My PM roles began in the U.S. Air Force. The experience I gained here allowed me to sit for the PMP exam in 2002. MS Project was instrumental in numerous projects and efforts during my time as a Satellite Operations officer as well as Operations Officer for the 337th Recruiting Squadron.
I picked up my PMP in 2002, passing on the first try. While it was a few more years before I made the transition to full time project management consulting, I taught PM related courses while at High Tech Institute.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with many talented Project Managers, and I’ve been seeing a trend in creative Project Management as well as talent. Chris was a pioneer in regards to Project Management at Asurion. Having the opportunity to work closely with Chris on multiple projects gave me the opportunity to understand an area we had been missing. Chris does excellent work, knows his trade well, and is innovative in driving results.
– Ken Wincel, Sr. Mgr Infrastructure Architecture, Asurion
As I gained experience along the way, I presented at the Nashville PMI conference a couple of times. While at Quorum Health, I helped lead a transition from PMI waterfall to Agile SCRUM methodologies as our shop was transitioning to primarily Development projects. I gained a CSPO during that time, but have elected not to maintain it.
With the plethora of online options for project scheduling, it may seem that project management is simply drag and drop. I see a future for PM’s that can still effectively calculate and mitigate risk, communicate with teams, and deliver value beyond a nifty schedule. Collaboration is more than a Zoom call and the ability to work and communicate with others will continue to be a highly sought after skill.
Project highlights:
✔ Led PMO transition to Agile, selected PM Information system, streamlining new software development
✔ Led implementation of 140+ systems projects across twelve hospitals meeting tight delivery schedules
✔ Led ERP deployments of $2.5M Claims Mgt. System, $1.4M Hardware Refresh, & Maximo Asset Management System
✔ Co-Led $3M data center merger with Asurion and recently acquired Lockline
✔ Created IT PMO framework to track capital budgets resulting in accountable project results.
✔ Implemented Cisco networks, Microsoft Servers, & Firewall technologies at multiple companies
Enterprise Deployments
As Study Lead for SHEPRA, Inc., led study of the IV Fluids industry for ways for DLA to mitigate shortages in 2017/2018 by Hurricane Maria. Analyzed company manufacturing processes at multiple companies to identify the root cause of IV bag production.
As a Senior Project Leader at Quorum, led Project Managers and Development teams during transition to a hybrid Agile methodology. Managed 2 to 4 direct reports during 3 years in the role. Successfully transitioned teams to using Agile resulting in development of multiple successful new internal software applications.
- Accountable project history and expenditures aided business operations
While on contract to CHS, managed an average of 12 systems projects per hospital across 12 total hospitals at one time. Managed dozens of simultaneous projects to meet tight delivery schedules for hospital infrastructure conversions. Resulted in successfully converting more than 40 hospitals from the Triad purchase in 2007. Created QA and testing scripts for initial software conversions at TCHS.
Managed multiple stakeholders across all disciplines at CHS. Utilized stakeholder maps to manage communication paths to the various stakeholders on the many projects at a single hospital conversion.
- Published periodic reports on project status for 12 projects per CHS hospital
“Christopher is a great project manager that was key to the project’s success. He successfully tracked issues and got them resolved in a timely manner. Furthermore, he facilitated the communication between the vendors and the customers directly resulting in keeping the project on schedule.”
– Carlos Melendez, COO, Wovenware
Contracted to Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. and assumed leadership of a $2.5M Claims Management System software installation project. Managed multiple remote teams to include project resources, executive stakeholders, and multiple vendor relationships. Assumed role of Technical Lead for data conversions.
Contracted to American Home Patient to lead an Asset Management System implementation (Maximo Inventory Control software). Successfully met every install weekend on time through extensive communication and planning. This was one of my favorite gigs. At the end of this project, the company allowed me to organize a celebration at a local park. I reserved ball fields and a pavilion where the senior executives of the company cooked lunch for the project team. It was a great time and really rewarded the employees for all the hard work and weekends spent rolling out that software.
Successfully co-led four month project of a $3M data center merger of Asurion with recently acquired Lockline.
Standards & Strategic Planning
Created IT PMO framework for a hybrid Agile/Waterfall standard. Created mechanism to track actual expenditures against capital budgets resulting in accountable project results.
Led adoption of SaaS workflow management system, Workfront, which allowed tracking of all project and non-billable operations time to track justification for headcount and onboarding of future projects.
At TCHS, created schedule templates for complex software rollout across 134 sites.
- Developed project requirements based upon complex site assessments
Created value-added project tracking Access database to assist Asurion’s project documentation efforts. This database tracking tool was extended by Asurion for other departments to use online.
Contracted to HCA, Inc. to manage $1.4M computer hardware refresh project. Developed and professionalized Standard Operating Procedures for the Microsoft Windows Server group at HCA.
Directed and managed all phases of highly successful sales conferences for Air Force Recruiting Squadron for three consecutive years. Improved squadron morale through awarding and recognizing individual achievements in job performance.
Contracted to Nissan North America, Inc. to manage a Telecom Cost Reduction project critical to Nissan’s operations. Led the effort for a major OC48 circuit upgrade for Nissan’s North American datacenter.
While at Darwin Networks, implemented and directed project to marshal resources that eliminated a back log of over 100 network engineering site designs in three weeks, greatly improving site design processes and improving customer installation time for high speed networks.
Capital Budgeting
Created business cases for large projects which were reviewed by the Community Health Systems CFO (parent Fortune 100 company). Instituted business case process while collaborating on ROI measures for completed projects.
- As Portfolio Manager, was accountable for over $2 million dollars of project budgets across a dozen or more projects
- Conducted capacity planning and resource allocation for the business
During CHS tenure, tracked project related financials from quote to delivery while verifying against budgets on a regular basis.
Stakeholder Relations
Communicated with stakeholders on portfolio effectiveness; Created system of portfolio level reports in Workfront to track billable hours against resource capacity.
Managed multiple development issues with the stakeholders at TCHS to include Development, Informatics, and Network.
- Acted as interface to the business for software requirements
- Resolved issues with PureSafety related to software development & configuration prior to site roll-outs
Conducted an in-depth, 3 month investigation of serious recruiter misconduct, allowing legal team to determine most effective course of action. Enhanced public relations with school officials and parents.
Change Management
Collaborated with IT Director and CIO to implement a comprehensive change management process that oversaw project and non-project related change requests. Implemented documented change requests and approvals in Workfront so that historical changes could be reviewed on request in case of an audit.