Sharon K. Tharas
203-***-**** (H) 214-***-**** (C) ( ************@*****.***
Professional Profile
Writer/Manager with excellent strengths in team building, project
management, technical writing, and training:
. Motivated achiever who exceeds goals, is recognized regularly for
achievements, earned highest customer satisfaction rating, and has
garnered numerous awards.
. Solutions-driven professional with extensive experience in management and
building teams from scratch.
. Customer-focused, highly organized self-starter with effective customer-
service skills and demonstrated ability to manage solution strategy,
product offerings and provide support to customers.
. Proactive in identifying and solving problems with ability to recognize
strengths in staff and peers to achieve best use of resources.
. Skilled at grasping technical concepts quickly and communicating in an
easy to understand manner to produce desired results.
. Articulate communicator who can easily speak the languages of both people
and technology, blending the two with exceptional interpersonal skills
while interacting effectively with customers, staff, and
technical/engineering teams; adept at delivering presentations and demos.
Professional Experience
The Judge Group May 2013 - August 2013
Provider of IT staffing and services - Onsite at Bristol-Myers Squibb a
leading pharmaceutical company -Research & Development Learning and
Collaboration Therapeutic Area Asset and Protocol Learning Team provides
learning support to all clinical teams for both internal BMS staff and
investigative site staff.
Senior Technical Writer/Learning Specialist
. Developed online knowledge-sharing modules, using Adobe Presenter and
Audition, to present key data from medical congresses to an internal
BMS audience:
o Created slide content from SME materials
o Segmented original audio file into individual audio clips to
accompany each slide; imported and synced those individual audio
files into the slide presentation
o Worked with SME's to review and finalize presentations for final
publishing to the SharePoint site
o Supported various internal SharePoint sites by posting links and
details on those presentations
. Performed quality checks on various training modules and SharePoint
pages, checking for accuracy and correct functionality
. Supported a program that developed online-knowledge sharing for new
products.
. Performed training needs analysis and storyboarding for a series of
training modules on tumor assessment methods
. Developed/documented an internal team guideline for using Adobe
Presenter 8
. Updated existing procedure for Video Taping at an Event
. Drafted a guideline for Creating Online Knowledge-Sharing Modules From
Medical Congress Presentation
. Supported the LMS implementation plan thru material quality checks and
publishing the training to the LMS.
. Compiled internal survey results for quarterly presentation to RDLC
management.
Apex Systems Inc April 2012 - February
2013
Provider of IT staffing and services - Onsite at Boehringer-Ingelheim a
leading pharmaceutical company -IS PMO ensures effective and efficient
governance of IS resources, budgets, priorities, and organizational
performance.
Senior Technical Writer/Instructional Designer
. Evaluate internal Boehringer-Ingelheim documentation to understand
enterprise initiatives.
. Define desired learning outcomes of the project.
. Determine the desired learning objectives and created a detailed
course outline
. Identify required resources to meet learning objectives.
. Develop and execute strategy for technical training for specific
software products and solutions.
. Create e-learning modules from start to finish and track integration
into the LMS using Lectora.
. Develop measures to identify performance strength, such as:
achievement tests, questionnaires, simulations, interviews, and
performance checklists.
. Manage the flow of projects from inception through delivery.
. Develop proposals for course updates and new courses, following
established procedures.
. Manage course development projects in budget and on schedule according
to the established process.
. Develop and maintain procedural quick reference documentation for
project management software, internal document repository, and project
management processes using MS Word.
. Develop and maintain process user guides and reference manuals for the
internal project management process.
. Special Assignment: Work with budget software team to verify project
personnel data in the project management software.
. Develop several Quick Reference Guides for internal software
application using MS Word and Power Point.
. Develop user guide for base users and project managers for the PMO
project management tool.
United Nations March 2010 - April
2012
Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT) - provider of
overall computing, telecommunications, office automation, software and
hardware support, and infrastructure support at UN Headquarters; and in
conjunction with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations for leased lines
and satellite communications to the oversees duty stations.
