Blaine Wolff, PgMP, PMP
Highly qualified, proven Information Technology leader focused on customer satisfaction and
committed to delivering results
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My Mission:
Develop and lead highly effective, customer focused Information Technology teams dedicated to delivery excellence
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My Vision:
Information Technology teams recognized for delivering the highest level of customer service, constantly striving to meet or exceed commitments and in so doing adding tremendous value to the organization
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My Strategy:
Aggressive incremental improvement by leveraging processes & technology, providing training & growth opportunities, setting high expectations and retaining focus on current commitments
Evaluation of current capabilities Needs assessment & prioritization Plan development & execution Continual reassessment and plan revision based
upon changing capabilities and business needs
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Director Technology (2008-2009)
Problem: Software development projects were consistently delivered late and over budget with significant post-deployment incidents
Solution: Leveraged PMI/PMBOK processes to improve the project management discipline and implemented an improved product deployment process by leveraging ITIL Change Management principles
Result: Reduced post-deployment incidents by 85% and delivered 75% of the projects on schedule and on budget in 4Q2008
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Director Business Applications (2006-
2008)Challenge: Transition the application development,
support and project management functions to an outsourcer with predominately an off-shore staff
Solution: Developed and executed aggressive transition plans, incented employees to stay until released and participate in knowledge transfer, brought outsourcer staff on-site for transition, provided ITIL training, provided mentors and cultural awareness sessions
Result: Completed transition on schedule and under budget while continuing to meet all support SLA’s, improving on key support metrics and successfully delivering twenty software projects
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Sr. Mgr. Solution Delivery (2002-2006)
Problem: Software development projects were consistently delivered late and over budget with overall client dissatisfaction of the developed solution
Solution: Established a solution delivery organization with three closely related disciplines; project management, application architecture and business analysis
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Solution Delivery – Business Analysis
Solution Developed & implemented an improved requirements
elicitation process leveraging use cases to document system/user interactions and expectations
Implemented a Benefits-Requirements matrix to evaluate individual requirements contribution to overall project value as a part of scope management
Developed & implemented improved test case process aligning test cases with requirements (use cases)
Developed & implemented test automation capabilities Improved test metrics and results verification processes
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Solution Delivery – Appl. Architecture
Solution Staffed architecture team with senior developers having
both broad & deep knowledge of the application suite Documented the “as is” state and developed/socialized
the “to be” architecture vision Centralized solution definition and implemented solution
definition processes/templates Designed solutions to leverage existing assets and align
with the “to be” model while solving business needs Centralized effort estimating and implemented
estimating processes leveraging estimating models, templates and commercial estimating tools
Integrated architects in the project team as oversight and knowledge experts
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Solution Delivery – PMO
Solution Provided PM training & encouraged PMI certification Initially focused on “Project Management 101” Defined and implemented processes in alignment with
PMBOK for all applicable PM Knowledge areas – Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, HR, Communications, Risk & Procurement
Upgraded to MS/Project Enterprise Server and supplemented this with custom developed tools & reports
Implemented enterprise resource planning and earned value management
Implemented a governance process for project approval and prioritization based upon business value
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Sr. Mgr. Solution Delivery (2002-2006)
Result: Solutions that aligned with the architectural vision and leveraged
existing assets while meeting business needs Improved estimating accuracy and consistency Improved understanding of requirements/business needs resulting
in better project scope statements and decreased scope changes Decreased testing cost/time and improved results verification Improved project management capabilities
Significantly increased customer satisfaction and improved delivery metrics every year completing more than 90% of the projects on schedule, within budget and meeting quality metrics in 2005
Completed two major, multi-million dollar programs in 2006 on schedule and within budget
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Mgr. Emerging Markets (2000-2002)
Opportunity: Many new entrants in the telecommunications industry needing IT services
Solution: Develop & market an application service provider solution to new telecom entrants Staffed team with talented, “outside the box” thinkers Assessed needs of new entrants, aligned with current
