Philosophy

The first step in developing any solution is to define the process. This definition should be abstract without regard to technology or tools. This abstract allows for an impartial look at what is to be done and why. The solution development process is an ideal time to re-examine business rules and processes with an eye towards removing redundant or outdated steps. This review can provide a significant savings in development costs.

The abstract also provides the basis for tool selection. Probably one of the biggest impediments to a successful project is selection of a tool based on the desire for staff or consultants to use the tool. Selecting the correct tools can reduce the development costs by up to 50%.

I believe it is my job to help the client in all phases - definition, tool selection, design and development. This involvement allows me to help the client make informed decisions that manage resources efficiently while maximizing return on investment.

EMPLOYMENT

Systems Development Group, LLC (1996-Current)

Systems Evaluation and Analysis Group, (1992 - 1996)

Federated Business Systems (1988 - 1992)

EDUCATION

University of Illinois At Springfield (formerly Sangamon State University)
Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science
1987 to 1993

Springfield College in Illinois
Associate of Arts in Accounting
1985 to 1987

Eastern Illinois University
1983 to 1985

CERTIFICATIONS

Microsoft Certified Solution Developer
Microsoft Certified Professional

TOOLS

Visual Basic Visual FoxPro VBScript Word Visio

C# SQL Server JavaScript Excel Powerpoint

ASSOCIATIONS

Technical Resource Specialist (TRS)
CompuServ-Stream Inc. FoxPro Forums

Central Illinois FoxPro User/Developer Group
Founding Member

PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Technical Reviewer (Reviews 2000 through 2001), Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine

Central Illinois FoxPro User/Developer Group, Frequent Speaker and Discussion Leader

Visual FoxPro 5.0 Primer, Waite Group Press

4^th Annual Mid-Atlantic Database Workshop, Speaker

Sound Off, FoxPro Advisor - Sept. 1995, Advisor Publications

BETA TESTING

Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 and .Net

Microsoft Visual FoxPro 3.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0      

Microsoft FoxPro 1.0, 2.0, 2.5 and 2.6

Microsoft Mastering Visual FoxPro 1.0

Fox Software FoxBase 2.0 and 3.0

Norton-Lambert Close-Up Versions 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0

Projects

I have been a consultant with the state child welfare agency for the past 11 years. Listed below are some of the major projects and initiatives of which I have been a part. My project management work frequently requires that I work with the Department's executive staff, other state agencies and, on one major project, the Governor's Information Technology Office.

My current role as a project manager requires that I oversee a development staff of five, prepare position papers and impact assessments. Communication skills are at premium as I often conduct management briefings, user trainings, and develop much of the system documentation.

The tools used for these projects include Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Basic, Visual Foxpro, C#, Internet Explorer, Word, and Excel. Where appropriate I have indicated a special tool.

Missing Children Application

The Missing Children Application was developed to assist the Child Location and Support Unit for Missing Children coordinate all efforts to locate missing children. Information was collected from various sources including other state agencies and maintained in one central repository. Users needed to be able to access the information from any Department workstation on 24/7 basis. My duties as manager of this project included process development, system design and application development and programming. The timelines involved in this application required that it be developed and deployed in 45 days.

Inventory Control Application

The Department has over 60,000 pieces of physical inventory in over 104 buildings statewide with a total value of over $35M. This application replaced an outdated mainframe application with a modern solution using Symbol barcode scanners. The application was developed to meet all state and federal auditing and reporting guidelines and facilitated the removal of a 5 year qualified audit opinion. As project manager, I designed the overall process, performed system design and development including programming of the handheld scanners.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

HIPAA is a federally mandated series of changes to the way health care information is used, transmitted and stored. My role is co-project manager and requires that I coordinate all efforts to be fully HIPAA compliant. This includes assessment, gap analysis, remediation and implementation. I am also part of a multi-agency committee that coordinates the HIPAA related efforts for all state agencies and developed the bid request specifications for a translator vendor.

Medicaid Billing Applications

The Department receives federal financial participation dollars for the services rendered under Medicaid contracts. This group of applications gather the information from the child welfare providers and processes it for reimbursement submission. Developed before the web, these applications are in place in over 120 agencies statewide. The current emphasis on these applications has been HIPAA compliant transactions and internet submission of data.

Applicant Fingerprint

All applicants for a child welfare or day care license are required to be fingerprinted. This application tracks the fingerprints through the criminal justice system, tracks clearances and prints criminal histories. This application interacts with the primary vendor, the stat police and FBI. It also integrates with the state's registered sex offender system.

Child Death Review

Child Death Review Teams review the deaths of children aged 17 and under to determine if there are ways to prevent similar deaths. The application gathers the information from the teams and compiles statistics used for annual reporting to the governor and legislature.