Consultant Staff Selection

When selecting consulting staff, look for phrases similar to what follows. No one person can have all of these experiences, however the key experiences of project management and working with Enterprise staff are absolutely necessary . If a consulting firm is selected, their "on-board" staff should include skills in all the areas of the Architecture Domains.

• Participated in the coordination of the enterprise-wide technical architecture component model. Helped facilitate and conduct organizational consensus meetings to help bring all components to the configuration level. Additional responsibilities included project timeline and assurance of completion, communication efforts, and varying degrees of project management.
• Led a combined client and consultant team in creating an enterprise-wide technical architecture to align information technology with the organization’s business drivers and enable business change. Additional responsibilities included overall project progress and management, and providing technical direction.
• Participated in the overall planning and execution of an Enterprise-Wide Technical Architecture. Modules responsible for; Component Architecture (Internet/Intranet, Objects, Purchased Applications, Middleware, Document Management); Migration Planning. Lead consultant in designing and implementing corporate Intranet.
• Lead consultant responsible for developing specific architecture design components including networks, platforms, applications and support. Project included a detailed cost analysis and formulation of a robust migration and implementation plan. As a follow-on, a detailed formulation of a voice and data communications Request for Information (RFI), and evaluating the responses to select a new provider(s).
• Lead consultant in conducting a high-level review of the existing information technology resources. Analysis included the identification of network design, hardware, applications, operating systems, human resources and strategic business drivers. Developed a strategic direction for the implementation of technology resources necessary to support a robust enterprise-wide financial application, creation of a Web-based business environment, and utilization of video teleconferencing.
• Conducted an EWTA process resulting in a comprehensive enterprise architecture. The company used the architecture to reengineer their entire IT organization, infrastructure and applications. Led the migration planning and prioritization. Supervised the execution of the first architecture derived projects including a web-based GUI front-end project and a mainframe development environment selection effort.
• Conducted exhaustive enterprise application requirements study. Led a team of two consultants and five client IT managers through the process of knowledge acquisition, analysis, documentation, and communication of the functional, system, and data requirements for an integrated enterprise-wide customer care and billing system.
• Managed a cross-functional team in the analysis of a new applications architecture. The analysis included several lines of business including loans, deposits, investments, and insurance. The architecture supported on-line banking, customer service, direct marketing, and sales.
• Designed application architecture for launching, selling, and supporting a new high speed Internet service. Designed and implemented new systems and integrated them with the legacy systems. Engineered the communications protocols and message formats for application interactions. Developed new process flows for the users to interact with the integrated system.
• Architected the integration of the call center’s telephony and computer systems. Designed a three-tiered, event-driven, message-based architecture to enable automated screen navigation, third-party phone control, and integrated work states among the computer and telephony systems.
• Led a combined client and consultant team in creating an enterprise-wide technical architecture to align information technology with the organization’s business drivers and enable business change. Additional responsibilities included overall project management, providing technical direction and marketing the concepts of architecture and change to an organization with a high degree of inertia. Developed a plan to enable information sharing between seven diverse branches within the department and delivery of timely, accurate service to existing and potential customers.
• Was part of a combined client and consultant team in creating an enterprise-wide technical architecture to align information technology with the organization’s business drivers and enable business change. Additional responsibilities included project management, providing technical direction and marketing the concepts of architecture and change to an organization with a high degree of inertia. Developed a comprehensive applications development strategy that reached an enterprise wide consensus agreement that charted the migration of application architectures toward a distributed computing environment and met the diverse business and skills needs of the various disparate branches.
• Responsible for helping architect and implement an enterprise wide integrated computer-telephony strategy for their regional customer service centers. Facilitated the alignment of the IT projects with the business management steering committee. Coordinate and oversaw various development projects that spun off from the business needs. Provided oversight and approval of technical architecture and designs as well as coordinated multi-vendor efforts to provide multi-tiered systems.
