Early in my career, I wrote an internal application to parse raw data from a fixed field length text file containing customer information and write that information to a database. I wrote a front end to allow the marketing department to generate warm leads for travel and tour packages. To complete the project as efficiently as possible, I worked with both the data steward and the end users to ensure that what I was producing met their needs. I documented the code and wrote the user manual.

 

For that same company, I led the project and managed the team to convert from a token ring network to an ethernet network. Along with the team, I presented the project plan and hardware specifications to senior management. At the conclusion of the project, I produced the network map and full documentation.

 

In another role with a different company, I worked with raw data from well shaft measurement devices that arrived on open reel tape. I created a database and wrote code to bring the raw data into the database. Then I cleaned the data pursuant to the parameters given by the petrogeologists who would be performing the analysis. I wrote all the documentation for the process and the application.

 

I moved on to another large company and led several projects as part of a larger initiative to completely change every aspect of the region’s approach to data. I implemented the process for machine imaging for the migration of 3,000 Mac computers to Windows based client machines. I oversaw an external vendor employed to change cabling to allow the change from token ring to ethernet. I developed the curriculum and led several classes to assist the user community with the transition from Mac to Windows.

 

Over the next several years I specialized in migrations. I led another 10 larger migration projects and dozens of smaller projects. The projects were predominantly for moves to Windows Server networking and/or moving from Mac to Windows based machines. I built project plans, developed specifications for hardware and software solutions, liaised with wide area and cloud providers, managed budgets, educated my client’s employees, and more.

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I relocated to reduce the amount of travel and to improve my family life. I consulted with more large and small companies and went back to school for a degree in accounting. After graduating, I worked in State Government as an auditor and ultimately led audits. The purpose of an audit is to identify “what is”, compare it to “what should be” and comment on any differences.

An audit is a project with a budget, time frame and team. An audit entails data analysis where insights are called “findings”; however, they still lead to recommendations. In one particular audit, I requested transaction data from the data steward in delimited format, cleaned the data ensure all fields were present, and loaded the data into Excel as the dataset was roughly 200,000 lines. I used pivot tables to quickly identify exceptions, which could then be investigated. My methodology reduced the time required for that audit task from 4 weeks down to 2 days and maintained a greater than 95% confidence level.

Due to my experience and domain knowledge, I was asked to lead the project to transition my department to electronic work papers. The biggest difference between this project and the many I had led in the past was the bidding process. Rather than dealing with a small selection of preferred vendors, the process for the governmental entity was to create an invitation to bid based on the specifications my team put together. The rest of the project, from building the image, to leading instruction for the end users, to migration to new hardware, was familiar and ran smoothly.

My family relocated again to help with end-of-life care for my mother. I returned to consulting locally to accommodate my schedule requirements. I found a niche working with home health agencies. I led over a dozen projects to implement Enterprise Medical Record (EMR) systems, and to migrate from existing to different EMR systems. I worked with McKesson/AllScripts, Axxess, Homecare Homebase (HCHB), and EPIC. I developed ad hoc report templates, performance and utilization dashboards for my clients, and led classes for client staff.

We were able to spend six years with my mother before she passed. We decided to move again, this time to San Antonio, Texas. While I have continued consulting, the market has been shifting. I am excited to say that I am ready for what’s next.