James Bayley: When change is the only constant

Author: James S Bayley

Date published

26 February 2026

The Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers
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James Bayley: When change is the only constant

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James S. Bayley, Vice-Chair, Digital Workflows & Computational Design Panel and Member of the Structural Futures’ Committee shares his career trajectory, and how we need to up skill and remain competent in our digital world.

A computer bug bit me during my Civil Engineering degree at University of Birmingham. In our first year, we were introduced to MATLAB and computer programming. I was enamoured. I was hooked. I was also rather gutted. High school had scarred me with a dim, antiquated view of IT and I’d decided that this field was not for me. Yet here I was finding any excuse possible to code in my spare time. Had I pursued the wrong career? I was unsure.

Whilst I loved my degree and found Structural Mechanics fascinating, I could not escape the pull towards Software Development. The creative freedom to build something out of nothing, with just a laptop to hand, from anywhere in the world? It felt very me.

This was in stark contrast to Civil Engineering where most projects take years to complete and require significant capital to start. Whilst I did, and still do, love the impact that Structural Engineers have on our physical world, I found myself longing to build the digital one.

So, nuts and bolts, or bits and bytes?

Shortly after graduation, I embarked on a part-time MSc Computing course at The Open University. I decided to swap or- for and-style thinking. I would work professionally as a Structural Engineer and study Software Engineering alongside.

I reasoned that either programming would remain a hobby, or that one day I would transition to working for a technology firm. I wrote in my Professional Development Review during my first year of work that I hoped to introduce programming into our core structural engineering work, but this felt like a pipe dream. I received odd, puzzled looks from colleagues who presumed I was conflicted or confused.

Why would Structural Engineers want to code? We already had an extensive array of tools, spreadsheets, and proprietary software. Whilst I couldn’t answer with certainty, I felt sure that there was room for improvement.

After all, it was the age of the ‘app’. New software was being developed, at breakneck speed, across all sectors that looked exciting, engaging, and inspiring. Yet, in 2016, many structural engineering tools felt antiquated.
 

"your one and only purpose is to live a life of your own design."
Noor Hibbert, You Only Live Once.
"when you rock the boat, someone will tell you to sit down. "
Susan Jeffers, Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway

Had life played out as I’d expected, my story would end here, and I’d have eventually left the profession to pursue a career in technology.

But, like every good tale, there was an unexpected twist. In 2019, thanks to a kind internal sponsor advocating on my behalf, I was offered a brand-new role dedicated to automation. I would help to inspire and build the future of our industry, developing the tools and workflows that we believed should exist.

Each day we commit ourselves to the passionate cause of improving our colleagues’ Engineering Experience. The quality of the tools we use each day impacts our happiness, creativity, and performance.

Great tools empower us to reach further and work with focus. Clunky, noisy, unintuitive software can lead to errors in design, as users find themselves fighting against their tools rather than collaborating with them.

In a safety-critical industry like structural engineering, our software must put the human at the centre of the story and be designed to help, not hinder. ‘User error’ is often the fault of poor software design, and Software Designers now recognise that the computer should work for the user and not the other way around.
 
Our profession is evolving. The web and AI are forcing us to rethink our toolchains and our design processes altogether. Some Engineers are transitioning into tool development, whether that be through parametric modelling, scripting, or Generative AI prompting.

The open-source software ecosystem is gaining momentum, and our proprietary software partners are evolving their products in line with our needs and expectations. It only takes a brief scan of LinkedIn or The Structural Engineer to see how far the trends and conversations have shifted in recent years. We are already a world away from the one I joined in 2016.

The new Technology and digital section on the IStructE website is your window to discover the state-of-the-art and to develop transformative skills within the profession. Access engaging and high-quality resources, read compelling thought pieces, and learn from our expert peers across the industry to prepare yourself for that next project looming on the horizon.

As engineers, it is our moral and societal duty to upskill and remain competent.

When change is the only constant, adaption is vital.
 
 

 
<h4>James. S. Bayley: Software Architecture Lead WSP</h4>

James. S. Bayley: Software Architecture Lead WSP

James leads a small team as the Software Architecture Lead for UK Structures at WSP, developing bespoke software solutions for civil engineering clients. After starting his career as a Structural Engineer on projects like Birmingham's Mercian Tower, he shifted into software engineering. James’ career-defining decision was motivated by a long-term, unfulfilled interest to build new technology products, combined with a general dissatisfaction with the state of civil engineering applications at the time. He holds an MEng in Civil Engineering (University of Birmingham), an MSc in Computing (Open University), and a Professional Diploma in User Experience Design (UX Design Institute).

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