Program and Project Manager - Business Process and Technology Initiatives

Below is a sampling of initiatives where clients trusted my ability to deliver against a wide range of assignments and environments. Additional clients, initiatives, details and references available on request.


Gategroup (gateGourmet, GateRetailOnboard)
$3.5B Airline Service Company (Zurich, Switzerland)
Hired by:  CIO
1st Assignment: Fix an operating unit’s hosted commercial software offering controlled by a marginal development/support partner that failed to scale for the world’s largest airline after being delivered more than a year late.
Methodologies Used:  

• Kotter Change Model
• PMI
• Ury, Fisher, Brown facilitation

My Contribution:

1. Orchestration of internal and external resources to correct fundamental flaws in application design
2. Creation and staffing of a test control group to manage over 20,000 test case iterations
3. Establishment and facilitation of client facing Advisory Panel for executive level issue resolution
4. Daily facilitation of core team status meetings
5. Just-in-time guidance on solution development and issue resolution
6. Introduction of new key technology partners

Outcome:

• Re-establishment of client trust through the entire process culminating in the successful re-deployment of the application to full-scale operability
• Re-purposing of marginal partners role to staff augmentation services only eliminating costly additional support overhead
• Reduced new release deployment from days with multiple errors to under 2 two hours with zero errors

Additional Assignments:

1. Established planning foundation and initial project supervision for primary data center move
2. Facilitated discussion and planning for global ERP harmonization
3. Re-planned core ERP upgrade/migration (SAP); renegotiated vendor terms
4. Brought overdue multi-year infrastructure agreement to conclusion
5. Acted as catalyst and architect for a $300M business unit process/technology transformation program

CVS
Fortune 20 Company
Hired by: Director of Call Center Technologies
Assignment: Provide program/project management and oversight for 20+ application, telephony and infrastructure workstreams connected with CVS CRM and Rx Management platforms and a new 500 seat VoIP call center initiative
Methodologies Used:  

• PMI
• Company proprietary

My Contribution:

1. Identification of the individual workstreams as well as scope and risk identification for each
2. Review and negotiation of vendor budgets and statements of work ($5M+, 8 key vendors)
3. Rationalization of project plans for multiple vendors and internal service organizations
4. Direct management of project managers plus several key workstreams
5. Creation of common tracking and reporting methods/documents along with shared document repository

Outcome: All workstreams tracked to plan and budget; call center was brought on-line with near-zero defects


Parexel
$1B Contract Research Organization (Waltham, MA)
Hired by: VP/Corporate Controller
Assignment: Put a global Oracle Financials upgrade and new module deployment initiative back on track after multiple failed go-live attempts
Methodologies Used:  

• PMI
• Agile (modified Scrum)
• company proprietary

My Contribution:

1. Risk assessment, analysis and re-tooling of 2,500+ line plan ($25M+ initiative) to achieve new target date
2. Process and communication design for issue and status tracking among 50+ core team members
3. Daily facilitation of core team status meetings
4. Just-in-time guidance on solution development and issue resolution
5. Participation in weekly executive briefings; creation of executive reporting dashboard and automated analysis from planning documents

Outcome: New plan executed on schedule for 1,400+ Oracle users across 5 strategic business units in 65 different countries


Fidelity Management Company
Fidelity Brokerage Company Technology (Frameworks and Capacity Unit)
Multi-billion dollar private financial services leader (Boston, MA and Merrimack, NH)
Hired by: Vice President - Development
1st Assignment: Provide director-level leadership for development of a dual-platform (web-based and Microsoft .NET Smart Client) application integration framework for 9,000+ concurrent internal users
Methodologies Used:  

• Agile (modified Scrum)
• RAD
• Hybrid-Waterfall
• Fidelity proprietary-FSDM

My Contribution:

1. Acted as overall project manager
2. Led 9 developers using several methodologies appropriate for specific project phases

Outcome:

• The framework allowed legacy web-apps and new Smart Client apps to co-exist on the same desktop within the same application, resulting in zero disruption to the user community,
• The meta-data design permitted new application integration with no alteration of base code allowing a minimum 10-fold increase in time-to-market speed

Additional Assignments:

1. Created and deployed a business unit-level program/project/resource tracking system
2. Instituted an internal developer education program
3. Managed the design and deployment of a web-based, enterprise developer logging tool based on open source LogForX technology

Verizon (formerly Bell Atlantic; NYNEX)
Environmental, Health and Safety Division
Multi-billion dollar telecommunications (MA & NY)
Hired By:  Director of Environmental, Health and Safety
1st Assignment:  Design, develop and deploy a system to collect and publish the environmental, health and safety real-time content generated and used by the EH&S staff and others
Methodologies Used:  

