1. Smitha Koonan.
Apt No. A1002, Seawood, “House of Hiranandani”, Navallur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu - 600130
Cell Phone: +91-9611500479
Email: smithakoonan@gmail.com
https://in.linkedin.com/in/smitha-koonan-46621391
Preamble
Experienced Project manager with 16 years of success leading all phases of diverse
technology projects for clients across multiple geography; vast experience in
leading external Audits for different international standards like ISO, CMMi; process
consulting to multiple projects; certified scrum master
Expert in agile (Certified Scrum Master) and waterfall project management
methodologies. Able to manage large project teams and known for high-quality
deliverables that meet or exceed timeline and budgetary targets
Experience in design and execution of technical projects by applying process and
project execution models in IT training. Developed an assessment program which
use real time project environment and activities to evaluate the capability of
trainees.
Vast experience in managing projects in Banking and Insurance domains
Good communicator; leverage business, process and technical acumen to
communicate effectively with client executives and their respective teams.
Business strategist; plan and manage multimillion-dollar projects aligning business
goals with technology solutions to drive process improvements, competitive
advantage and bottom-line gains.
Experience:
Recruited by three of the nation’s leading IT consulting firms to provide project
management over large-scale, top-priority and complex initiatives. Managed budgets of
up to $15M and cross-functional teams of up to 70 developers, programmers, analysts
and network specialists and project managers.
• Associated with HCL TalentCare from Oct 2015 as Assistant General Manager
– Academics and leading practice lab which gives exposure to real time
execution of projects in CMMi level 5 standards to scholars
• Total years of experience in Infosys Technologies Ltd as Senior Project
Manager/Project Manager/Software Quality Advisor: 5+ years
2. • Total years of experience in Tata Consultancy Services Ltd as Developer,
Designer, Onsite Co Coordinator, Process Consultant, Project Manager : 9 years
• Lecturer in Electrical and Electronics department at LBS college of
Engineering, Kasaragod, Kerala : 1 Year
Career Summary
• Currently working as Assistant General Manager - Academics at HCL
TalentCare and leading practice school which gives exposure to real time
project execution
o Designed projects in different domain like financial and other business
domain
o Executed practice school in Agile and waterfall model which helped
scholars to understand real time project execution
o Runs projects in CMMi level 5 and developed different projects and
templates for project execution
o Trained the trainers for practice school execution
o Designed Technical training program in Data Warehouse development
and Data Warehouse Testing streams
o Designed and simulated real time project environment in assessment
framework for Data Warehouse Development, Data Warehouse Testing,
Application Support and Maintenance streams which helped the
trainees to be productive
• Worked as Senior Project Manager at Infosys Limited and lead a team of 70
resources and provide production Support, Maintenance and Solution Delivery
services to a well-known US based insurance client
o Lead teams across broad technical, financial and business disciplines.
Focused teams on business objectives and tracked progress to ensure
project milestones were completed on time, on budget and with the
desired results.
o Mitigated risk factors through careful analysis of financial and
statistical data. Anticipated and managed change effectively in rapidly
evolving global business environments.
3. o Defined processes and tools best suited to each project. Moved
between agile and waterfall approaches depending on project
specifics and client goals, creating detailed project road maps, plans,
schedules and work breakdown structures.
o Motivate the team to achieve the business objectives and mentored
the team to meet their individual aspiration
• Worked as Developer, Tester, Process Consultant, Project Lead, at Tata
Consultancy Services. During this period associated with multiple clients
across the geographies
o Played a key role as developer and been part of many successful project
and made remarkable contribution to team
o Learnt multiple technologies like assembly language, C++, Java, SQL in
the beginning of IT career.
o Exhibited good grasping capability and switched between technologies
and helped my organization to meet different needs
o Used communication skills and networking skill to build good connect
with client team
o Managed all phases of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and
delivered industry leading software application that simplified the
process and improved revenue of customer
o Ensured quality deliverables through careful planning, testing , QA
effort
o Played a role of process consultant for an account and improved
customer satisfaction index from 1/5 to 5/5 and moved the company
status to preferred vendor
Career Details
Organization HCL TalentCare Pvt Limited
Role Assistant General Manager
Duration Oct 2015 – Till Date (1+ year)
• Current Responsibilities
Project Planning and implementing project execution models
o Interacted with customer to understand the training requirement
4. o Design and development of projects for training batches
o Conducting training in software engineering, Agile concepts, ITIL
processes
o Execute the project by applying projects in Agile/water fall model
Design and execution of Assessments
o Define assessment blue print based on technology requirement
o Build project and server environment to execute the exam
o Create Question paper based on real time project scenario based on
assessment blue print
Team Management and People development
o Trained faculty to execute the projects in standard methodology
o Tacked the competency gap to closure
Vendor Management
o Identification and evaluation of vendor based on requirement
o Relationship management
Organization Infosys Limited
Role Senior Project Manager/Project
Manager
Duration Apr 2010 – Sep 2015 (4.5 years)
• Current Responsibilities
Project Planning & Delivery
o Developed project plans for multiple projects by defining scope
and estimation effort
o Defined and monitored the progress, problems, risks and
recommended solutions
o Identified the articulated risks, mitigation strategies and created
contingency plan
o Liaisons with internal partners for resource procurement
(Manpower/infrastructure)
o Ensured delivery in line with customer expectations and internal
process compliance
Team Management and People Development
5. o Identified and assigned the appropriate roles to team members
to meet optimum utilization of resource and infrastructure.
