Larry Sparkman's Resume

Last Updated: 10/01/2011 07:37 PM

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Education, Certifications

LARRY SPARKMAN

6352 Duck Call Court · Tallahassee Florida 32309
850-942-6034 · larrysparkman@larrysparkman.com
 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST
 

Project management specialist with a Masters Degree in Project Management, ITIL Foundations Certification, and PMP Certification. Over 20 years of experience in the management of application development projects within a variety of technical environments through the full project management life cycle. Project Management Methodology expert with demonstrated expertise building successful Project Management Offices including the training and mentoring of project managers.

Project Management Professional · ITIL Certification · MS Project Blue Belt Certified
HP Project and Portfolio Management Tool  · Life Cycle Methodologies: Iterative, Agile, Waterfall
Proposal Development · Scope, Schedule & Risk Management · Budget Estimating
Large-Scale Applications Management · Use Case Development · Requirements Gathering
Needs Analysis · Business Design · Traceability Matrix

 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

IMAGE SOFTWARE CONSULTING, Tallahassee Florida
Client: ACS - State of Florida Enterprise E-mail                                     · July 2011 to present 

Deployment Manager / PMO Specialist
Responsible for setting up the format and content of over 30 agency SharePoint sites to communicate, document and store project documents.  Also working as a Deployment Manager responsible for coordinating the migration of user Email boxes to an new Outlook Web Access (OWA) email environment

Image Software Consulting, Tallahassee Florida                              · April  2011 to July 2011
Client: Florida Department of Revenue, Information Systems Program 

Project Management Specialist
Responsible for mentoring and training project managers and supervisors in the formal project management methodologies defined by the ISP PMO.  Also, provided hands on guidance and advice on how best use the HP Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) tool for defining, tracking and managing IT projects. 

 Key Achievements:

• Dramatically improved the understanding and acceptance of formal project management methodologies defined by the PMO.
• Enhanced the level of comfort with the HP PPM tool within the Information Systems Program.

COMPUTER TRAINING & CONSULTING, Tallahassee, Florida              · June 2010 to July 2011
Client: Florida Department of Financial Services, Workers' Compensation Division

Project Manager
Leads a team of four consultants in the conversion and rewrite of the Workers’ Compensation Integrated Suite of applications and modules from PowerBuilder 6.5 to a .Net web-based system.  Responsible for defining project scope, estimating work effort, communicating status, and the delivery of a quality solution on time and within budget.

Key Achievements:

• Lead estimating and scheduling efforts during the RFQ process resulting is a winning proposal.
• Facilitated a re-estimating effort to re-baseline the project schedule and clarify the Critical path.
• Ensured regular and accurate reporting of project status, proactively addressed critical issues and executed appropriate change control measures when necessary.

SEVA TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, Tallahassee, Florida                               · July 2007-December 2008

IT consulting firm developing database-driven software applications for government and business clients.

Director of Project Management
Recruited to establish and oversee Project Management Office optimizing delivery of web application services. Developed proposals in response to quote requests from government agencies. Orchestrated operations of proposal teams; collaborated with IT staff members to gather requirements, assess client needs and design solutions; estimated scope of work, pricing and timeframe; oversaw logistical assembly and collection of documents. Executed and managed Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) projects. Spearheaded legislative budget request initiatives.

Key Achievements:

• Secured $4 million in funding from Florida Legislature in support of IT enhancement project upgrading and integrating DEP servers through expert leadership of budget request efforts.
• Coordinated modernization of DEP servers. Oversaw scheduling, work breakdown structure, definition of deliverables. Facilitated meetings and provided regular status reports to CIO.
• Enhanced requirements gathering and business design processes through the development and training of customized technical life cycle tools, techniques, and methodologies.
• Orchestrated installation of upgraded video conferencing equipment throughout all DEP divisions.
• Launched ITIL initiative in support of new Service Desk implementation.