• Managed a team of ten professionals in developing an enterprise-wide technical architecture (EWTA). The project included evaluating and identifying the appropriate enterprise resource planning (ERP) application suited for the Organization. The project encompassed Sun and IBM AS/400 and ES/9000 hardware, frame relay network design, desktop and server standards, middleware, system management and RDBMS.
• Managed a team of eight professionals in developing an enterprise-wide technical architecture. The project encompassed Sun, HP and IBM ES/9000 hardware, frame relay network design, desktop and server standards, middleware, system management and RDBMS.
• Managed a team of consultants in developing a corporate disaster recovery plan for its Finance Center. Project supported an enterprise-wide client/server financial accounting system. The project encompassed HP 9000 platforms, IBM ES/9000 mainframe, T-1/frame relay wide-area network and distributed computing client/server applications.
• Managed a team of twelve professionals in developing an enterprise-wide Information Technology Architecture Definition. The project included evaluating their mainframe-based platform, applications and networks and identifying specific applications suitable for migrating to a distributed computing environment (DCE) utilizing web-based technology. Additionally, identified middleware development tools, frame relay network design, TCP/IP protocol, RDBMS, hardware standards and network management systems.
• Assisted in the development of an enterprise-wide technical architecture for an organization to align information technology with business drivers and enable business change. Responsibilities included: involvement in project planning; assistance in the knowledge transfer of META’s EAS methodology to project teams; assessment of existing technology infrastructure; creation of final deliverable documents; assistance in development of migration strategy and implementation plan.
• Managed a team of six consultants in developing a detailed technology architecture design. The design supported the implementation of an enterprise-wide client/server financial accounting system.
• Developed a strategic information technology (IT) plan, incorporating application migration to a client/server architecture and enterprise WAN design, review and implementation.
• Project Manager leading a team in the design of an enterprise-wide IT infrastructure for this geographically dispersed client. Developed a business case for upgrading the Firm’s local and wide-area network infrastructures to support current and future business requirements. Selected server and desktop platform standards and devised a support infrastructure to lower the TCO. Conducted a thorough incremental cost analysis based on a detailed migration plan. Managed the migration plan and implementation of the new enterprise-wide IT infrastructure.
• Quality review manager for a enterprise architecture project using the META Group’s EAS methodology. Helped to develop a strategy to integrate the presumably disparate IT architectures of separate Global Business Units into an enterprise-wide Corporate IT architecture. Participated in a joint client and consultant architecture team. Provided networking expertise in evaluating the existing IT environment and in designing the future IT environment.
• Project manager responsible for the development of an enterprise architecture methodology. In this capacity, responsible for the authoring of this Firm’s methodology to develop enterprise architectures. Specifically, he helped the Firm define and document the processes, milestones, deliverables and roles and responsibilities for a typical enterprise architecture engagement.
• Lead staff consultant responsible for the development and capturing of enterprise’s baseline architecture. Had overall responsibility for collecting baseline architecture data, assessing its validity and accuracy and conducting a detailed analysis as to the quality of this data.
• Lead staff consultant on project planning efforts. This engagement encompassed defining scope of project, coaching client personnel on architecture project planning methodologies, developing a detailed communications plan that defined channels and frequencies of communications for enterprise-wide technical architecture processes.
• Developed specific architecture design components including networks, platforms, application and support. Performed a detailed cost analysis and assisted with the formulation of a robust migration and implementation plan. Worked with architecture team that successfully obtained buy-in from senior management of the firm.
• Assisted with the initial planning and project definition for this technical architecture project that was centered around an enterprise-wide implementation application suite. Responsible for developing project planning tools and background research on the enterprise.
• Created an enterprise-wide technical architecture to align information technology with business requirements. Identified business drivers and architecture requirements. Presented recommendations for major technology areas such as objects, data warehousing and Internet/intranet. Developed a plan to migrate from a primarily mainframe shop with limited network capabilities to an adaptive environment that enables business change.

Selected experience from Grant-Thorton staff working on Employment Development Department's (EDD) Architecture. EDD is a large California state organization