Project Manager Management

RAQUEL WATSON, MBA, PMP

770-***-**** • ******.******@*******.***

S ENIOR -L EVEL T ECHNOLOGY M ANAGER

Goal-oriented IT Project Manager & Team Leader with over 13 years of experience in full life-cycle

software development, from conception to implementation and support. Lead cross-functional teams with

diverse backgrounds to deliver business-critical solutions.

Project Management

Experience creating and implementing project definitions, schedules, budgets, and objectives. Work in

conjunction with team members and stakeholders to manage changes to technical requirements and

business requirements using project management methodology.

Change Management

Experience tracking and monitoring related server and software change requests. Facilitate weekly

Change Management meetings with Senior Management and key staff.

Release Management

Experience overseeing and coordinating Software Project Release process for enterprise level software.

This includes scheduling the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for projects while maximizing efficiencies

across the various testing/UAT efforts. Ensure conformance to policies and operational

processes/procedures.

Budget Management

Development and Operational budget development and tracking. Provide weekly reports to CIO and

Change Committee.

T ECHNICAL S KILLS

Project Management Tools Operating Systems Website/Application Development

Microsoft Project 2007 W indows Server 2003 Visual Studio 2005, 2008

Microsoft Visio 2007 W indows XP, Vista Adobe Dreamweaver CS3

Microsoft Office 2007 W indows NT/2000 Adobe Flash CS3

Programming Languages Graphic Development Other

HTML, DHTML, CSS Adobe Photoshop CS3 UML and Use Case experience

C++, C#, ASP.NET, Perl/CGI Adobe Fireworks CS3 User Interface Prototyping

JavaScript, ASP, PHP, VBScript Microsoft Visual Source Safe, CVS

E DUCATION & C REDENTIALS

• Master of Business Administration, Management, 2005

Southern Polytechnic State University – Marietta, GA, USA

• Bachelor of Science Degree, Computer Science, 1995

Hampton University – Hampton, VA, USA

• Professional Certifications: Project Management Professional (PMP), 2009

Certified through Project Management Institute (PMI)

• Web Development Programming, 5/2000; Web Design, 11/2000

Southern Polytechnic State University - Marietta, GA 30067

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P ROFESSIONAL E X PERIENCE

MACY’S CENTRAL June 2007 – May 2009

Senior IT Manager / Project Manager

• Manage the development and implementation of retail software applications supporting Buyers,

Merchants and internal corporate office users of Macy’s Central division.

• Responsible for managing large enterprise-level IT projects for business functions such as HR,

Accounting, Customer Information Management, Expense Management, etc.

• Facilitate requirements gathering, brainstorming, issue resolution, conflict resolution, problem solving,

and strategic planning meetings.

• Build credibility, establish rapport, and maintain communication with stakeholders at multiple levels,

including those external to the organization.

• Manage and support the integration of new technology i.e. software, third party applications, and

hardware components. Manage day-to-day activities and scheduling of programming staff. Interact

with end user community to design and plan implementation of applications. Support and document

existing systems and applications.

• Liaison between upper management and project teams with ultimate responsibility for successful

project delivery.

Selected Contributions:

Project Manager on the MS Sharepoint implementation project team with added responsibility of

establishing a Governance Plan.

Researched and implemented production methodologies and & an IT Project Management

system to better track timelines, risk, utilization, and foster collaboration and compliance.

Led cross-functional teams with diverse technical backgrounds.

Expert in information systems technology, project planning, strategic planning, systems analysis

and troubleshooting, quality control, forecasting, scheduling and planning, and tracking of results.

PUBLIC CONSULTING GROUP April 2005 – May 2007

Software Development Manager / Product Release Manager

• Oversee the Development and Change Management processes, ensuring a smooth and timely flow

of activities between customer, Project Managers, and Change Control Board for products having

over 800 customers and 130,000 users.

• Manage monthly Product Release process, including the development and communication of the

Release Schedule and Scope, coordinating & tracking User Acceptance Testing, and ensuring proper

release documentation and code is checked in.

• Sponsor and charter internal software development projects.

• Develop project schedules and track development time lines, negotiate feature sets with the

development leads and project managers.

• Allocate developer time to projects and assign incoming tasks to development team members.

• Conduct Feasibility Studies and Make vs. Buy analysis.

• Manage a team of 15 direct-report employees and contract Software Developers of enterprise-level

software.

• Review the work and performance of Developers.

Selected Contributions:

Evaluated and led implementation of a revised RUP-like software methodology.

Managed annual development and operational budget.

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SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT 2003 – 2005

P rovide strategic planning and operating advice on immediate and/or emerging technical

priorities. Established and managed client relationships, performed requirements analysis, directed

and trained junior team members. Managed a number of website design and development projects

from proposal through launch. Evaluate and suggest vendor software packages. Implemented visual

solutions using Macromedia Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Flash and Adobe Photoshop. Contributed to

the development of numerous projects using JavaScript, ASP, PHP, C#, DHTML, HTML, CSS, SQL,

MySQL, Microsoft Access, on Linux and Microsoft servers.

Project #1 – National Hampton Alumni Association, Inc.

Developed request for proposals (RFP) that led to the selection and implementation of the

University's Online Community - an integrated Web 2.0 solution that included an online

directory, discussion groups, targeted marketing, online elections, etc.

Conducted workshop for a National and Regional Convention on “The Power of the Web”,

highlighting ways to increase profit, cut costs, and create a culture of “collaboration” using

community-based website tools.

Project #2 – Auto Retailer

Provided full custom web design and marketing services to auto dealership.

Project included full inventory search and back-end inventory and customer management.

Project #3 – Fulton County Schools

Provided website design and development for Fulton County School System.

Project included Event Management tools and News Management.

Selected Contributions:

Coached clients on using technology to gain a competitive advantage in addition to improving

operating efficiency.

WORLDSPAN, LLP – Atlanta, GA 1995 – 2003

Senior Programmer Analyst

Analyzed, reviewed, and altered software using C and C++ for large real-time systems. Authored test

plans as well as documentation to describe program development logic, coding, and corrections.

Performed system and functional analysis, documenting requirements and creating use cases.

Managed and maintained communications test environment for outside vendors in key projects to

ensure successful implementation. Provided technical support to internal and external users.

Selected Contributions:

Consistently exceeded individual, team and department goals.

Served as liaison between client and development team in the design, development and testing

of the customer that feeds Delta.com online pricing engine.

C OMMUNITY I NVOLVEMENT

• Corresponding Secretary – National Hampton Alumni Association, Inc. Board of Directors

• Co-Chairperson, Business Networking Committee – National Hampton Alumni Association,

Inc. – Atlanta Chapter

RAQUEL WATSON Page Two

• Member – Toastmasters International, Project Management Institute (PMI), PMI Atlanta Chapter,

National Black MBA Association

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