Senior Business Analyst
. Create and maintain software and project documentation using MS Word,
Visio, and Power Point.
. Contribute to requirements specification for selected software
development projects.
. Create and maintain Operational Level Agreements (OLA) for IT
technology services within the Service Level Management (SLM) unit;
manage the OLA creation process.
. Create and maintain Service Level Agreements and service descriptions;
manage the SLA creation process.
. Create other technical documentation within the scope of SLM projects
and day-to-day operations.
. Work closely with service delivery professionals, data center
personnel, and other technical staff to determine workflows.
. Perform developmental editing and copyediting tasks as needed.
. Participate in content creation for the SLM Service Catalog portfolio
database.
. Perform general administrative duties as required, including
maintaining documents in Content Management System (CMS)/Document
Management System (DMS).
. Keep abreast of new development in technology both in the industry and
in the UN.
Senior Technical Writer
Responsible for writing hosting services Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
and implementing ITIL best practices within Service Level Management (SLM).
. Define standard ITIL-compliant template for SLAs.
. Collaborate with Customer Service Officers (CSOs) on continual
improvement of SLAs and SLA delivery.
. Set up a SLA dashboard to track status/collaboration efforts using EMC
e-Room.
. Join forces with Customer Service Officers (CSOs) to implement a SLA
online work environment to streamline SLA turn-around time.
. Partner with Customer Service Officers (CSOs) to initiate a standard
template for Operational Level Agreement (OLA).
. Work with internal customers and IT service providers to review and
clarify customer service requirements and priorities for hosting
service needs to develop Service Level Agreements (SLAs); oversee
review of SLAs with service providers and customer offices.
. Facilitate process focused meetings to determine how SLA service
providers will work together to accomplish division of responsibility
for service provision and resolution of issues and constraints.
. Direct development of a Master Service Level Agreement template that
encompasses all boiler plate information and a one page Service Level
Agreement approval page.
. Collaborate with IT service providers to understand functional areas,
enterprise infrastructure, and various provided services to develop
appropriate metrics for service level agreements.
. Lead team members in defining and developing ITIL compliant SLM
policies, processes, procedures, and work instructions.
. Work with colleagues on the 2012-2013 OICT budget information; input
OICT resource requirements into NOVA system.
Financial & Information Technology Specialists August 2009
- March 2010
Provider of highly skilled financial and IT technical professionals for
long or short term staff augmentation in two primary areas: Financial
Software Applications and Infrastructure Support.
Documentation Manager Consultant
Responsible for directing the development of SLAs and OLAs; overseeing the
design and development of software application documentation, directing
process development/re-engineering in support of client contracts,
development and maintenance of business continuity documentation,
management reporting and metrics, annual budget planning, and annual
headcount planning.
. Work with clients, product managers, and developers to review and
clarify service needs and priorities; and then oversee the examination
of our company history to determine the level of service that can
realistically be provided.
. Lead process focus meetings to determine how SLA developers will work
together to accomplish division of responsibility, potential
impediment issues/constraints resolution, communication style and
preferences.
. Developed a structure to develop draft SLA documents; oversaw review
SLA documents with developers and client
. Oversaw the completion of pre-implementation tasks and documents:
o Developed tracking mechanism
o Established reporting processes
o Developed procedures for carrying out stated responsibilities
and communicating expectations to staff
. Collaborated with programmer and developer subject matter experts to
develop software documentation; this includes gathering client
requirements, user guides, reference manuals, quick reference cards.
. Conducted requirements analyses, designed/documented marketing product
profiles, end user reference manuals, user guides, and quick reference
guides.
. Created project plans and time schedules for QA, Documentation, and
Training (OLAs) to ensure objectives are met to achieve desired
business results within the project deadlines.
. Conducted training needs assessments for technical writers, including
consultations with management to identify writer development needs and
prioritize training solutions.