capabilities and identified gaps Secured a partner to fill gaps in ASP offering Developed cost models, pricing models, marketing collateral
and a sales presentation process
Result: Marketed to six prospects and closed one sale prior to
moving on to new role
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Year 2000 Program Mgr. (1998-2000)
Problem: The Year 2000 Program had a strong organizational structure and early successes with compliancy assessment but was struggling with renovation, testing and implementation
Solution: Implemented program & project management processes Development of program work breakdown structures Identification/management of inter-project dependencies Solidification of program scope, stakeholder expectations
and stakeholder communications Development and implementation of a recognition and
incentive program for all levels of the team Implementation of risk/issue management tools & processes Implementation of program-wide resource management Implementation of test automation tools & processes
Result: Program completion on schedule and significantly under budget with no Y2K incidents – 125% bonus payout for program management team
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Mgr. Application Support (1993-1997)
Problem: Application support team struggling to support new, externally developed billing system
Solution: Developed and provided voluntary “lunch & learn” sessions
to increase team knowledge of new system Implemented peer and managerial code reviews Implemented regression test processes and test beds Implemented a searchable problem/solution log for off-hours
incident resolution Provided training on new technology components
Result: Improved capabilities, reduced incident backlog and in-flow
rate - consistently met support SLA’s
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Mgr. Software Testing (1990-1992)
Problem: More than a year had been spent acceptance testing a new billing system with no end in sight
Solution: Implemented a state based rolling wave testing and deployment
strategy to enable improved scope control and accelerate the value realization timeline
Developed test data generation & population tools and processes, automated test execution schedules, implemented improved test case definition processes and test metrics gathering & reporting tools
Result: Successful testing & deployment of system in all states, the first within 9 mo. After 18 years these core tools & process are still in use
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Professional Certifications
Program Management Professional (PgMP) Project Management Professional (PMP) SCRUM Master (CSM) ITIL IT Service Management Foundation
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Professional Recommendations
“Blaine is a very detail oriented Project Manager, who manages an equal balance between the interests of the customers as well as the interests of the business. Blaine was able to get his hands around a complicated business unit, assess the abilities of a new team and get up to speed very quickly. During his time at SBS Blaine helped us make tremendous progress in organizing and prioritizing our work. He will do what it takes to be successful in any endeavor he pursues”
Steven Theisen, Software Consultant/Team Lead, Snap-on Business Solutions
“Blaine is one of those professionals who can lead a company to real success in its plans and goals. His skills in project management are outstanding. He has a superior technical background in software development plus great experience in organizing well established software development processes and certification according to ISO and CMMI guidelines. It was a real pleasure to work for him in one team. We made a lot of achievements in a very short period of time.”
Sergey Strelnikov, Regional Director, VP Development, Active Web Services LLC
“Blaine led significant improvements in the areas of program management and process control. He is honest, communicates well and is a pleasure to work with.”
Peter Zito, Senior Software Consultant, Snap-on Business Solutions
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Professional Recommendations“I worked for and with Blaine in a host of roles for more than 15 years at
Alltel/Windstream. I learned a great deal from Blaine over that timeframe and he was always willing to provide professional guidance as required. We worked together on SDLC process development, the Y2K program, new business development initiatives, and general application development and support management. He is an excellent leader, and was always a ‘go to’ manager for business, application, or technical questions or issues. He is always able to come up with a variety of approaches to solve any problem. Blaine possessed an architectural vision that was practical, feasible, and cost effective that generally lead the application development approach. Blaine also possessed the ability to either develop or contribute the development of no non-sense business and technical processes. Blaine’s value to the Alltel/Windstream was immense and I’m positive he will provide significant business value at any organization. I hope our paths cross again in some IT initiative as I know it will be successful with Blaine’s knowledge and skills.”
Bob Bales, IT Relationship Director, Windstream Communication, Inc
“I worked with Blaine over 15 years in various roles and I would be happy to work with him again. He is a no-nonsense, results driven manager with a keen ability to turn ideas into reality. He has an excellent record of leading IT groups to satisfy business needs. Blaine is quick to learn and apply technology. He is an intelligent risk-taker and can be very persuasive when selling a new idea.”
