Kathryn A. Kropa

ac1jn3@r.postjobfree.com

248-***-****

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/KathyKropa

Professional Summary:

Experienced Information Technology professional with 17 years of experience in managing projects in customer facing roles.

Broad skills range in Project Management, Requirements Management, Test Management, Quality Assurance/ Management, and Process Improvement.

Management of multiple types of projects: application development (full and enhancement), application support, application transition, software implementations, process improvement, and sales engagements. Experience in an IT PMO with role of PM mentoring in system development methodology and associated tools and processes, along with definition and maintenance of standards for project management.

Extensive customer facing project experience supporting a diverse set of accounts and customers.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills. Able to effectively communicate with all levels of management and with the customer, business teams, development teams, technical team members, suppliers and vendors.

Strength in in building both customer relationships and team relationships.

Experience in adapting to a broad range of tools, technologies, roles, and industries.

Excellent skills in time management, prioritization of tasks to meet conflicting deadlines and handling multiple responsibilities.

Skills and Tools:

SDLC System Development Methodology

Requirements Gathering

Issue & Risk Management

Schedule Development & Management

PMO (Project Mentoring, Support, and Governance)

Scope Definition and Management

Project Mentoring

Project Planning and Management

Metrics

Resource Planning

Status Reporting

Team Management

Requirements Analysis

Release Management

Quality Management

Budget Tracking and Monitoring

Software Project Management

Process Improvement

Quality Assurance

Requirements Management

CMMI

Change Management

Project and System Documentation Development

Test Planning and Management

PMBOK

Process Compliance

MS Project

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote)

Caliber

Project Tracking and Status Tools

Visio

Quality Center

ServiceNow

SharePoint

HP PPM (Clarity)

ALM

Education:

1995-2000: Oakland University, Rochester, MI

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, major in Management Information Systems

1991-1994: Macomb Community College. Warren MI

Arts and Sciences Program – transfer courses

Professional Experience: Project Manager

March 2007- December 2016: Hewlett Packard/HP Enterprise Services

HP Enterprise Services: Cenovus Energy account – August 2016-December 2016

Project Management role on the Vendor Consolidation Project

Participated in all aspects of the apps management transition project from incumbent vendors to HPE.

Managed Quality Gate (contract SLA) activities. Developed presentations for gate review and approvals.

Performed project reporting using HPE’s status reporting tool.

Monitored adherence to budget by tracking and reporting monthly actuals.

Managed access provisioning for all additional support team members utilizing ServiceNow. Involved daily interaction with the Cenovus access provisioning team, project team and daily reporting out of status.

Coordinated training and knowledge transfer sessions from vendors to HPE.

Provided transition issue & risk management support.

HP Enterprise Services: HPI GRC Program - April 2016- July 2016

Project Manager supporting multiple projects on the HPI GRC Program

Managed multiple GRC (Global Regulatory Compliance) projects on behalf of HP/HPI.

Conducted kick-off interviews with HPI project managers to understand project scope and requirements.

Worked with project teams (BA’s, architects) on review and analyses of requirements and documentation of in-flight projects to develop plans for delivery. Utilized OneNote for capturing all notes and decisions.

Develop timelines and schedules to support multiple projects based on scope and deliverables.

Developed staff plans and worked with resource manager to secure project resources.

Worked with various HPI project management tools and processes to manage projects.

Managed offshore and onshore daily team activities and reported out on status to leadership.

HP Enterprise Services: HD Merchandising project – February 2016 -March 2016

Business Analyst managing the development of the BRD for a pilot solution to be sold to potential retail customers

Consolidated all workshop data to develop the Business Requirements document (BRD).

Reviewed all documentation acquired during workshop discovery sessions for the HD Merchandising solution

Conducted reviews utilizing OneNote with SME’s and management to aid in refinement of document.

HP Enterprise Services: Media and Entertainment practice - November 2014- October 2015

Project Manager supporting multiple new opportunity pursuits

Disney IHOF

Management of planning for new guest experiences for Disney Parks

Planned for scope of phase 1 development of an offering for a digital mobile application experience.

Worked with teams from the Mobility practice on development of an assessment deliverable for solution features and options.

Developed a preliminary ROM and proposed staff plan.

Managed development of a SOW for the potential delivery engagement.

Media Analytics Platform POC

Management of the development of analytics driven proof of concept for an opportunity pursuit

Managed the definition, development of an accelerated 2-month delivery of the proof of concept to be sold to potential customers in the media and entertainment industry.

