About Us
About Us
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Walter Viali, CSQA, PMP Principal Consultant |
Certified Project Management Professional and Certified Software Quality Analyst. Certified by Boston University as a Project Management Instructor.
IT Management Consultant with a varied background in all areas of IT including international assignments. Consulting services to a number of organizations on all aspects of Process, Project Portfolio Management and Project Office implementation, Strategic Planning and implementation of global standardization projects. Assessments based on the Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model (CMM) that led one client to achieve Level 2 of the SEI CMM in 2001. Extensive experience in process and project management practices used in ERP implementations and Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions for E-commerce and IT projects.
Extensive knowledge and experience in Strategic Business Planning, Business Reengineering, Information Systems Planning, Process and Project Management, Project Office implementation. Led JAD sessions (in excess of 3,000 hours of facilitation) in the U.S., Europe and Asia in all phases of planning, application development, process redesign and problem solving.
Texaco Inc. representative in a cross-company international project with Chevron Corp. and Caltex Petroleum Corp. aimed at the development of a standard Information Management Framework and Process for Caltex and its worldwide affiliates in the areas of IT Planning, IT Performance Measurement, Electronic Communications and Information Dissemination (Internet/Intranet). IT Process and Project Management consulting and support to multiple Texaco projects, including Legacy Application Maintenance Outsourcing, Y2K Conversion Project, and Process Assessments based on the Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model (CMM). IT Department’s representative on the Texaco Systems Development Strategies and Data Management Strategies Corporate Information Planning teams.
Provided direction to four separate Centers of Excellence for the definition, continuous improvement and reengineering of the Information Systems application delivery process. Tasked with the implementation of a Model 3 Project Office. Participated in the reengineering of the I.S. organization and processes. Sponsored and conducted internal process assessments using the Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model (CMM). This was a first in the Oil Industry. Introduced the SEI People Management CMM and the ISO 9000-3 Standard, as part of the improvement process. Implemented the James Martin and Co.’s Architect tool for Process Management.
Quoted in several trade journals and books and published articles on Business Reengineering and Information Technology issues. Presentations at conferences, seminars, colleges and universities on Strategic Planning, Application Development strategies and Business Reengineering since 1987.
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Don R. James, PMP Principal Consultant |
Faculty Member, Certificate in IT Project Management program, Bauer College of Business, University of Houston, http://www.bauer.uh.edu/certificate/projectmanagement
Certified Project Management Professional with international experience in project management of successful implementation, deployment, QA/QC, and support of energy application products. Product Development Manager with skills, knowledge, and experience in Software Process. Senior Software Project Manager with skills, knowledge, and experience in project management for development of enterprise eBusiness systems and commercial products. Senior Application Architect with skills, knowledge, and experience in managing solution development for Energy Applications, B2B Electronic Commerce, Supply Chain, and B2C EBPP initiatives. QA/QC Manager able to apply skills, knowledge and experience in QAI, PMI, ISO9000, SEI CMM, SEL COTS, and IEEE Software Engineering standards and processes to manage delivery of the high quality systems, processes and procedures expected by the enterprise
Quality Management for Reliant Energy EBPP site with total responsibility for QC of all phases of implementation that used 5 consulting firms. Project Manager for QC of Dynegy Abacus electronic trading and transportation Intranet. QA/QC Manager for Shell Chemical Corona ERP assets divestiture; On-site consultant for Shell Chemical Carson SQA Plan for Rack automation to ERP; QC consultant for Y2K V&V of EQUIVA Services Magellan ERP, and QC consultant for V&V of ENRON Energy Information Systems energy analysis product (FASER) release.
Project Manager and QA/QC Manager for PDVSA global Electronic Commerce and Strategic Sourcing initiatives (BARECS).Product Manager for development and deployment of DYNAPUMP product including the Russian language version with metric units. Negotiated contract for the Soviet-American JV and Dynagraph Industries Inc. production sharing agreement. Managed and re-engineered enterprise IT Department from disjoint Data Processing, Data communication, Office Automation, Decision Support, Facilities, and telephone services departments.
Implementation of plant management and production systems using mainframes, mini-computers, embedded systems, DBMS, and communication networks. Consulting and requirements for technical appendices of the FCC filing for Skytel’s nationwide satellite paging network. Conceptual design specifications for Weyerhaeuser LINC mill-wide plant management DBMS and enterprise network based on the ISO OSI Reference Model. Project Manager for design, development and execution of a complete SQAP and customer acceptance test system for Taylor Instrument Company.
Presentations and Publications:
“Requirements Analysis: Did You SEE What I SAID?” 2003, SPIN Houston Chapter, PMI Houston Chapter; 1996 -1999, Society for Software Quality, West Houston and Clear Lake Houston chapters and ENRON Energy Information Systems.
“The Past Tense of .com Is .gon Redux”, December 2002, PM Boulevard
“Quality Assurance in Web Systems”, 2002, QAI International Conference on eXtreme Testing and the Houston Software Quality Association.
"eXtreme Testing of Web Systems”, 2002. On-line course prepared for NorTek Solutions, Inc.
“The Past Tense of .com is .gon”, 2001, Society for Software Quality, West Houston chapter.
“What Is ISO9000 And Why Should I Care?” 1993, Small Business Development Center Journal, Albany, NY
“On The Bearable Heaviness of BEING a Small Business”, 1990, Rice University Continuing Education Seminar
“An Inventory of Gateway Design Concepts”, 1984, Paper selected as a Significant Contribution to the Computer Technology Division, ISA.
“Evaluating Personal Computers for Use in Process Control”, 1983, Paper selected for publication in InTech.
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Lawrence K. Ellsworth, CSQA, PMP Principal Consultant |
Certified Project Management Professional and Certified Software Quality Analyst. Over 30 years of experience in the development and deployment of application software, in manufacturing, consulting, software, and financial services industries. Background includes department head responsibility for all aspects of application development, including business needs analysis, project selection and prioritization, staff planning and compensation, design, programming, testing, data base management, change management, quality assurance, and disaster preparedness. Project manager for numerous projects, small to large, including a Y2K program budgeted at over $34 million with more than 140 staff and consultants involved. A developer and instructor in project management topics at the basic and advanced levels.
Experienced in design and deployment of standards, processes, and control mechanisms for the development of application software. Develops organizational vision and associated strategic and tactical plans to improve effectiveness of application development while improving control and process discipline. Experienced in the needs analysis, selection and evaluation, installation and deployment of change management systems, the development of requirements-driven testing processes and environments, and the selection and use of automation tools to improve all aspects of system development and testing productivity. Trained technical staff in technical and management topics throughout his career.
Experienced in the creation of a program management office to support large project efforts, including information collection operations, reporting processes, progress monitoring and metrics, issue management and escalation, documentation libraries, standards assurance, audit responses, and configuration management and control. Experienced in the use of contracted resources to achieve project results.
Larry brings a unique perspective to the application development process obtained as the head of a business function that was a user of applications developed by an in-house company staff. This provides a deepened understanding of the viewpoint from which the application developer’s customer approaches the process. This experience reinforces his commitment to the importance of assuring accurate and reliable results in applications through the use of structured and controlled processes.