Bob Murray, Programming Manager, Windstream Communications
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Professional Recommendations
“I worked directly and indirectly for Blaine for several years and felt he was a great manager that was always looking for the best approach to do things. He created applications and processes that allowed for efficiencies and programmatic ways of doing various tasks. I had a great respect for Blaine as a manager, his vast technical knowledge of internal applications/Microsoft products and his willingness to help others enhance their knowledge.”
Charlotte Moore, Sr. IT Business Consultant, Windstream Communications
“I've worked for and with Blaine for almost 16 years of my career at Alltel and Windstream. Vision, direction, dedication, personal integrity is what comes to mind when I think of Blaine as my leader, manager, colleague. Always focused on business needs and delivering high quality solutions. He sets high expectations for himself and his staff. Definitely raised the bar for his organization as well as their partners. Blaine makes himself available to everyone seeking his guidance and is the best partner our business community could've wished for. Enormous capacity for learning, understanding, influencing, partnering, leading, delivery of business and IT solutions. Ability to zoom into the fine detail with the benefit of the big picture view. I have learned a lot from Blaine and have a lot of respect for his no-nonsense, results oriented leadership and would welcome the opportunity to be part of Blaine's team again.”
Vida Horsfield, Programming Manager, Windstream Communications
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Professional Recommendations
“I worked directly or indirectly for Blaine for roughly 9 years at ALLTEL/Windstream. I learned a tremendous amount from Blaine during that time. His technical acumen is excellent - even in his role as a manager, he was often my first contact for technical questions. He is a strong and effective leader - he provides direction to the organization and serves as an example to supervisors and managers working with him. He draws the best out of his team. Blaine has the unique balance to do very well at both thorough analysis and quick assessment - and make the right decisions. Blaine has an incredible value to bring to a team - vision, leadership, technical experience, and focus. I am glad to have been able to work for and learn from Blaine over the past nearly 10 years and would be very pleased to do so again in the future.”
Joni Chapas, Project Manager II, Windstream Communications Inc
“Blaine and I worked together as peer managers at Windstream. Blaine has a good mix of hands-on technical expertise and management skills. He has been able to leverage this combination of talents to help define solutions to business and technical problems, and implement them successfully. Blaine seeks out new and innovative approaches to projects, and he is also able to instill the appropriate processes and disciplines that deliver project results. I enjoyed working with Blaine, and would welcome the opportunity to work with him again in the future.”
Robert Piccus, Relationship Director, Windstream
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Professional Recommendations“Blaine is a seasoned IT veteran with an impressive repertoire of IT skills. He effectively
combined application knowledge, business acumen, technology and processes to successfully lead a large IT development and support organization in providing the best service for the client. I worked within Blaine's organization both as a developer and an architect. In both roles, I found him to be a very keen observer and a good mentor. He would assess solutions and proposals with a critical eye. However, his objective was to make sure that the solution was looked at from all angles and well thought out. He never compromised on providing the best and always urged his staff to do the same. He is a leader by example and raised the bar for everyone within his team as well as for himself. I enjoyed working for Blaine and would love the opportunity to be a part of his team in the future if the opportunity arises.”
Venkat Narayanswamy, Sr. Client/Server Developer/Analyst, Windstream
“Blaine is one of the most detail oriented executives that I have had the pleasure of having as my manager. His ability to quickly understand, manage and make critical decisions for all major initiatives within an entire data center has always amazed me. He possesses the most finely tuned negotiating skills that I have ever witnessed. I have personally worked with Blaine recently where he negotiated a vendor agreement where the final cost was reduced by 90%. This deal saved the corporation over 1 million dollars. Blaine's toolset ranges from executive management to analyzing detail program code. He has truly been a significant loss to Windstream.”
Dominick Sainato, Technical Architect / Programming Consultant, Windstream
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