. Conducted training needs assessments for client personnel, including
consultations with client management to identify development needs and
prioritize training solutions.
. Prepared annual budget plan, tracked actual vs. plan, and provided
variance analysis.
. Prepared annual headcount plan and variance analysis provided employee
turnover analysis.
. Developed and maintained business continuity plan.
. Developed office space allocation plan, including growth plan,
coordinated office moves and relocations.
. Facilitated the development of metrics and rolled all metrics up to
executive level report.
. Work with senior staff and clients to define business intelligence
functional specifications that supported client business objectives;
define the functional specs of the IT architecture to implement
business intelligence software.
Goodman Networks, Plano, TX
October 2008 - August 2009
Telecommunications equipment services company providing solutions
throughout the Telecommunications Equipment Lifecycle for carriers and OEMs
in the Wireless and Wireline industries.
Documentation Manager Consultant
Responsible for Overseeing all documentation efforts for ISO/TL company
certification, managing documentation day-to-day operations, documentation
quality compliance program rollouts and maintenance, drive business
initiatives and strategy by leading documentation team through development
of project plans, scope of definition, execution, and follow-up, develop
and communicate a cross-functional strategic plan for documentation, and
measure continuous improvement.
. Worked with executive and functional managers, functional service
representatives, end-user community, and PMO to evaluate and
prioritize documentation requests.
. Prioritized and distributed documentation workload among the
documentation staff so that documentation met all schedules.
. Liaised with stakeholders to keep them abreast of new/updated SOPs and
any preparation activities required for successful process
deployments.
. Implemented measures to report on performance levels toward meeting
process standards.
. Anticipated and identified user's needs in order to match wireless and
Wireline services with SOPs.
. Conducted internal management reporting on process deployment
schedules and plans.
. Coordinated with all functional areas during process deployment.
. Developed and implemented the documentation process and metrics.
. Led documentation trend analysis effort for areas of continuous
improvement.
. Directed and oversaw library structure and migration to Share Point;
. Led the initiative for Share Point automated electronic document
approval and automatic notification to the company when updated
documents are posted in the library; Led the initiative and
implementation for a documentation project dashboard on Share Point.
Senior Writer Consultant
January - October 2008
Worked with the technical writing team to define and document processes
across all lines of business for ISO/TL 9000 2000 audit and certification:
. Led TL9000 Training effort for all field personnel. This included
developing the training plan, training modules, rolling it out to the
field, and tracking results.
. Developed the standard procedure template used to document all Goodman
procedures and work instructions.
. Performed a gap analysis of Goodman Networks procedures against the TL
9000 Requirements; and, developed a matrix to visually display the gap
analysis to management.
. Worked with subject matter experts to define and document the overall
Operations Support process flow.
. Defined and documented standard operating procedures and work
instructions for Operations Support, Human Resources, Safety, Project
Controls, and Operations functional areas.
. Worked with IT to develop functional specs for various software
applications to enhance project tracking and reporting.
Education
Marketing/Communication
Western Connecticut State University - Danbury, CT
Additional Training/Certifications
. Certified ISO Internal Auditor
. Certification in ITIL Foundations
. Conflict Management, Project Management, Performance Improvement, and
Personnel Management
. Extensive IBM courses in Management, Leadership, Finance, Time
Management, Quality,
Professional/Civic Affiliations
. Society for Technical Communication (STC)
. International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI)
. CASUL, Building Association for Square and Round Dance; Secretary
Software Skills
. Software: Operating Systems - Windows, UNIX
. Desktop Publishing/Word Processing - Microsoft Word, Frame Maker,
Interleaf, Word Perfect, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, Lotus Office Suite,
ABC Flow Charter, Easy Flow, Book Master, HTML, Acrobat, RoboHelp,
Madcap Flare, SnagIt, Adobe Creative Suite, Alfresco Documentation
. Project Management - Microsoft Project, Microsoft Team Manager, Lotus
Notes, Quicken, Changepoint
. E-Learning Software - Lectora, Adobe Presenter
.