• JAD
• Hybrid-Waterfall
• PMI

My Contribution: 

1. Performed technology advisor/chief architect/project manager roles - conducted stakeholder reviews, designed and coded data architecture and user interfaces (meta-data driven)
2. Facilitated system integration and legacy data migration

Outcome: 

• A distributed information system integrating 22 major business functions for 120+ people in three different operating entities was implemented
• The system reduced critical response time from hours to minutes and provided client-privileged back-up for potential legal issues

Additional Assignments:

1. Development of an enterprise-wide space planning application for Real Estate Division
2. Development of a wireless asset tracking for Real Estate Division

The First Years
$150M+ baby products leader (Avon, MA)
Hired By: VP of Information Systems
1st Assignment: Manage the development of a short-term enterprise Product Line Planning (PLP) tool 
Methodologies Used:

• RAD
• JAD
• Hybrid-Waterfall
• PMI

My Contribution:

1. Performed overall project management
2. Conducted stakeholder analysis and use case development sessions
3. Designed database structure and user interface for tool
4. Created and deployed tool to enterprise.

Outcome:

• Desktop database application gave management and staff of 100 first-time visibility to several hundred new product development projects
• Prepared product development staff for adoption of a more robust packaged software application.

Additional Assignments:

1. Vendor/software package assessment, project management and deployment facilitation for IDweb - Design Chain Management software (Stage-Gate PLM process)
2. Performed as strategist and liaison representing Finance department for an ERP readiness and vendor analysis initiative
3. Identified, secured and coordinated external resources for the first Sarbanes-Oxley audit effort.

AT&T Broadband (formerly MediaOne)
Enterprise IT
Multi-billion dollar broadband communications leader (Lowell, MA)
Hired By:  IT Director
1st Assignment:  Manage the creation and deployment of an enterprise of a web-based customer sales tracking and automated cable modem service provisioning application for 500+ concurrent internal users, including managing the creation of a promotional website for lead generation
Methodologies Used:  

• JAD
• Hybrid-Waterfall
• PMI

My Contribution: 

1. provided IT project management and business unit facilitation

Outcome: 

• Lead generation eCommerce website was deployed leading to a 200% increase in cable modem business
• Sales tracking and provisioning project was put on hold due to merger activity

Additional Assignments:

1. Project management for a Web-based eCommerce customer account maintenance application integrated to an enterprise field service ticketing application
2. Business case creation, project management and deployment support for wireless field technician work order and diagnostic unit rollouts in Minnesota and Florida
3. Technical project management support for a real-time data mining and customer-facing eCommerce offer generation system

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Leaders for Manufacturing/System Design and Management (LFM/SDM)
Leading Academic Institution (Cambridge, MA)
Hired By: President of firm providing contract development and system support to LFM/SDM
Assignment: Put a runaway development effort back on track; mend customer relationship; serve as interim technology leader 
Methodologies Used:  

• Kotter Change Model
• Ury, Fisher, Brown facilitation methods

My Contribution:

1. Performed current state analysis
2. Conducted user acceptance testing and readiness sessions
3. Conducted development review sessions
4. Facilitated re-negotiation of project charter/scope and delivery timetables
5. Acted as interim chief technology leader.

Outcome:

• Development project was realigned with customer expectations
• Client relationship was repaired
• No interruption to existing service was experienced.

Presstek, Inc.
$300M printing technology leader (Hudson, NH)
Hired by: CIO
Assignment: Manage the selection and deployment of a packaged software solution for a newly acquired 300+ person, field service organization
Methodologies Used:  

• Agile (modified Scrum)
• RAD
• PMI

My Contribution:

1. Guided the Field Service organization through process redesign
2. Performed liaison role - acting as both Voice of the Customer and technology overseer
3. Acted as lead integration designer
4. Acted as lead data migration architect
5. Vetted vendors for both the field service system as well as middleware and deployment partner vendors
6. Performed overall project management and planning.

Outcome:

• Siebel Field Service front-end integrated with a legacy JBA ERP system using webMethods as the integration platform
• Field Service Engineers gained access to company repair history knowledge base allowing faster solutions and higher customer satisfaction for over 20,000 managed assets comprised of 5,000 unique models
• Control over parts inventory (trunk stock and warehouse) including company-wide visibility for Field Service Engineers to source critical components
• Rule-based scheduling and resource allocation including least-cost optimization