Senior Consultant (Oracle eBusiness HRMS)
November 2003 – May 2005 (1 year 7 months)
Served as consultant for an Oracle HRMS implementation (version 11i) for the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan. The scope of this project involved deploying the core HR, Benefits, Payroll, Time and Labor and Learning Management modules. The implementation encompassed 14,000 employees across numerous agencies of government. Responsibilities included performing and/or directing customer staff members with regard to:
- Defining requirements
- Conducting fit/gap analysis
- Presenting a series of in-depth conference room pilot (CRP) sessions
- Configuring the system both for HR and other modules
- Writing and executing scripts for CRP and testing
- Selecting from among query and reporting tools in line with needs for particular kinds of outputs
- Writing specifications for customizations/enhancements and conducting link testing on these changes
- Managing tasks to the project plan
- Determining the best way to Integrate the new Oracle modules into the in-production Financials modules
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The project was completed on-time and within budget in spite of such complicating factors as:
- Idiosyncratic business practices that were driven by union contracts and civil service rules.
- Acute concerns with regard to employee data privacy.
- The Financials modules already having gone-live based on certain flawed assumptions.
- Inability to recruit knowledgeable staff and consultant talent to work in a remote locale.
Senior Consultant (PeopleSoft, Oracle, Lawson HRMS)
May 2003 – October 2003 (6 months)
Miscellaneous projects:
- Welch’s – Oracle 11i ERP Suite Implementation Pre-Sales
- Atlantic Coast Airlines (defunct) – Business Analyst, Lawson HRMS
- State of Michigan – Business Analyst, Lawson HRMS
- Cabot Corporation – HR Lead, PeopleSoft HRMS
Senior Consultant (Outsourcing Project)
September 2002 – April 2003 (8 months)
Served on a cross-functional team conducting a business transformation outsourcing [BTO] study of administrative operations for McDonald’s in the U.S. and Canada.
- Conducted structured interviews with functional and IT staff members in order to determine the current state of the Human Resources IT application portfolio.
- Compared the customer’s “as-is” state of affairs to best practices and benchmark data.
- Identified opportunities for processing improvements across the two countries.
- Constructed and presented alternative BTO scenarios reflecting differences with respect to such factors as overall cost, speed of implementation, degree of organizational change, and use of current software assets [vs. replacement of same].
- Identified and quantified business benefits for proposed scenarios. Developed pricing alternatives.
- Collaborated in producing a final report to management that became the basis for decision-making.
Senior Consultant (Oracle ERP HRMS Implementation)
April 2000 – August 2002 (2 years 5 months)
Served as the U.S. and Canadian consultant for an Oracle HRMS implementation (version 11i) at the A&P Grocery Store chain. During the phases of the 30-month project performed the following:
REQUIREMENTS ASSESSMENT
- Facilitated sessions identifying necessary process changes. Documented findings and conclusions.
- Conducted proof-of-concept sessions involving 30 users. Guided them in creating and loading sample data.
- Documented high-level requirements for data conversion, reports, interfaces, customizations, modifications, and organizational change.
DETAILED DESIGN/CONFIGURATION
- Directed users through detailed requirements definition. Assured country-specific needs were adequately addressed.
- Improved data mapping activities by adding structure to the activity, strengthening the role of the functional users, and ensuring better documentation.
- Helped users with scrubbing legacy system data.
- Helped revise critical work structure needed for editing input and assuring data quality.
- Created project phasing alternatives ranging from a big bang to a lower-risk incremental rollout.
TESTING
- Wrote detailed scripts testing delivered functionality and package extensions. Trained users to assure self-sufficiency in executing the scripts.
- Documented findings and resolved problems coming out of the testing effort. Used query/reporting tools to validate findings.
DEPLOYMENT
- Assisted organizations leading up to and immediately after the go-live date.
- Developed and adapted end user training materials.
- Conducted training.
- Logged and worked various issues.
- Conducted lessons learned debriefing sessions.
- Suggested workarounds as needed.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Project completed successfully in spite of numerous organizational complexities:
- Geographical dispersion of the employee population
- High percentage of unionized workers
- Fragmented and antiquated legacy systems
- Complex mix of employer- and employee-paid benefits
- Extremely high turnover in the employee population (100+ percent annually).
Senior Consultant (Package Selection)
September 1999 – April 2000 (8 months)
Conducted 30+ HR, payroll and benefits functional users through a package selection project. The goal was to replace separate legacy systems (Integral for Personnel/Payroll/ Benefits and Computer Associates for Financials) with a single integrated product.
- Conducted interviews with users throughout the U.S. and Canada in order to identify requirements critical in the new system.
- Suggested techniques for users to apply in differentiating and evaluating the various software products. Created common scripts for representatives of the 3 prospective vendors (Lawson, Oracle, and PeopleSoft) to follow in order to demonstrate to users the functionality of their respective products.
- Evaluated all areas of human resource functionality and developed scoring criteria and score sheets by which users could evaluate the 3 products on a comparative basis.
- Identified risk factors associated with the products under consideration.
- Developed presentations for senior management describing the recommendations, rationale, and optimal go-forward strategy.
Senior Consultant (PeopleSoft implementation)
September 1998 – August 1999 (Employment Duration 1 year)
Served as an HR consultant as part of a “rapid” implementation of three PeopleSoft modules – Human Resources/Payroll/Benefits, Student Administration, and Financials across 4 technical colleges in Wisconsin. The human resource management system supported a faculty and staff population of nearly 3,000 full- and part-time employees spread across multiple campuses.
- Assisted users in setting up control tables.
- Evaluated the quality of the legacy data and made a “best fit” in line with both HR needs as well as requirements of the other two modules.
- Delivered fit/gap solutions within the as-delivered product.
- Conducted data mapping sessions for technical staff.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Overcame issues of complexity resulting from the presence of 4 separate legacy systems in widely dispersed campuses (Appleton, Rhinelander, Green Bay, and Wausau).
- Pushed end users in testing and knowledge transfer sessions to assure their self-sufficiency.
- Insured business processes were being adequately satisfied within the short project timeline.
- Trained users in areas where basic PC skill sets needed strengthening.