LAUREL J. POHL

Program/Project Management IT Operations Management Software Development Engineering Management

SUMMARY

Senior professional, Six Sigma Green Belt, experienced in a wide variety of development methodologies (including CMMI and Agile/Scrum), hardware platforms and software applications across multiple industries within the IT function. Possesses an active SECRET Clearance and a broad range of functional knowledge

Areas of expertise:

Software Engineering Management

Technical & Business Analysis

IT Operations Management

Process Development/Quality Assurance

Training/Technical Writing

Governance/Project Management

Auditing/Regulatory Compliance

Agile/CMMI/Performance Improvement

Systems/Software Engineering

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Managed a development team of 11 in the maintenance of custom submarine maintenance and planning applications on a Windows and Oracle platform utilizing Business Intelligence Objects (BI) (US Navy/SUBMEPP).

Managed a cross functional development team of 39 off-site and on-site resources in the creation of multiple agency interfaces on an SSIS platform utilizing SOAP/Web Service/XML protocols, integrated with a Data Warehouse/ODS, which processed claims to populate a Property & Casualty Claims Administration System (Guidewire), reducing risk for SOX compliance and eliminating approximately 900K in annual data entry labor costs for Liberty International Underwriters (LIU).

Elicited requirements, and managed a Governance Implementation project, leading a nine member QA Board that implemented best practices for the project and product lifecycles for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

Elicited requirements, developed specification documents and managed a software development project for a workflow application designed to manage the approval process, reporting and use of Open Source Software for the Engineering and Legal departments which enabled EMC to protect its Systems and Software copyright assets.

Managed a global application re-deployment project across 500 international servers, resulting in an 80% reduction in application redundancy and an equivalent increase in server storage resources and administration efficiency for Pillsbury.

Elicited requirements, and managed a project team on the design, installation and implementation of a cable television station’s broadcasting system and electronic bulletin board software for the Town of North Hampton.

Led a project team on the implementation of Domino Intranet and Extranet servers for Pillsbury.

Elicited requirements and led the development of a Business Intelligence/Decision Support project used to track budget and expense data for Capital Improvements and Municipal Tax Planning for the Town of North Hampton.

Developed technical specifications, designed, and led the development of an extranet security application project that automated the deployment of digital certificates and application access control for Pillsbury.

Led a large team supporting platform migration & Y2K enhancements across multiple international operating companies (Diageo/Pillsbury/Burger King/UDV).

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

AMSEC, LLC April 2014 – July 2015

Manager Software Development / Manager IT Operations

Responsible for leading development team of Oracle DBAs, Java, BI, Windows Developers, Business Analysts and QA Technicians (10 direct reports) in the design, development, testing, and deployment of multiple IT systems, through all SDLC phases from initiation/planning through execution and delivery, using Agile methods. Ensure successful completion of sprints within scope, budget, time and quality parameters. Prepare and deliver status reports to the customer and serve as the key point of contact for the contract. Organize and facilitate daily stand-up meetings, sprint planning reviews, and retrospectives. Plan and oversee software release and implementations into the customer’s Quality and Production environments. Develop, manage and report key metrics to communicate sprint health and overall progress. Promoted after six months to Manager of IT Operations. Responsible for leading a team of System Administrators, DBAs, Help Desk technicians and other support staff (11 direct reports) while overseeing and managing the operational aspects of the customer’s IT operation. Responsible for local inventory maintenance and software license management Responsible for the purchase, installation, and life-cycle maintenance of PCs, servers and LAN network connectivity equipment. Provides escalated on-site support of hardware, software, application and network connectivity issues. Acts as the primary point of communication between the customer’s Director of IT and operating, business and functional units. Oversees local administration and operations functions and ensures information systems security by managing system changes that are compliant with IAVA, IAVBs and Naval STIGS. Ensures that issues and system outages are addressed and develops resolutions to meet productivity, quality, and client-satisfaction goals and objectives. Develops mechanisms for work intake, monitoring workload and for problem intervention and problem solving with staff.

Newmarket International, Inc. October 2013 – April 2014

Sr. Project Manager

Responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of all project team services, for accurately developing and assigning project tasks, project plans, and revenue reporting according to company standards. Manage all customer relations and serve as the central point of contact between clients and the organization. Monitor projects, manage scope, and execute change orders. Manage project issues and escalations. Review and assess contracts, SOWs, and DOUs to understand customer’s business needs and establish timelines for implementation. Lead client facing meetings and lead project planning sessions to develop project strategy. Conduct project kickoffs, secure team resources and communicate deliverables to the client throughout the project lifecycle from inception through implementation.

