Debra D Partridge
Summary
Results-driven professional with extensive experience in cutover management ensuring timely and efficient cutover and transition planning while upholding high standards of quality. Strong focus on team collaboration and adaptability to effectively meet the needs of various programs and projects. Expertise in cutover planning, risk management, and stakeholder communication, equipped to drive successful outcomes.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
Cutover Manager / Service Transition
Centrica Plc.
04.2023 - Current
- Achieve programme goals by developing and executing comprehensive Cutover plans/runbook and associated documentation for implementation of software and infrastructure upgrades, changes, data migration and application cutover for complex projects.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure successful Cutover incorporating valuable feedback from stakeholders.
- Incorporate multiple phases of Cutover event/s: pre-Cutover, Cutover, post-Cutover and reversion (including rollback sequence) including all technical, business Cutover and data migration activities.
- Coordinate with project, technical, business teams both internal and external stakeholders to enhance Cutover approaches to achieve delivery success.
- Conduct risk and impact assessment by hosting and chairing meetings with system and business owners.
- Enhance communication between all stakeholders for smooth transition minimising downtime and disruptions.
- Accomplish multiple tasks within established timeframes.
- Prepare seamless handoff / transition readiness to support teams, improving end-user satisfaction post Cutover.
- Coordinate testing efforts across various departments to validate Cutover readiness, ensuring integrity of plan and steps before deployment.
- Proactively managed stakeholder expectations throughout the process by providing timely updates on progress and addressing concerns promptly.
- Identified risks and dependencies early in the process, enabling proactive mitigation strategies to protect project timelines.
- Proactively interact with internal Change Management teams/boards to ensure that forward schedule of change has been risk assessed, championing Change Management policies with projects to ensure that cross impacts are identified and risks are mitigated.
- Formulate Cutover plans detailing technical tasks, their sequence, dependencies, duration and owners
- Conduct planning meetings with individual teams throughout the process.
- Chair IS and Business Go/No Go meetings in advance of and during the events.
- Chair post-implementation reviews to ensure all lessons learned are incorporated into future Cutover strategies.
- Oversee the implementation as it happens, handling communications throughout, troubleshooting, problem resolution and escalating.
- Lead and facilitate post-Cutover debriefs with team members to identify areas of improvement, driving continuous process refinement over time.
- Communicate project updates to stakeholders at all levels.
- Devise test plans to validate accuracy of IT projects.
- Coordinate with external vendors to deliver IT project components as required.
- Monitor and track Cutover and transition progress to support timely completion.
- Partner with all stakeholders to identify and quickly address and resolve problems.
- Build strong relationships with stakeholders, optimizing collaboration during critical stages of the Cutover process.
- Develop detailed Cutover plans to guide teams through each stage of the deployment process for optimal results.
- Leverage project management processes as applicable to the Cutover approach.
- Meet with project stakeholders on regular basis to assess progress and make adjustments.
- Collaborate with business leadership to set priorities based on business needs, resource capacity and risk exposure.
- Work with subject matter experts to establish activities to develop Cutover plans.
- Established team priorities, maintained schedules and monitored performance.
- Outline scope, objectives, deliverables, and deadlines for successful transitions ensuring a seamless handover and minimal disruption to their business operations.
Business Transition Manager
Topia Software Ltd.
11.2019 - 04.2023
- Managed multiple simultaneous transitions, ensuring timely completion and minimal disruption to business operations.
- Maintained detailed documentation of all transition-related activities for future reference and knowledge transfer purposes.
- Identified potential risks and developed mitigation strategies to ensure smooth transitions with minimal impact on business continuity.
- Streamlined transition processes by implementing effective project management methodologies and communication strategies.
- Led change management efforts by providing training, support, and guidance to affected employees throughout the transition process.
- Championed continuous improvement efforts by incorporating feedback from team members and stakeholders into future transition planning and execution strategies.
- Monitored progress of ongoing transitions, identifying potential bottlenecks and implementing solutions to maintain project timelines.
- Managed various IT projects to meet deadlines and customer requirements.
- Communicated project updates to stakeholders at all levels.
- Created and implemented contingency plans to address potential risks.
- Monitored and tracked project progress to support timely completion.
- Oversaw change management efforts to support implementation of critical initiatives driving technology, process and culture changes.
- Led teams of analysts to evaluate, plan and execute projects.
- Partnered with business teams to understand needs and mitigate potential problems.
- Provided regular status updates to senior leadership, highlighting progress, challenges, and key accomplishments during the transition period.
