Project Manager / Scrum Master

Michael Achilles

mobile: 202-***-****

email: ********@***********.***

linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelachilles

locations: massachusetts / rhode island

BACKGROUND

Michael Achilles is a passionate technologist with over 20 years of experience in leading technology teams, developing web and mobile platforms and launching products to market.

As a technologist, Michael has worked his way up through the software development life cycle as a developer, analyst, architect, scrum master, delivery manager, technical director, agile coach and founder. His experience includes the full software development life cycle using a variety of methodologies including agile and waterfall across numerous platforms. He is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) from the Scrum Alliance, a Certified SAFe Practitioner (SP) and far exceeds the PMP qualifications. Being hands on, Michael actively participates in developing product requirements, technical architecture discussions and even codes when the opportunity arises.

Michael has had enormous success in building and managing teams and projects for both large and small initiatives using local and offshore resources. He prides himself in his ability to get teams working at their peak and being able to relate to and communicate with customers and stakeholders at large.

Michael also serves as an advisor to organizations needing guidance in product development, software development, qa, dev ops or agile for new teams, existing teams and mergers.

EXPERIENCE

Agile Coaching / Leadership (Network Security)

Cisco, Boxborough MA 8/16 to 11/16

As an Agile Coach, I lead 11 local and remote teams in their agile transformation. Held team based and one on one sessions with product owner, scrum master, architect, engineering manager and qa manager. Attended ceremonies providing guidance on how to optimize the results of them. As someone who came up through the development life cycle, I was able to provide real world best practices to develop standards and consistency across all eleven teams while promoting scrum principles provided by the Scrum Alliance and the Scaled Agile Framework. Reported the results of the team based agile assessments to executive agile office.

Delivery Manager / Scrum Master (E-Commerce / Retail)

Meijer via Universal Mind, Remote 7/14 to 7/16

Consultant overseeing the agile development of a web and mobile e-commerce platform for a leading supermarket and department store chain. Managed team of ux designers, developers and qa resources to prioritize, build and test features for the client. As the vendor Delivery Manager, liaised with key stakeholders at the client and with other vendors to provide status, escalate issues and ensure internal processes merged with client SAFe Agile framework and processes. Technologies include html, .net, ios, angular, web services, team foundation server (tfs), sharepoint, jira and confluence.

Startup Advisor (HR Technology / Media)

CTO Services, Boston MA 3/13 to Current

Part-time technical advisor for various startups including Crowd Recruiting, an hr tech startup in Boston of which I was also the founder and Mundial Sports Network, a Latino sports digital marketing startup in New York. Developed on and offshore tech teams and operations, product backlogs and found creative ways to launch with minimal resources. Launched numerous e-commerce shops and platforms, developed strategy for traffic and generating revenue through subscriptions and ads. Integrated multiple crm platforms including Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoho and Oracle. Built entire hr tech platform from ground up with almost 5,000 subscribers.

Scrum Master (E-Commerce)

lela Inc, New York, NY 10/13 to 5/14

Scrum Master leading 19 resources across the agile web, mobile, reporting, data technology and vendor teams. Managed and groomed product backlog, lead sprint planning sessions and retrospectives. Used Jira and Confluence to manage sprints, documentation and product road map. Worked directly with data research, account management, sales, marketing and executive management to lead product direction and implementation across the ecommerce technology startup. Acted as agile coach to train team to use agile best practices. Technologies include html, j2ee, mongodb, mysql, jasper, orchestra ebx, jira, confluence, talend etl, salesforce.com, mandrill and mixpanel.

Sr Project Manager (Data Conversion)

Auto Part International, Norton, MA 3/13 - 9/13

Project Manager overseeing implementation of Zilliant pricing engine. Managed vendor lead team and internal dba’s and stakeholders. Presented ongoing project status to executive management team and managed day to day milestones.

