EDUCATION

· Ph.D in Management Sciences – thesis on “Opportunities and Challenges in Implementing Lean Sigma for Software Development Projects,” University of Mysore, Karnataka, India

· Masters of Business Administration (Systems), Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu, India

· Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical & Electronics), Kuvempu University, Karnataka, India

CERTIFICATION

· Blue Ocean Strategy from Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIMK)

· Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from Project Management Institute, USA

· Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification training, USA

Maharaja Institute of Technology Mysore (MITM)

Professor, Department of Management Sciences – October 2015 – Current

· Teaching Interest – Business Analytics, Strategic Management and Corporate Policy, Research Methods, and Quantitative Methods

· Research interest – Business Analysis, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Transformation.

· Played a key role in connecting local engineering and management institute to premier B-School – like Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). Signed an MoU with IIMB for conducting online classes to tire – II cities

· Integrated MOOCs to regular course to enhance the quality of education.

· Chairman – student counseling and mentoring council (SCMC)

· Chairman – Entrepreneur Development Cell (EDC)

· BoE (VTU)

ADC Telecommunications, Bangalore – India (ADC is now TE Connectivity)

Project Lead (Wireless division) – December 2010 to August 2011

· Led process improvement project using Lean Sigma approaches as part of strategy deployment program.

· Gathered process related information from key process owners and documented the software development process using process flow diagram

· Identified the critical value streams and baselined the KPI’s through data collection and value stream mapping

· Conducted brainstorming sessions to identify root causes & performed root cause analysis

· Engaged with process owners to develop and implement the solutions to fix issues.

· Responsible for establishing the Kanban (real-time) screen to visualize the work items in the project

· Developed a model to assess the re-work and reduced rework by 46%

· Improved cycle time for development activities by 10 – 12%

· Reduced the time taken to resolve issues (the mean number of working days items were blocked) by 32%

· Reduced defects opened each week (included defects not closed from previous weeks) by 22%

· Created dashboard to track and sustain the improvements for long time

Project Lead (Wireless division) – April 2009 to November 2010

· Responsible for driving process improvement activities for Distributed Antenna System (DAS) for in-door and out-door coverage solution (Network Solution division)

· Managed multiple process improvement projects - end to end - with all the necessary process improvements with management Return on Investment (ROI).

· Defined and implemented software development process in line with Product Life Cycle (PLC) for wireless division.

· Integrated development team, manual testing, and automation testing teams in common process

· Effectively defined and implemented the gate-review processes to make smooth transitions among different stages of software development projects.

· Prepared and rolled out traceability matrix from specification stage through testing stages.

· Defined processes for defect management activities and trained the team to follow the processes and manage defects effectively.

· Conducted periodical trainings on process implementation during different stages of software development process.

· Conducted discussions with key process owners to analyze gaps in testing activities, identified root causes and implemented corrective actions.

· Conducted post-project analysis and analyzed the gaps among different activities. Implemented corrective actions to resolve prioritized issues.

· Developed and implemented the centralized project information system for easy information accessibility for different groups/teams.

Team Lead (Wireline division) – June 2007 to March 2009

· Responsible for setting up and maintaining the DSL product line laboratory in India development centre.

· Led the team to effective test execution during different releases of software for DSL devices and coordinated with different teams, placed in different geographical locations

· Estimated efforts involved in complete system testing. Identified critical test cases and grouped them for release based execution. This has optimized the test cycle.

· Engaged with the technical writer for developing specification manuals, user guides, and context specific help during different releases of software for DSL devices.

· Mentored junior test engineers and new team members to acquaint with the project goal.

· Developed detailed training material for sales and installation teams that helped them interact effectively with customers.

· Played a key role in the group for designing different screens for the software application.

· Played a key role in handling the field issues.

· Managed inventory that consisted of variety of hardware, software, and telecom equipments.

· Key player in the group responsible for coordinating with STPI officials during audits.

Team Lead – September 2006 to May 2007

· Responsible for validating Automated Copper Cross-Connect (ACX) devices

· Worked with teams located in the USA for transitioning ACX laboratory to India development center. Successfully set up and maintained the ACX laboratory.

· Developed test strategy, test cases, and test environment, during different releases of software for ACX devices.

· Mentored junior test engineers for validating software for ACX devices.

· Engaged with the technical writer for developing manuals, user guides, and context specific help during different releases of software for ACX devices

· Managed inventory that consisted of variety of hardware, software, and telecom equipments.

· Key player in the group responsible for coordinating with STPI officials during audits.

Senior Test Engineer – April 2004 to August 2006

· Responsible for validating Element Management System (EMS) for Wire-line products.

· Developed test cases, executed test cases, analyzed defects, and verified defect fixes for EMS application.

· Participated in reviewing User manual for the EMS application.

· Trained associate engineers and new hires during testing activities.

Kshema Technologies Ltd., Bangalore – India (now part of HP)

Software Engineer (Testing/Quality) – November 2000 to April 2004

· Responsible for Testing and Quality Assurance activities for software development projects.

· Developed test cases, executed test cases, analyzed defects, verified defect fixes, and generated test reports during system testing activities, for different software applications.

· Played the role of SQAE for the team. Responsible for developing/maintaining documents for Audit purposes.

· Involved in auditing the software development activities for different teams in the organization.