- Applied problem-solving abilities to address unforeseen challenges that arose during the course of transition projects effectively.
- Cultivated relationships with key stakeholders across various departments to facilitate collaboration on strategic initiatives during transitional periods.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to define objectives, scope, and deliverables for each transition project.
- Established performance metrics to track progress and measure success of transition initiatives.
Cutover Manager
Centrica Plc.
08.2018 - 11.2019
- Cutover planning management of applications and data migration production rehearsals.
- Owned planning and delivery of releases in alignment with project, technical, business and third party stakeholders.
- Defined and delivered the deployment Cutover plan (including rollback sequence) including all technical, business Cutover and data migration activities
- Owned communications on project status (including risks and issues) to multiple senior IS and business stakeholders
- Initiated and conducted planning meetings with individual teams in the early stages of the process and later, full ‘walkthrough meetings' involving all resources assigned to the project.
- Created support rotas for the migration events, communication packs and organising any logistical requirements e.g. security, facilities, catering, escalation & reversion strategy.
- Proactively interacted with internal teams to ensure that forward schedule of change has been risk assessed, championing change management policies with projects to ensure that cross impacts are identified and risks are mitigated.
- Attended programme board and project governance meetings for multiple work streams ensuring operational criteria for service transition and information security are met.
- Chaired release business Go/No Go meetings in advance of and during the events.
- Chaired the post-implementation review to ensure all lessons learned are incorporated into future release strategies.
ProjectBusiness Manager
NetDimensions
11.2014 - 06.2018
- Accomplished multiple tasks within established timeframes.
- Managed the transition of software implementation to BAU service management team.
- Consulted on implementation approaches and timelines with clients defining implementation steps and stages.
- Prepared statement of work for project implementation and produce plan in close collaboration with client technical and business stakeholders.
- Conducted regular strategic review meetings with business/project sponsors, owners, and other business stakeholders during software deployment and launch.
- Supported and managed the delivery team during implementation to streamline delivery and implementation of solutions to align to clients' timelines and expectations.
- Communicated and explained continuous service improvement initiatives, software roadmap and release schedule to clients post deployment.
- Drove and managed bespoke customisation and software enhancement requirements to services and technical services team.
- Escalated and managed incident resolution to delivery teams and managed client business stakeholder expectations during the process.
Project/Engagement/Business Manager
Atlanta Technology
05.2004 - 06.2014
- A strategic technically led IT consultancy company that specialised in designing, implementing and maintaining complex enterprise infrastructure solutions including server & storage virtualisation solutions, discrete cloud solution services, LAN and WAN designs, professional project management services and support managed services.
- Over approximately 10 years I held a number of roles as described above. In 2014 the company was acquired, as a member of the Senior Leadership team I collaborated with the new owners to ensure the successful transition of our customers and employees.
Education
Project Management -
London City University
PRINCE2 -
Practitioner Certification
ITIL -
Service Management
Training -
Professional Relationship Management
Training -
Professional Relationship Management And Business
Professional mentoring and leadership training -
Product and services training - various enterprise partners
Skills
- Cutover Execution Planning
- IT Service transition
- Stakeholder Relationship Management
- Effective Project Management
- Effective Time Management
- Collaborative Team Management
- Collaborative Teamwork
- Strategic planning
- Effective Relationship Management
- Effective Project Coordination
- IT Service Transition Planning
Accomplishments
- Achieved highly successful incident free Cutovers for the Utilities and Energy sector across multiple business Services for critical infrastructure (Tier 1 and 2) with 24/7 internal Service SLA's including but not limited to the following:
- Energy Trading Platforms
- Field Operations backend and frontend infrastructure
- Finance and BI reporting
- Consumer Services - CRM, sales, service and billing
- Regulatory regulatory and compliance requirements for smart meters for consumer billing transactions and reporting.
Timeline
Cutover Manager / Service Transition
Centrica Plc.
04.2023 - Current
Business Transition Manager
Topia Software Ltd.
11.2019 - 04.2023
Cutover Manager
Centrica Plc.
08.2018 - 11.2019
ProjectBusiness Manager
NetDimensions
11.2014 - 06.2018
Project/Engagement/Business Manager
Atlanta Technology
05.2004 - 06.2014
Professional mentoring and leadership training -
Product and services training - various enterprise partners
Project Management -
London City University
PRINCE2 -
Practitioner Certification
ITIL -
Service Management
Training -
Professional Relationship Management
Training -
Professional Relationship Management And Business
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