 KEANE, INC., Tallahassee, Florida                                                      · February 2004-June 2007

Global IT consulting firm specializing in formal project management, employing approximately 15,000 employees worldwide.

Principal Consultant—Project Management Officer
Served critical role in establishment of Project Management Office to improve the enforcement of quality assurance standards. Managed project portfolios; trained and managed employees in project management. Commanded numerous projects and oversaw project resource operations.

 Key Achievements:

• Designed, implemented and oversaw operations of highly efficient Project Management Office.
• Heightened project visibility and sharpened communication with executive management through development of stable and consistent approach to project scope definition and quality control.
• Orchestrated strategic plan to integrate water monitoring data from 5 distinct areas into central database. Commanded definition of 15 sub-projects and approval of $2 million operating budget.

• Secured thousands in savings through identification and elimination of indefinable projects.
• Oversaw consolidation of Industrial and Domestic Permit Builder applications into single program.
• Achieved Davis Productivity Award for developing online self-certification for Office of Submerged Lands and Environmental Resources, commanding 6 project resources and $50,000 budget.
• Spearheaded development of web-based application for NPDES. Coordinated external and internal resources with oversight over web, Oracle and GIS mapping applications.
• Delivered employee education to Information Systems personnel in use of MS Project 2003.

COMPUTER ASSOCIATES, Tallahassee, Florida                                 · September 1997-April 2003

Global software development and implementation firm with approximately 30,000 employees.

Project Management Office Representative
Served as primary oversight representative for all mainframe projects throughout U.S. and Canada; ensured quality, profitability and timeliness. Conducted quality assurance audits for 10-15 proposals and statements of work daily. Collaborated with project management staff to reorganize and ensure success of in-trouble projects. Delivered comprehensive training to project management throughout North America on risk management, quality management and scheduling oversight.

 Key Achievements:

• Ensured competency of project managers, supervisors and directors in use of MS Project; delivered on-site and remote training sessions.
• Cooperated in creation of formal project management life cycle; trained and mentored staff on use of tools and templates facilitating management of scope, risk, quality, and communications.
• Oversaw Y2K assessment of application systems for Department of Education. Managed analysis of 57 application systems, 2,784 programs, 2,665 jobs, and 4 million lines of code.
• Enhanced Legal Notice printing for Child Support Enforcement.
• Developed reputation as resident expert in MS Project, Critical Path and Earned Value concepts.

 ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS (EDS), Tallahassee, Florida                 · March 1984-September 1997

Global management and implementation company overseeing Medicaid and student loan systems for statewide agencies, with approximately 100,000 employees worldwide.

Systems Engineer/Supervisor
Oversaw implementation, optimization and ongoing management of Medicaid and student loan systems. Managed daily operations of 5-15 staff, Student Loan System administration for State of Florida and Buyin/Bendex and Cap/SFL Medicaid systems.

• Commanded Batch Cycle implementation for Florida Student Loan System, securing promotion to Systems Supervisor.
• Responsible for Batch Cycle and Online support in an environment including CA7, COBOL II, CICS COBOL, VSAM files and an MVS operating system.
• Served as technical lead for establishment of Ohio Student Loan System. Orchestrated over 40 technical leads throughout 5-state operating theatre.
• Spearheaded technical writing for winning proposal to assess Y2K readiness for State of Iowa. Ensured successful execution of $1.2 million project as Technical Manager.
• Secured Leadership Award for 1993 Student Loan implementation.

EDUCATION

 Master of Science in Project Management (2005)
University of Management and Technology, Arlington Virginia

 Master of Science in Education: Movement Sciences
Bachelor of Science in Education: Physical Education
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

CERTIFICATIONS

ITIL Foundations Certification · Project Management Professional (PMP) · MS Project Blue Belt: IIL

 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Villanova University

Lean Six Sigma Training

University of Management & Technology

Iteration and Agile Project Management · Establishing a Project Office courses

 PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION

 Project Management Institute