Liberty International Underwriters September 2011 – September 2013

Sr. Project Manager

Responsible for planning, management, implementation and delivery of business systems solutions in accordance with SDLC processes utilizing Agile techniques. Develop & manage project plans using MS Project. Identify, assess and minimize project risks. Elicit business requirements, lead JAD sessions, and serve as liaison between the technical team, external business partners and the business users. Develop user’s stories, business requirements, technical specifications, wire frames, swim lanes, and Visio workflow diagrams to exemplify system requirements. Define prototype requirements and sprint durations. Develop Test and Implementation Plans and oversee the testing and implementation processes. Manage program quality; prepare report presentations, and report issues and status to Senior Management. Develop agendas, lead team meetings and document meeting minutes. Track risks, action items, bugs, issues and decisions in RABID Register. Lead bug triage meetings and track the progress of issue resolution using TFS. Coordinate, kickoff and lead UAT sessions. Document and manage the change request process and maintain the project asset library using SharePoint. Plan and manage the build and release processes. Enforce configuration management practices to minimize complications during integration. Lead the analysis, scrubbing and enhancement of large amounts of data to populate the system upon release. Serve as mentor and provide technical leadership to Business and Technical Analysts and provide oversight of task responsibilities for project team. Work with Senior Management to balance resources and prioritize project portfolio.

Managed multiple development projects to create agency interfaces which process $11.4M of monthly Property & Casualty insurance premium in a Policy Administration System (Genius) to enable better risk assessment, reporting & exposure management for the underwriting division.

Managed a large team on a project to automate claims processing for six third party administrators handling over 10K annual claims transactions for eight different insurance products, capturing and tracking over $12.5M in annual claims.

Massachusetts Department of Revenue October 2010 – July 2011

Quality Assurance Program Manager

Develop internal QA processes to implement Quality Assurance Governance. Chair the Quality Assurance Board, mentoring and training staff with regard to standards and frameworks (ITIL, FISMA, PMBOK, IEEE, CMMI, v-model). Design SDLCs, and develop engineering standards, QA and QC processes, metrics, and reporting mechanisms. Conduct gap analyses to catalog differences between “as is” and “to be” environments. Maintain an asset library for auditing and reporting purposes that is compliant with Federal standards to enable the organization to secure Federal funding. Lead development of an Engineering Manual for software development policies, processes and standards, and train engineering subject matter experts. Report the status of the QA function to the Operational Steering Committee. Establish and maintain a Process Asset Library for all process documentation, and for QA records and reports. Responsible for monitoring QC and Testing processes, project issues, software bugs and corrective actions to verify resolution, to identify opportunities for process improvements, and to ensure recurring problems are addressed by root cause analyses.

Lead the development of the Quality Management approach for an $80M system development project.

Developed SDLC Descriptions and Tailoring Guidelines framework, and more than 20 processes, templates and checklists to govern the Project Management and Engineering lifecycles.

CSC May 2008 – December 2009

QA Manager

Responsible for providing quality assurance and software process improvement guidance in accordance with CMMI for Federal Government DOT contracts at the Volpe National Transportation Systems center. Served as the Subject Matter Expert and played a lead role in efforts to achieve CMMI level 3 Accreditation. Develop plans and programs to achieve and maintain product quality throughout various program’s life cycles. Monitor operations to prevent the production of defects and to verify adherence to quality plans and requirements. Identify, analyze and investigate adverse quality trends or conditions and initiate corrective/preventative action and root cause analysis. Create and implement Management, Engineering and QA process definitions and auditing schedules. Coordinate and gain concurrence and approval from internal and external stakeholders and senior management. Provide on-going reviews of Quality Project status and identify possible project risks. Ensure projects remain within established EVM parameters. Recommend risk mitigation solutions and implement approved solutions as appropriate. Create test cases and monitor test execution utilizing HP Quality Center.

Served as the Project Lead and primary contact for Compliance vendors for Class C Audit, coordinated evidence submissions for Readiness Reviews and Class A & B Audits.

Identify gaps between standards documentation and existing processes, and implement process improvements to fill gaps.