Developed staff plan and secured team resources.

Developed project plan and led project team, sales executive, and director level status meetings.

Developed presentations for use in sales meetings, demos, and internal presentations.

Worked with solutioning, marketing, and offering managers to define required offering collateral.

HP Enterprise Services: Vodafone UK account - September 2014 –April 2016

Project Manager managing the support contract for HP ITMS (Integrated Traffic Management System)

Managed offshore and onshore teams dedicated to support of the HP ITMS system.

Developed MS Project schedules based on scope of release of estimated development enhancement work and adherence to contract and budget. Developed forecasts for future releases.

Worked with the PMO to maintain project status and metrics for HPE reporting and completed weekly PMO status reports.

Developed yearly Measurement Plan and Estimating Packages.

Participated in EDGE project process audits.

Coordinated work product reviews of all release and project deliverables.

Developed/maintained process documentation per audits and re-planning and maintained team SharePoint.

Hewlett Packard: Ford Motor Company account - June 2014 – August 2014

Project Manager supporting the Ford FMC 360 Call Center Project

Managed the Plan/Define phases for an enhancement project (utilizing Microsoft Dynamics CRM) for the Ford call center agent/dealer application and dealer portal.

Led kick-off/planning sessions (scope, requirements, estimates. deliverables, high- level dates, schedule).

Worked with the HP program manager on resource planning for Construct-Deploy phases.

Completed customer weekly status updates and reviewed monthly financials for budget tracking/reporting.

Managed development/review and signoff of Designs.

Hewlett Packard: Texas Teachers Retirement System of Texas - June 2014 – October 2014

Tower Lead supporting the Pension Administration Line of Business System replacement project

Worked as the Microsoft Dynamics CRM tower lead in support of the project.

Developed project schedules based on estimates and integration into a PMO integrated schedule.

Managed progress to schedule, team activities and reported out on both in status calls, and on weekly tower status reports to the PMO.

Managed issues and risks (project and cross tower) and reported on status via SharePoint.

Worked with the CRM resource manager on the staff plan.

Hewlett Packard: Ally Financial account– DFS Information Warehouse - September 2011 – June 2014

Project Manager supporting the Ally Information Warehouse-Dealer Financial Services

Managed work as a Cognos reporting project manager. Managed an onshore/ offshore team, ensured work was prioritized with the customer, estimates and schedules provided, resources assigned, status provided, and worked with sustain and change management teams to ensure changes were deployed successfully

Managed work as a project manager for the Information Warehouse. Managed an additional onshore/offshore team. Ensured estimates and schedules were developed based on impact analyses conducted on changes, status provided, and work was managed and deployed successfully via sustain and change management teams. Also, ensured monthly forecasts were provided to Ally management.

Managed completion of all work product reviews on deliverables to ensure quality.

Worked with Ally regarding resource planning for prioritized work based on resource availability and conducted HPE resource reviews to ensure adequate allocations across prioritized work.

Communicated project status and risk/issue status via client meetings, team meetings, and director level program reviews.

Worked with offshore team lead to ensure PM developed training plan was followed for all team members.

Supported completion of required yearly project audits on process and deliverables.

Ensured HP IW program level plans and team management documentation were updated and maintained multiple team SharePoint sites for documentation management.

Worked with offshore project lead to ensure month end activities were completed and ensured team hours were tracked to ensure adherence to contract and budget.

Ensured development teams followed defined development processes and used required tools (Caliber/Quality Center/Subversion/StarTeam).

Hewlett Packard: GM- Global Product Development –Innovation Lab project - October 2010 –September 2011

Project Manager supporting the setup and use of an engineering innovation lab.

Worked with GM management to ensure key projects were identified to use an Innovation Lab for a Global Productivity Improvement initiative that would provide the engineering tools (Siemens) to ensure successful projects.

Worked with the GM engineering teams and vendor to develop plans and schedules for each identified project for migration for use of the lab.

Developed a project Health Check presentation template that was used for weekly Health Checks (Readiness Checks) with projects, and facilitated each meeting.

Hewlett Packard: GM OnStar –Multiple Roles - February 2009 - October 2010

Staff Aug Project Manager, Sustain) Lead, Test Lead

Performed in multiple OnStar roles at various points during the year

Performed as a Project Manager on a team to develop processes for the China Sustain team. Worked on a team to analyze needs, and develop plans and schedules based on estimates and required timing.

