Between 2001 and 2006 I developed a methodology by which to select stocks, and earned 16% annually on my investments. With an entrepreneur's desire to build a going concern at minimal expense, I achieved the following:
incorporated an LLC in 2005
developed a corporate identity, engaging a graphic designer friend to help with logo colors
developed marketing collateral in the form of a PowerPoint presentation of my approach and my results
tracked opportunities in the personal edition of Salesforce.com
successfully raised $150,000 from friends and family to start a fund in 2006
purchased corporate gifts for partners and prospects
maintained accurate accounts using Quicken and filed all necessary tax forms
After CheckFree completed its acquisition of Corillian, it had to demonstrate the value of the combination to the world. Asked to present at FINOVATE 2007, I developed a prototype internet application that combined the best qualities of the two companies. The prototype further helped to clarify requirements for the product development organization tasked with delivering a combined product.
CheckFree completed its acquisition of Corillian in May, 2007. As frequently happens following acquisitions, the Corillian product development organization faced a challenging reconciliation of its priorities with CheckFree's.
CheckFree completed its acquisition of Corillian in May, 2007. As frequently happens following acquisitions, the Corillian product development organization faced a challenging reconciliation of its priorities with CheckFree's. In my product management leadership role, I established a
product portfolio management process. Proposed and ongoing
initiatives were assigned an investment (cost) and return (revenue or cost savings). This made it possible to prioritize initiatives based on financial value to the company. \ Personnel re-assignments and schedules were made on this basis. This helped the organization focus its investments on initiatives with maximal return---while remaining open to new opportunities. As a result, we improved our ability to make and meet long-term product roadmap commitments.
In discussions with product management professionals, it became clear that many organizations faced a similar problem: They expected a return (in the form of sales revenue) on their product development investment (in the form of labor or capital costs). Unfortunately, as known and unknown risks came to fruition, they ended up "throwing good money after bad," to the severe detriment of the product and the organization.
In discussions with product management professionals, it became clear that many organizations faced a similar problem: They expected a return (in the form of sales revenue) on their product development investment (in the form of labor or capital costs). Unfortunately, as known and unknown risks came to fruition, they ended up "throwing good money after bad," to the severe detriment of the product and the organization.
In response, I developed a simple methodology for product planning and risk mitigation.
It was described in a webinar entitled Risk, ROI, and Real Options in One Page
At Corillian, I led a team of four senior product managers responsible for P&L of Corillian’s entire product line. Revenues exceeded $20 million, and the company became profitable over this period.
At Corillian, I led a team of four senior product managers responsible for P&L of Corillian’s entire product line. Revenues exceeded $20 million, and the company became profitable over this period. Following the acquisition of Corillian by CheckFree, and the acquisition of CheckFree by Fiserv, I championed initiatives to integrate products and software development processes. Subsequently, I led a team of three product managers responsible for internet banking products based on Microsoft Windows and SQL Server. These products earned over $7 million in annual revenue.
As an engineering manager at Corillian, I knew it was important to understand the priority of development initiatives. When deadlines loomed, it became necessary to reassign people on one project to another, and priorities came into question. However, it was challenging for product management to assign priority to proposed initiatives, especially incremental feature additions and enhancements.
As an engineering manager at Corillian, I knew it was important to understand the priority of development initiatives. \ When deadlines loomed, it became necessary to reassign people on one project to another, and priorities came into question. However, it was challenging for product management to assign priority to proposed initiatives, especially incremental feature additions and enhancements.
When I took over product management, I instituted a business planning process based on a book by local consultant Preston G. Smith, Developing Products in Half the Time. The results were:
a process lightweight enough to apply to individual features as well as whole products
quantitative criteria by which to compare and assign priorities to initiatives
objective measures by which to determine the continued feasibility and rationality of initiatives
Another best practice I instituted was the monthly cross-functional product review described in Microsoft Secrets. Bringing sales, marketing, development, and QA together in a room facilitated communication and rapid decision-making about business and customer needs.
As Corillian grew its customer base and revenue, its development organization had to scale and mature. I started at Corillian with two direct reports, and by the time I moved out of engineering, my organization had grown to 26, of which five engineering managers reported directly to me.
In my last six months in engineering, I was responsible for Corillian's entire product line, which generated $19 million during that period, and another $20 million in the following six months. My annual budget was approximately $2 million.
As an engineering manager, I achieved the following:
led junior and senior managers to on-time delivery of Corillian internet banking products
developed ROI measures for products and even features, in cooperation with product management. \ This helped us set priorities objectively and communicate them throughout the company.
Rescued two difficult projects and retained customers by establishing reasonable expectations and rebuilding their trust in Corillian’s ability to make and meet delivery commitments. Business from these customers alone subsequently exceeded $4.1 million.
established standards for product requirements in cooperation with product management. This helped product management develop high-quality requirements and reduced requirements thrash which sometimes afflicts a growing organization.
established quality standards, measures, and iterative quality-focused development processes in cooperation with QA management
instituted agile development processes, policies and progress reporting expectations in cooperation with the project management office.
Conducted practical training on software development methodologies including Rational Unified Process, eXtreme Programming, Refactoring, and software inspections.
Successfully managed an off-site partner and an off-shore development team who were developing technology components.
By 1994, Moore's Law had created a challenge for Intel Corporation: business and consumer software applications drove the majority of demand for microprocessors. However, software's need for faster and faster microprocessors was diminishing.
By 1994, Moore's Law had created a challenge for Intel Corporation: business and consumer software applications drove the majority of demand for microprocessors. However, software's need for faster and faster microprocessors was diminishing.
Intel Architecture Labs was charged with dreaming up compelling applications that would drive demand for next-generation microprocessors. We operated by developing prototypes, filing patents on our intellectual property, and demonstrating our prototypes to internal product groups and independent software vendors. As our prototypes were picked up, demand for Intel's processors increased, and our patents could be licensed for some revenue as well.
As a software engineer in Intel Architecture Labs, I authored or co-authored the following patents:
6,598,045: System and method for piecemeal relevance evaluation
6,172,685: Method and apparatus for increasing the amount and utility of displayed information
5,899,995: Method and apparatus for automatically organizing information
5,859,636: Recognition of and operation on text data
Senior Software Engineer | Intel Corporation | September 1994 - May 1998
Little-Known Fact
My second job was tutoring college students taking a self-paced Dynamics course. I was employed by the Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Department at Michigan Technological University. I qualified for the job by passing all of the exams in my first try---even the dreaded exam "O". This was unusual for someone still in high school.
The results were:
Bringing sales, marketing, development, and QA together in a room facilitated communication and rapid decision-making about business and customer needs.