Sr Project Consultant (HRIS / HCM / Finance)

Simmons College via Professional Alternative, Boston, MA 1/13 – 3/13

Developed HRIS / HCM technology strategy for Simmons College. Interviewed stakeholders to determine ERP needs to define business case for executive management and board of directors. Worked with external vendors including Workday, ADP, Paycom and Mercer to define product capabilities, pricing and to define implementation strategy.

Sr Project Consultant via Simmons College (Business Intelligence / Reporting)

Professional Alternative, Boston, MA 9/12 – 3/13

Senior agile project consultant overseeing the integration of the Informer reporting and business intelligence tools. Interviewed institution wide management team to ensure project team was accounting for stakeholder needs. Lead development and analyst team, set project scope and timelines, reported to management on weekly status and deliverables. Technologies include: Entrinsik Informer BI Tool, Datatel Colleague.

E-Commerce Sales and Marketing BPM Advisor

LELA, INC, New York, NY 9/12 to 12/12

Advisor to sales, marketing, data and technology teams defining best practices for e-commerce platform. Designed sales and analytics work flow to define customer acquisition and retention metrics. Developed and trained agile based best practices to streamline requirements definition for development team.

E-Commerce Startup Advisor

South Coast Real Estate Guide 9/12 to 12/12

Managed team in the design, development and integration of regional real estate portal. Worked with customer on design and developing requirements. Integrated salesforce.com and marketing automation with mailchimp and mandrill developing drip campaigns.

TB Project Management, Tampa, FL 3/2006 – 8/2012

(previously Boston PMO / Salestrends Network)

11/2011 – 10/2012

Sr Project Consultant, via Sigma Systems at Harvard Business Publishing: Watertown, MA

Senior Project Management consultant overseeing the mass conversion of the Harvard Business School Case publication collections to an electronic xml, xhtml, pdf and epub, ebook format. Orchestrated and lead team of leading publishing experts in the design, architecture, development and testing of the conversion process. Reviewed process containing upCAST, xml schemas, dtd’s, schematrons and designed custom dashboard and control panel to monitor the progress in a production environment.

3/2010 – 10/2011

Delivery Manager (Consultant) via Universal Mind at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Dublin, Ireland (Remote)

Actively consulted as an agile based Delivery Manager/Sr Project Management Consultant overseeing the engineering of multiple projects including a multi-million dollar enterprise e-learning platform with an emphasis on Language and Arts and Science in K-12. Introduced agile practices to a client based waterfall team and managed a cross breed methodology incorporating the best of both agile and waterfall practices.

Managed $3.5 million dollar resource budget

Managed 17 US based remote engineers with flex, jsp, ajax and java skillsets

Liased with key stakeholders including the: European Program Office, 3rd Party European Development Vendor, India Based QA and on and offshore content development teams.

Technologies: Flex 3.0, JSP, Java, Solr, Oracle, Jira, Flash, Spring MVC, Apache Tiles, XHTML, MS Project

7/2007 – 3/2010

Sr. Project Consultant - Technology, Cengage Learning via Hollister (Boston, MA)

Senior project consultant overseeing the development of the agile based national (SAM) Skills Assessment Manager Microsoft Office 2007 Learning Management System (LMS), a web-based application and content delivery system now delivering over 30 million exams world-wide.

Organized team of 23+ individuals in the product management, editorial, software development and QA teams through the successful re-design and development of an enterprise level .Net 2.0, 3.0, Flex and Sql Server training system.

Liaised with executive and local management on product strategy, features, process improvement and budgets

Managed 3 products and 5 simultaneous projects through 5 major and 6 minor releases

Managed 4 off-shore software engineering and content vendors including contracts and project maintenance

Technologies: .Net (2.0, 3.0), SQL, Java, Flex, WPF, Flash, Captivate

3/2007 – 6/2007

Sr. Advisor, Technology Group, Hollister Inc (Boston, MA)

Subject matter expert to the technology group for advice and leadership on technical personnel including developers, analysts, project managers, Oracle and Sql Server DBA’s, desktop support and network engineers.