Performed in a role as an OnStar Sustain Lead for various applications. Managed the HP sustain team in resolving issues and business requests while working closely with OnStar managers.

Performed in a role as Test Lead in support of various projects to develop plans to address past issues of unsatisfactory/incomplete testing, ensured issues identified were closed and management status reporting was completed.

Hewlett Packard: GM Global Product Development – Global Product Portfolio Management project - November 2008- February 2009

Test Lead on the Global Product Portfolio Management project supporting defect resolution

Managed Quality Center activities to support system and user acceptance testing phases (SDLC).

Interfaced with the business team to support user acceptance testing.

Assisted development team in testing defect fixes in preparation for application deployment.

Reported on status of defect resolution to GM management.

Hewlett Packard: GM Global Product Development – Engineering Material System project - September 2008 – November 2008

Quality Assurance and Requirement Analyst ensuring quality delivery.

Worked with the offshore technical team to facilitate development of requirement deliverables.

Ensured team developed deliverables met standards of the GM SDLC methodology by conducting quality reviews of deliverables and ensured adherence to GM GPD standards and processes.

Participated in customer business and system requirement reviews to ensure requirements were addressed.

Hewlett Packard: GM Global Product Development – Strategic Commodity Planning project- July 2008 – August 2008

Project Analyst and Quality Lead managing plan and define phases

Managed supplier development of SDP-21 Plan and Define phase development deliverables.

Ensured project deliverables met standards of the GM SDLC methodology (SDP-21) by conducting quality reviews.

Monitored the supplier project schedule to ensure adherence to project timeline.

Managed project issues, risks, and action items and ensured technical and business progress reviews were conducted. Utilized SharePoint for management of team deliverables.

Hewlett Packard: GM Global Product Development – Global Product Portfolio Management project - October 2007 – June 2008

Test Lead on the Global Product Portfolio Management project providing test management leadership

Led a test team to develop GM SDLC methodology (SDP-21) test deliverables.

Planned for scope and schedule of testing activities based on estimates.

Created status dashboards for reporting on test activities and templates for use in recording and reporting out on test results.

Managed UAT testing with the business and reported out to GM management on test results.

Performed reviews of and ensured test cases and other test deliverables adhered to GM standards.

Hewlett Packard: GM Global Product Development – Global Document Management project - March 2007-October 2007

Quality Manager on the Global Document Management project providing quality and testing management support

Managed an offshore and onshore test team, worked with the vendor to implement EMC Documentum, and planned and monitored the delivery and review of GM SDLC methodology (SDP-21) test deliverables.

Developed test status reports to be used for daily test status reporting.

Consolidated, analyzed, and reported out on test results to HP and GM management.

Planned and managed UAT test cycles with the development team and the business.

Assisted in team activities in planning of deployment activities.

March 2004-March 2007: Project Manager/QA Analyst (PMO), Dickson Allan (Accretive Solutions), Troy MI

Dickson Allan-Project Manager – GM OnStar– March 2006- March 2007

Project Manager in the OnStar IT PMO providing project mentoring to IT development projects

Mentored projects and reviewed project performance by utilizing the SDP system development methodology and OnStar processes.

Participated in gap analyses for new GM SDLC methodology (SDP-21) releases to ensure fit and compliance with the organizational processes.

Assisted in developing and reviewing OnStar QA and SEPG assets and deliverables for release to projects.

Dickson Allan -QA Analyst – GM OnStar– March 2005- March 2006

Quality Assurance Analyst in the OnStar IT PMO providing QA support to IT development projects.

Conducted quality assurance process and work product reviews for IT development project teams to ensure adherence to processes (Level 2 and 3 CMMI frameworks).

Participated in gap analysis activities for GM SDLC methodology (SDP-21) process releases to ensure fit and compliance with OnStar internal processes.

Assisted in developing and maintaining internal QA assets to aid in executing QA reviews.

Participated in the GM IS&S standardized work Process QA work stream to develop the new release of SDP Process and Product Quality Assurance process.

Dickson Allan- Project Manager – GM OnStar – March 2004- March 2005

Project Manager in the OnStar IT PMO to assist in process improvement, and to support CMMI appraisal activities

Developed, reviewed, and assisted in releasing new SDLC processes and assets for the OnStar IT development project teams.

