is an exceptional programmer who consistently delivered high‑quality work. John possesses a deep understanding of exceptional front‑end development skills and has a remarkable ability to tackle complex problems with creative and effective solutions.
What sets John apart is not only his technical expertise but also his strong work ethic and dedication to delivering results. He is a reliable and proactive team player, always willing to go the extra mile to ensure project success. I was particularly impressed with his ability to help with issues and make the explanations simple and succinct.
Beyond his technical skills, John is a pleasure to work with. He communicates effectively, collaborates seamlessly with team members, and approaches challenges with a positive and solution‑oriented mindset."