o Set performance goals for direct reports, monitored and gave
appropriate feedback
o Tacked the competency gap to closure
Business Development
o Involved in proposals process and presentations to prospective
clients
Process Management
o Align the projects to ISO standards and CMMi model
o Identify the improvement areas in projects and demonstrate the
execution excellence
o Articulate the business value to customer
Proposal/Contract management
o Respond to proposals and contribute to business growth
• Achievements
Joined Infosys in 2010 as a Project Manager and started leading a
maintenance project of team size of 15. Asked to play the role of
Offshore Development Center Manager and faced customer Audit for
contractual obligations for information security policies
Was given the responsibility to lead a development project of team
size 30 for a US based insurance client and successfully completed
the project with good profit margin and high Customer Satisfaction
Received “Best Project team” award in 2012
Using Lean methodology to achieve a cost savings 1% of total
account revenue (~ 640KUSD)
Mentored and guided the team to implement best Knowledge
Management Process in account and Won internal awards under
large project category
Anchored external evaluation for ISO9001 and ISO27001 at Delivery
center level
Organization Tata Consultancy Service Ltd
6. Role Assistant Consultant/ IT Analyst/
Software Engineer
Duration Dec 2000 – Apr 2010 (~9 years)
• Responsibilities
Project Planning & Deliver
o Performed requirement analysis, feasibility analysis, impact
analysis and estimation.
o Made projections and schedules for the project
o Ensured the quality of deliverables by reviews, metrics and
quality control measures
Client Liaison
o Acted as single point of contact between client and offshore team
o Took care of identifying and troubleshooting of routine issues
Team Management and People development
o Identified appropriate roles to team members to meet optimum
utilization of resource
o Set performance goals for direct reports, monitored and gave
appropriate feedback
o Tacked the competency gap to closure
Developer and Designer
o Coding, unit testing of assigned requirement
o Proposed product improvement suggestions
o Optimized design for better application performance
Project Mentoring
o Ensure the contracts/SoWs/Proposals are reviewed and
authorized
o Facilitate the implementation of TCS iQMS processes and
applicable client processes
7. o Facilitate in identifying proper tools and provide support for the
usage of the same
o Facilitate/conduct quality checkpoint for deliverables
o Facilitate the Management reviews & audits and track the action
items to closure
o Facilitate the collection of metrics and analysis of metric data
o Conduct training on quality process and new initiatives to
Project Lead &Team Members
Customer Feedback Analysis
o Collect customer feedback and analyze and actively look for
areas of improvements to enhance the customer satisfaction
Quality reporting
o Report process compliance on a monthly basis and send status
report to unit head
o Conduct training on quality process and new initiatives to
Project Lead and Team Members
• Achievements
Joined TCS in 2000 as a System Engineer and played developer/tester
role for multiple projects and learnt multiple technology and multiple
domain
Interacted with Mathematics profession in Bharathiyar University and
applied different mathematical theorems in software programs to meet
customer requirement and it was well appreciated by customer
good connect with customer and won additional business to offshore
Assigned with process consultant role to improve customer satisfaction
index. Did root cause analysis and proposed and implemented
processes to address the issues which resulted in improving customer
satisfaction index to 5/5
Many “Best performer” awards
Selected by customer for a training on Agile methodology and become
certified Scrum Master in 2006
8. Skills Summary
Project Planning, Scheduling, Tracking
Client Relations & Presentations
Vendor Management
Implementation of different standards and guidelines (ISO, CMMi)
Managing different services like Production Support, Maintenance,
Development
Experience in managing Agile and waterfall models
Customer Management
Risk Management
Quality Management
People Management
Costing and Budgeting
Programming in C,C++, J2EE
Certified Scrum Master
Certified internal Auditor in both Infosys and TCS
Educational Qualifications:
Bachelor of Technology in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NSS
College of Engineering, Palakkad, one of the premier institutes of the state.
Completed in the year, 1998 with 72% (Calicut University)
Pre Degree from Sree Narayana College, Kannur in 1994 with 79.9% (Calicut
University)
SSLC from Govt High School, Pallikunnu,Kannur in 1992 with 92% (Board of
Examinations)
Personal Particulars:
Date of Birth : 25-12-1976
Sex : Female
Marital Status : Married
Linguistic Abilities : English, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil
9. References:
1. Mr. Rajagopalan P
Head IT Programs, HCL Talent Care, Chennai
Mobile: 91-9789917154
Email: rajpillai70@gmail.com
2. Mrs. Vyshnavi Mulkuvan Chandraiah
Senior Project Manager
Infosys, Mysore, Karnataka, India
Mobile: 91-9742281763
Email: Vyshnavi_MC@infosys.com
10. References:
1. Mr. Rajagopalan P
Head IT Programs, HCL Talent Care, Chennai
Mobile: 91-9789917154
Email: rajpillai70@gmail.com
2. Mrs. Vyshnavi Mulkuvan Chandraiah
Senior Project Manager
Infosys, Mysore, Karnataka, India
Mobile: 91-9742281763
Email: Vyshnavi_MC@infosys.com