Worked with technical managers to develop client strategy for hiring technical staff

Integrated SugarCRM for lead generation, tracking, sales and analytics

Major clients included MIT, Harvard University, Iron Mountain and others.

10/2006 – 1/2007

Sr. Project Manager - Technology, Consultant, Investors Bank and Trust via Yoh Llc (Boston, MA)

Project Manager overseeing the re-architecture of a multi-phase Powerbuilder based ETL application to Informatica.

Managed team of full-time and part-time developers and quality assurance personnel on and offshore

Performed ongoing management and improvement of SDM deliverables

Assisted with analysis to ensure requirements were fully documented within an aggressive schedule

Technologies: Informatica, SQL, Oracle 10g, Java, J2EE, Powerbuilder,

3/2006 – 8/2006

Sr. Project Manager - Operations, Consultant, Freddie Mac, via Trilogy (McLean, VA)

Project Manager overseeing the improvement of business continuity plans (BCP) for the tier 1 recovery of the investment and capital market trade desks at the disaster recovery site.

Managed team of trade desk support personnel implementing 1 hour recovery of complete workstation including software (Bloomberg, Reuters, Blackrock, etc), hardware (pc, monitors, Bloomberg Anywhere keyboards) using Altiris Deployment and Recovery Solution

Managed effort for improved recovery of voice communications (digital / VoIP phones, turret, voice recordings)

Ongoing management of SDLC deliverables including budget and cost containment

Systems Engineering Services Corp, Herndon, VA USA, 8/2005 – 1/2006

Sr. Business Process and Framework Engineer, Consultant, Fannie Mae, (Herndon, VA)

Performed extensive business process management (BPM) analysis and engineering for the recommendation of best industry practices in the systems life cycle improvement of a mortgage based Data Management system on short term contract.

Interviewed stakeholders and incorporated company wide and industry based standards into a best practice Data Mapping software life cycle approach that meets the needs of the business unit.

Identified issues and risks in the documentation of the current state

Recommended solutions and timelines while balancing the need for process with resource limitations

Created Road Map on how to achieve a CMM level 3 for the future state in the short term.

Global Career Center, Boston, MA USA, 8/2000 – 8/2005

Founder (President / Consultant)

Developed international job board and staffing agency from conception. Integrated worldwide sales and marketing plans surpassing sales goals of building online client base to over 200 countries in less than one year. Managed outbound telemarketing sales team, developed scripts and managed process in Salesforce.com.

4/2005 – 8/2005

Technical Director, Consultant, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), via VIPS/Path Technologies (Falls Church, VA)

Technical Director overseeing development and environment teams as sub-contractor on DOD Medical Surveillance GIS web portal for the EI/DS Program Office of Department of Defense (DOD)

Managed installation of multi-tiered architecture including secured AIX ML6 and Windows environments

Managed team of 9 software analysts, developers and testers using j2ee, java, DB2, ESRI arcIMS, Informatica, Web sphere, ESRI’s arcIMS, Cognos ReportNet (CRN) and LDAP connectivity using CMM Level III processes.

ADP-II Security Clearance Application Submitted

Technologies: Java, J2EE, DB2, Informatica, arcIMS, ESRI

CGI, Andover, MA USA, 9/2004 – 4/2005

Sr. Project Manager – Technology, Consultant, John Hancock Financial Services (Boston, MA)

Project Manager on the largest release of Wealth Management's CSC Vantage-One Annuity System. Managed Business System Analysts, Business Users, QA Engineers, Test Leads and other personnel for Vantage Mainframe Integration from V11 and V15.03 to 15.16.

Managed conversion of legacy system databases and systems

Developed resource planning estimates for test preparation and execution

Interviewed Project Managers, Business Systems Analysts and QA Engineers.

