Professional Summary - Thirty-eight years of program management, project controls, and information systems experience in the engineering, construction, and defense programs industry.  Demonstrated success and background in project office setup, procedure development, project controls reporting systems, scheduling, an application developer, project controls lead, and earned value management implementation specialist for processes, software tools, and training.  He has worked in both a direct and oversight role across a broad range of industries and project types: DoD aerospace and defense; commercial: oil, gas and petrochemical; IT and telecommunications; electric power and semiconductor manufacturing plant construction; DOE/NNSA nuclear facility operations and maintenance; environmental engineering and remediation; nuclear weapons, Corps of Engineers, chem-demil; and municipal government engineering and construction management consulting.

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS

STRAYER UNIVERSITY  – Washington, DC, M.S. – Computer Information Systems (CIS), 1992
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE – Knoxville, Tennessee, B.S. – Business Administration/Finance, 1982

PMP #24611 – Project Management Professional, Project Management Institute – May-2000 to present

GOVERNMENT SECURITY CLEARANCES:

Active Department of Energy (DOE) “Q” TOP SECRET

Learn more about Vector Management Systems

“A lot of people in our industry haven't had very diverse experiences, so they don't have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have." - Steve Jobs 

Vector Management Systems works with individuals and organizations who want to develop and improve their project management and project controls capabilities through providing expertise and skills transfer to your planning, scheduling, and earned value management project controls staff.  Our core strengths are identifying process gaps and low maturity levels in project controls execution, then implementing improvements and solutions. In addition to business processes, we assess the "as is" state of the tools and business practices being used, along with human resource capabilities and experience levels to understand where improvements and training opportunities exist.  We have experienced that while today's leading commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) cost and schedule project management software tools offer vast functionality, they typically require more continuous support, customization, and training to use effectively than the tool vendors wish to advertise.  The fact is as project management software has evolved, the tools have become more complex and simply require longer learning curves with respect to the project controls specialists who must maintain them.  It is not surprising that many scheduling and EVM software systems have not been implemented and deployed following best practices, nor configured properly to maximize their productivity and effective use.  As a result, many project controls specialists "learn the wrong way" and do not experience the sense of productivity and enjoyment they deserve in the performance of their roles. Further, these built-in deficiencies and poorly implemented processes can result in non-compliance issues with the EIA-748 guidelines, in addition to data anomalies that require labor intensive corrective actions, increased costs, and rework.

With regard to establishing EIA-748 compliant Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS), there are few project management subject areas as well documented.  Nearly everything you could want to know about EVM is freely available in the public domain; however, many project controls organizations are still developing and maintaining systems that lack proper emphasis on many of the main tenets and fundamentals.  To make an analogy, earned value management really is a lot like golf.  You can read about the game of golf, understand the rules; watch it on television, or talk about it, but until you actually practice and play the game yourself, you’ll never truly get good at it, nor appreciate what it takes to play at a high level of proficiency.  We think the best opportunity to learn and experience best-in-class scheduling and earned value management process execution is by working closely with successful, subject matter expert professionals in an applied, real-time working environment on your projects with your people.  

We firmly believe “people” are the most critical component with respect to the most efficient use of Processes, People, and Tools in your organization’s project management execution strategy. The implementation process we emphasize is simple and proven: understand and define the issues, requirements, and business needs, conduct a gap analysis to identify the desired state, then implement best-practice solutions within the process, tools, and people framework. The end goal being organizational excellence and high performance results that meet and exceed expectations.

“Force Multiplier” -  A capability that, when added to and employed by a combat force, significantly increases the combat potential of that force and thus enhances the probability of successful mission accomplishment.  

The “force multiplier” effect in military terminology refers to a superior technology or capability that provides a significant advantage and evens the playing field over superior numbers. You can also extrapolate the definition to include the experience, skills and training of individuals; the Navy Seals and Special Forces being good examples. It follows then that the same concept applies to sports, business, and even project management. One person with highly developed skills can make a huge difference in productivity and quality.  How?  By asking the right questions, instinctively identifying and doing the right things, anticipating customer requirements, and developing practical, effective solutions. If you are seeking expert help or a “force multiplier” for scheduling, EVMS, and project controls reporting systems using Deltek Cobra, P6 and/or Microsoft Project, you have come to the right place. 

Robert J Villa, PMP -  Principal Consultant