Previous Experience
Breakthroughit, Parsippany, NJ
July - September 2007
Provider of highly skilled IT technical professionals for long or short
term staff augmentation in two primary areas: Software Development and
Infrastructure Support.
Senior Writer Consultant
Worked with a small focus team on the Pfizer Worldwide Technology
Infrastructure and Engineering (WTI&E) process development project:
. Collaborated with all functional areas of WTI&E, across multiple
sites, to re-engineer the Server Request process to adhere to ITIL
requirements.
. Participated in weekly executive status meetings (both in person and
conference calls) and initial Demand Planning Requirements gathering
meetings.
. Worked with team members on the documentation efforts for process
flows and associated documentation and incorporating them into
Corporate Modeler.
. Participated in weekly status meetings with team members and
management; tracked issues to resolution.
. Led discussions with team members and management to determine process
hierarchy and how the overall processes would be linked, types of
documentation required, and suggested recommendations for a document
repository.
. Drafted project status communication updates for distribution to WTI&E
executive management.
. Participated in gap analysis discussions between legacy Corporate
Information Technology (CIT) and Engineering Life Cycle (ELC)
processes.
DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas
2006 - 2007
Provider of web based applications, client/server software, and customer
services with operations in more than 30 countries. Served as a senior
member of the IT team supporting United States Government and Global Joint
Venture contracting services that provides outsource services for
documentation, training, risk analysis, IT implementations, software
application implementations, process improvement and regulatory compliance.
IT Manager, Documentation & Business Processes
Responsible for forming an international team of 21 personnel; overseeing
the production of all end user documentation and training materials;
directing process re-engineering in support of 17 world-wide contracts.
Conducted needs analyses, designed product profiles for 7 software
application products, created project plans and schedules,
developed/monitored budgets, interfaced with world-wide clients, oversaw
writing, and ensured objectives were met to achieve desired business
results:
. Managed and oversaw the documentation requirements, development, and
deliverables for 15 software applications taking the department from
zero output to publishing over 6,000 documents in less than one year
- increasing final document production to the clients by 112%. This
generated over $1,000,000 billable dollars for the company within a
year time period.
. Led a special project for the Department of State to document their
IT policies and procedures. This included interfacing across
functional lines within IT and interfacing with several DOS
officials. The project was completed one week ahead of schedule and
$3600.00 under budget.
. Implemented documentation standards, templates and a corporate style
guide; providing consistency and increasing productivity and
efficiency within the technical writing team.
. Facilitated client meetings to map and re-engineer their processes
to improve efficiency and suggest potential automation
opportunities.
. Initiated meetings with the Logistics and Operations team to define
financial process maps and system design description documentation
for the earned value management system (EVMS) being implemented for
a government contract.
. Drove the implementation and production of the Fort Worth DynCorp IT
newsletter.
. Created/implemented a weekly Executive Dashboard for the Director
providing status for Training, Documentation, Business Processes,
and Compliance on personnel workload and expended time per client
per project.
. Initiated and over saw the development of Product Profiles and
accompanying spec sheets for all software applications.
. Supported the product roadmap by gate keeping product suggestions
and feature requests as they became available through developers and
programmers, customer support, and direct customer communications,
to identify and prioritize documentation of products and features
for major and point releases as well as upgrades.
. Prepared annual department budget and headcount plan; tracked actual
vs. plan and provided analysis for any variances.
. Prepared office space plan, accounting for functional area growth,
and coordinated office move.
Affiliated Computer Services, Dallas, Texas
2004 - 2006
Provider of diversified business process outsourcing (BPO) and information
technology outsourcing (ITO) solutions to commercial and government clients
worldwide.