Technologies: Informatica, Oracle 9i, SQL Server, EJB (Java Beans), Business Objects

8/2004 – 11/2004

Sr. Project Manager /Architect, Consultant, Sales Trends Network, Boston, MA

Designed front and backend processing for telephony based e-commerce product for a sales and marketing based company. Integrated Salesforce.com CRM API (Customers, Sales, Pipeline) with local database and web front end.

Technologies: .ASP, Java, SQL Server, HTML, CSS

7/2003 – 8/2004

Business Applications & Planning Engineer, Consultant, Private Healthcare Services (PHCS), Waltham, MA

Consultant overseeing assessment and documentation of business processes for redesign of corporate wide Contract Administration System (CAS).

Developed business assessment documents and process flow charts for the web-based administration of contracts with healthcare facilities and healthcare systems.

Analyzed process flows and system functionality to provide snapshot of redesigned web portal.

Technologies: Visual Basic, Java, Oracle 9i

Sr. Project Manager, Consultant, Private Healthcare Services (PHCS), Waltham, MA

Project Manager overseeing six (6) projects focusing on the development of a Facility Modeling Contract system for largest healthcare network provider.

Technologies: DB2, Cognos Reportnet for online analytics (OLAP), Java and Java Beans.

1/2003 – 2/2003, 3/2004

Sr. MS Access Developer, Consultant - Reed Elsevier, Newton, MA USA

Upgraded three (3) MS Access based financial applications from Access 95 / Access 97 to Access 2K.

5/2002 – 1/2003

IT Auditor, Consultant - Pharmerica, Brockton MA USA (Intepros Consulting)

Project Manager overseeing system analysis of internal and external Masshealth / Medicaid audits for the organization’s largest pharmacy. Assisted management, accounting and legal counsel in providing factual analysis of payments from systems without proven controls.

5/2001 – 12/2001

Sr. Business Analyst, Consultant - JP Morgan / Chase, Boston MA USA (Eliassen Group)

Senior Business Analyst in the development and analysis of the compliance rules for the third party fund compliance engine. Analyzed clients SEC-1940 Rules and other state compliance requirements for input into proprietary ChaseTrac software.

8/2000 - 4/2001

Sr. Project Manager, Consultant - Healthbridge, Braintree MA USA (Intepros Consulting)

Project Manager for the design, development, and implementation of a pharmaceutical based call center and order entry system. Managed team of (5) developers and (1) analyst for a Visual Basic (VB) and MS Access front end with a NT SQL Server and MS Access backend. Modules include: Call Center, Order Entry System, Fax Processor, Email Processor, CTI Telephony.

8/2000 - 11/2004

Principal, Web Architect & Developer

Entrepreneur in the dot com startup of globalcareercenter.com, an international job portal and staffing firm focusing on the expatriation of individuals from one country to another. Organized development of company and job portal. Implemented Salesforce.com API to web portal for customer leads, tracking and sales. Provided content management including articles, industry data, advertising, and email marketing.

TractOne Servicing Corporation, Fitchburg, MA USA, 8/1997 – 8/2000

Founder, (President / Consultant)

Developed professional services firm from the ground up. Managed sales and recruiting team. Integrated sales and marketing plans for the organization and ensured team was meeting objectives. Developed custom crm and hris solution.

2/2000 - 8/2000

Project Manager - National Grid, Plc., Westboro, MA USA Consultant (Modis IT)

Project Leader managing the development of a corporate wide “Contractor Time System” using Visual Basic and Java with a SQL Server backend database.

11/1999 - 2/2000

Global Equity Performance Attribution Analyst - Putnam Investments, Boston, MA USA Consultant (Eliassen Group)

Analyzed the global equity performance attribution system "Vision" to benchmark Putnam's portfolio of mutual funds. Attribution on regional, currency, hedged, GDP, derivative and other custom benchmarks.