Coordinated and managed a PMO schedule of Project Monitoring and Control and Quality Assurance activities and a process improvement schedule in preparation for a CMMI Level 2 appraisal which was used to manage appraisal preparation activities.

Assisted in developing and reviewing Configuration Management assets, processes, and procedures to support the CMMI framework and release to projects.

Reviewed project CM assets to provide feedback and ensure compliance prior to CMMI appraisal.

February 2003-March 2004: Project Analyst- Ciber, Southfield MI: contract positions with GMAC

Ciber- Project Mentor - GMAC Insurance- November 2003-March 2004

Project mentor supporting project teams to ensure process compliance.

Worked to mentor project teams to bring the organization to Level 2 compliance. Utilized the CMMI framework to ensure project adherence.

Assisted project managers in resolving quality assurance defects

Reviewed deliverables to ensure compliance with GM SDLC methodology (SDP-21) and internal GM processes.

Assisted project teams in utilizing SDP system development methodology and supporting processes.

Ciber- Project Analyst - GMAC NAO IS&S - May 2003-November 2003

Project Analyst supporting program management on a systems integration project.

Responsible for all aspects of project tracking and communication to the project team, stakeholders, and management.

Created project documentation based on SDP system development methodology and processes.

Responsible for ensuring that all documentation was reviewed, approved and taken through the tollgate process. Ensured that supplier deliverables met supplier management acceptance criteria.

Consolidated and reported project and measurement data in PTS (Project Tracking System).

Worked closely with Quality Assurance to ensure that all documentation adhered to quality standards.

Ciber- Project Analyst - GMAC NAO IS&S- February 2003-May 2003

Project Analyst in managing preparation for a project level CMMI level 2 appraisal.

Prepared project self-assessment materials to evaluate current state of projects.

Developed and managed the schedule for the project level CMMI activities. Tracked and reported on status to core team and the SEPG process group.

Participated in CMMI coaching sessions to manage the CMMI improvement plan and associated action items.

Prepared all process area documentation necessary for evaluation by assessment teams.

Resolved all CMMI QA and process level defects identified during bi-weekly reviews.

December 2000-October 2002: Project Analyst/ Business Analyst, Logica Inc., Dearborn, MI

Logica Inc.- Business Analyst - JCB Excavators – January 2002-October 2002

Business Analyst in the rollout of SAP to the manufacturing division and dealer community to replace legacy systems.

Assisted the training manager with planning and management of user training. Conducted meetings and interviews to determine required training, created training deployment plans, coordinated training sessions, and developed training material.

Developed training material and assisted with the coordination and rollout of customer training.

Administered internal user and customer based post-training feedback and evaluation.

Gathered user requirements for future system enhancements.

Logica Inc. - Project/Business Analyst – Covisint- June 2000- December 2001

Project/Business Analyst supporting the implementation of Covisint ‘s e-procurement and e-collaboration solutions.

Worked with customers to define the current material goods procurement process, gathered requirements and defined the future procurement process in Visio utilizing the solutions.

Developed customer deployment project plans for solution adoption.

Assisted with the writing of training manuals / user guides for e-collaboration and e-procurement solutions.

Logica Inc. - Project Analyst - Ford Motor Company-Woodhaven Forging Plant- December 2000-June 2000

Project Analyst in the implementation of Maximo Asset Management

Identified project requirements and developed a project plan, to include scope, timing, and key tasks and deliverables.

Gathered manufacturing and maintenance report requirements from key users.

Provided on-site client support to assist in rollout of application and identification and resolution of issues.

Created process documentation, deployed new processes and ensured customer acceptance of processes.

September 2000-November 2000: Project Analyst, Great Lakes Technologies Group: contract position with Covisint, Southfield, MI

Project Analyst supporting activities during the startup phase of Covisint

Involved in team brainstorming sessions to define a content management system solution.

Conducted research into industry content management solutions.

Assisted in documenting business processes for various functional areas utilizing Visio.

Assisted in identifying scope of initial project solution.

April 1999- August 2000: Project Analyst, ASG Renaissance: contract position with Ford Motor Company, Dearborn

Project Analyst supporting the implementation of a product development web based portal

Interfaced with product development community to analyze business needs and documented business requirements.

Worked with the quality assurance team to develop test plan and cases for user acceptance testing.

Assisted with customer acceptance testing and ensured issues were addressed for testing signoff.

Assisted and coordinated training the user community by developing user documentation.

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