Re-engineered processes: Quality Assurance, Measurement & Analysis, Organizational Process Focus.

Developed and delivered training for Project Leads: Intro to CMMI, “Process Central”, QA and Configuration Management

Professional IT Services (various clients) 1999 – 2005 / 2006 – 2008

Project Manager/Principal Consultant

Elicit business requirements; develop technical specifications, prototypes, wire frames, swim lanes, and workflow diagrams to exemplify system requirements. Drafted project proposals, responded to RFP’s, and landed new accounts. Made recommendations for process re-engineering and cost effective software implementations. Formulated technical white papers and developed technical marketing materials.

Elicited requirements, developed specification documents and managed a software development project for a workflow application designed to manage the approval process, reporting and use of Open Source Software for EMC’s engineering and legal departments. Oversaw the application development team and developed project documentation, including: the Project Plan, Functional Design Specifications, Deployment/Maintenance Plan, Training/Rollout Plan, Test Plan and Test Scripts.

Served as the Subject Matter Expert and played key roles in the implementation of Quality Engineering initiatives in accordance with level 3 CMMI for Kolsman, a large defense organization.

Managed the development of a Capital Improvements & Tax Planning software project for the Town of North Hampton.

Designed a large, highly secure, financial industry web application and system for Colbent Inc to enable the organization to manage and report SEC regulated transactions.

Planning Systems, Inc 2005 – 2006

Technical Analyst/Writer

Composed process and procedure documentation for all phases of the SDLC. Performed process and product compliance audits. Implemented the Rational Unified Process in an effort to achieve Level 3 certification in accordance with the Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). Worked with technical product development staff to compose documentation, including Requirements Specifications, Design Documents, End-User Documentation, Project and Test Plans, for delivery to non-technical customer personnel as well as scientists and software engineers. Create SQL queries and develop and execute test cases using XML. Develop project management dashboards using SoDA.

Lead implementation of Measurement & Analysis Processes and designed Measurement & Analysis Plan.

The Pillsbury Company 1997 – 1999

Senior Technical Analyst

Supervised and staffed a team of quality assurance technicians and application developers. Supervised the testing process and the promotion of software from the development environment to production servers. Served as QA Subject Matter Expert and worked with production system administrators on upgrades, migrations, and the development of policies and procedures for server software migrations. Evaluated, tested, and integrated add-on packages and performed quality assurance and Y2K reviews on all applications. Performed system administration for development environment NT/Domino servers. Elicited requirements; designed and developed Lotus Notes applications. Managed and monitored production environment applications. Served as the Lead Developer for a large, cross-functional team of Lotus Notes developers.

Trained helpdesk personnel on effective support for Lotus Notes assistance requests.

Served as the project lead during platform migration and Y2K Notes application reviews.

Developed data security policies, authentication schemas, application development policies and procedures.

AmeriData/GE Capital Consulting (various clients) 1995 – 1997

Consultant/Sys Admin/Developer

Elicited requirements, designed, developed, and defined specifications for a variety of Lotus Notes applications. Generated training materials, trained software instructors, and developed online training databases.

Drafted notes application design standards, developed quality assurance methodologies and procedures, and implemented a quality assurance team for a large, multi-national organization.

Designed an equipment asset inventory system application that facilitated equipment deployment, tracking, maintenance, and support for a worldwide sales force for 3M, a Fortune 100 organization.

Leonard, Street & Deinard 1989 – 1994

Systems Administrator

Responsible for the system architecture, performance, installation, and maintenance of minicomputer systems, database servers, e-mail servers, and file servers. Led equipment and software upgrade projects. Designed and developed databases, scripts and macros. Directed, trained, and supported a team of four IT support personnel. Trained end users on atypical software and trained the trainer. Designed, developed and managed a licensing and an equipment asset inventory database of over 300 users and PCs, several host systems, peripheral equipment, and licensing.

Elicited requirements; designed and developed large discovery databases to aid in obtaining desired legal decisions.

EDUCATION

Master’s Degree, Computer Information Sciences 2004, University of Phoenix

Bachelor’s Degree, Business Administration/Management 1994, College of St. Benedict

Certification, Computer Programming 1984, Globe College of Business

Six Sigma Green Belt 2011, Villanova

Currently pursuing certification for Six Sigma & PMP (PMP certification anticipated 9/30/15)

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