5/1999 - 11/1999

PeopleSoft HR Infrastructure Team Project Manager - National Grid, Westboro, MA USA Consultant (Modis IT)

Project Manager overseeing the implementation of PeopleSoft HRMS (Payroll, Ben/Admin, HR) in a 3-Tier environment using a Novell File-Server, RS/6000 AIX, and IBM OS/390. Lead staff of (30) analysts, designers, developers, testers, DBA's, QA and Auditing in the development and implementation of the infrastructure for the PeopleSoft HRMS installation.

6/1998 - 5/1999

Sr. Technical Business Analyst - Commerce Insurance, Webster, MA USA Consultant

Business Analyst focusing on solutions in property and casualty lines of business. Developed functional specifications in the design of COBOL and DB2 corporate management and underwriting reports for conversion from AS400 to mainframe based PMSC Series III product. Prepared business rules for Rules Based Engine using Object Oriented Technologies (OO) in Win/NT environment.

8/1997 - 6/1998

Sr. Business Analyst - Putnam Investments, Andover, MA USA Consultant

8/1997 - 8/2000

Corporate / Systems Architect & Web Design – Internal Project

8/1997 - 8/2000

Corporate / MS Access / Web Developer - Softworld, Inc., Waltham, MA USA Consultant

Systems and Programming Consultants, Charlotte, NC USA, 9/1996 - 8/1997

Business Analyst - NationsBank (BankAmerica) - Charlotte, NC USA Consultant

Scudder, Stevens and Clark, 6/1994 – 9/1996

Senior Business Analyst - New York, NY USA

Investment Operations Developer / Analyst - London, England

International Bond Portfolio Administrator - Boston, MA USA

EDUCATION

6/1995 Suffolk University Boston, MA USA

B.S.B.A., Suffolk University, 1995

Major: Finance G.P.A. 3.63

Magna Cum Laude

2009 Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Scrum Alliance

2010 PMI Member

2016 SAFe Certified Practictioner (SP)

REFERENCES

“Mike was one of the most resourceful and knowledgeable delivery managers I have had the opportunity to ever work with. His technical background and deep knowledge of the development processes made him a valued asset on our team. His attention to detail, ability to articulate solutions, and connect the user stories to a well thought out project plan is exceptional.”

Holly Kozminski, Delivery Manager, Universal Mind

“Michael is one of those rare talents who can adapt to business demands quickly. We have had many an experience where a complex issues occurs and he has been able to provide a creative solution rapidly to keep a project on schedule. In my experience with him over the last year he has truly sustained a high level of team-oriented, product-focused expertise while working to educate everyone in our group about ways to improve the development process. He truly understands how to organize and manage product development to create successful outcomes and has always been willing to find ways to improve operational execution.”

Sean Crowley, Senior Director, Product Management, Cengage Learning

“Michael has been a great person to work with from day one. He brings the highest level of integrity to everything he does, along with a fantastic work ethic. Michael's is hands down one of the best pure Project Managers I've come across.”

Sean McCourt, Director at Hollister, Inc.

“Michael is a results-driven & accomplished technology management professional with significant experience in business analysis, strategic planning, product development and vendor management. Michael's track record as a Sr. Project Manager has set the bar for which I evaluate our Project Management talent and capabilities relative to the delivery needs of our clients. I will continue to reach out and work with Michael when we are tasked with the need to deliver a Sr. PM that is a forward-thinking leader that knows how to bring the most out of his team in a responsible and effective manner.”

Robert Scheindel, Director of Business Development, Softworld, Inc.

“Michael is a very high quality consultant delivering top level management and direction. In his role as technical lead he provided the team with direction and focus and moved the project along in an expeditious fashion.”

Kevin Shaffer, President, Matrix-DSS, Inc.

“Michael is a results oriented professional with superior skills who worked well with everyone in our organization. I hired him several times for IT projects and each time he completed the projects on time and on budget. I would not hesitate to hire him again.”

Ken Fogarty, Vice-President / Treasurer, Reed Elsevier

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