Manager, Center for Information Management (CIM)
Formed and managed a documentation team of 12 personnel, oversaw the
production of all end user documentation and training materials; Led the
knowledge management initiative; Conducted needs analyses; Designed end-
user documents; Created project plans and schedules; Developed/monitored
budgets; Interfaced with world-wide clients; Oversaw writing; Ensured
objectives were met to achieve desired business results:
. Implemented basic rules and reassigned workload improving personnel
efficiency and morale 100%.
. Led the strategic initiative for corporate knowledge management tool
standardization; Drove the implementation of the Knowledge Management
solution for customer service and support, improving Help Desk first
contact resolution by 5%, agent efficiency by 15%, and customer
satisfaction by 5%.
. Directed documentation efforts to meet client business objectives.
. Worked with the Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure
documentation requirements and schedules were part of the overall
client project plan and schedule.
. Implemented document templates, standards, and style guide.
. Facilitated weekly client status meetings and guided resolution of
documentation issues.
. Developed/managed department budget.
. Provided monthly personnel performance metrics.
. Implemented a personnel/work/client tracking system to provide reports
for executive management on workload assignments/time per client.
. Prepared annual budget, tracked actual vs. plan, and provided analysis
for any variances.
. Prepared annual headcount plan, including growth and attrition,
provided analysis on employee turnover.
. Developed a plan for allocation of office space and coordinated office
relocation.
Carnegie Software Solutions, Inc. Plano, Texas
2000 - 2004
Publications Manager
. Managed the creation of all publications.
. Developed project plans and schedules and participated in all planning
meetings.
. Participated in client negotiation meetings, compiling meeting
minutes, tracking and driving project issues and action items to
closure.
. Implemented documentation standards, templates, and style guide.
. Worked with executive staff to develop proposals, RFPs, and RFIs
. Created PowerPoint presentations for executive's client meetings
. Assisted the CEO/President in setting up and running employee
recognition events.
. Instituted final customer document delivery standard.
. Assisted executive management with capital and budget planning and
tracking; headcount planning and tracking.
. Worked with the Chief Operations Officer to set up a new office site
location.
. Directed the creation of the company website and content.
Accu-Word Processing, Dallas, Texas
January - September 2000
Senior Technical Writer Consultant
. Collaborated with subject matter experts on product updates.
. Created product user guides using Frame Maker.
. Researched product information to glean appropriate information for
training courseware.
. Developed and authored web-based training courseware.
. Collaborated with team members to ensure consistency in training
courseware.
. Participated in developing certification questionnaire.
Carnegie Software Solutions, Inc.
1998 - 1999
Senior Technical Writer Consultant
. Collaborated with programmers and engineers to develop and author
client-specific infrastructure management installation and
implementation documentation using Frame Maker.
. Conducted internal and client document review meetings.
. Ensured hard and soft copy document delivery to the client.
. Provided plan and schedule support to project management.
. Worked with the executive team to research, develop, and author client
ROI analyses.
TAD Technical Data Services/Aerotek Contracting/CoreComm
1995 - 1998
Senior Technical Writer Consultant
. Worked with programmers/hardware engineers to develop/update existing
end-user product documentation.
. Worked with engineers and other company staff to define/document a
vendor qualification program; and facilitated implementation of this
program.
. Worked with system test engineers to define/document the system test
process.
IBM
1977 - 1995
Lab Technician, Senior Staff Assistant, Technical Writer
. Developed/updated new and existing Main frame and RS 6000 product
documentation and product replacement procedure documentation for
field personnel.
. Devised and implemented an automated process for updating error
messages documentation.
. Worked with functional area personnel to ready the area for ISO 9000
certification; conducted internal audits; ISO Internal Auditor
certified.
. Developed yearly strategic plans for capital dollars, budget dollars,
manpower, and facilities; and tracked expenditures to the plan;
assisted in running the corporate suggestion plan; assisted with HR
functions.
. Worked with engineering to perform chemical analyses to predict
product behavior.
. Performed CVD (chemical vapor deposition), hot oxidation, and
photolithography experiments for future products.[pic]