December 20, 2021 View The Recorded Presentation

Abstract:
Delivering complex systems requires consistent 80/20 critical thinking from concept to delivery. Nehal Patel will share how to deliver quality, robust products and services while strengthening teams and customer relationships. She will present
strategies of how to work with multi-disciplinary teams to continuously simply expectations to move projects from start to
finish while mitigating risks. The presentation will draw on her extensive knowledge in aerospace and defense contracting. Her book, Practical Project Management for Engineers shares real-world examples to recover schedule, track cost and performance, and explain the tools, techniques, and methodologies to ensure success. The book compares NASA, Department of Defense (DoD), and Project Management Institute (PMI) processes and summarizes the best practices that work in the real world to deliver quality products on time and on budget.

Bio:
Nehal Patel is Senior Global Program Manager with Amazon Robotics. She shares her 18 years of unique experience and talent leading engineering development teams while explaining ‘what you do on Monday?’ in simple, easy to implement terms. Nehal’s work experience spans a range of roles from being an individual contributor designing military radar systems for US Air Force and US Navy, leading an innovative engineering team to design new products, being a Program Manager overseeing military accounts of over $200M, negotiating underperformed breach of contracts to close reset deal of $1B and heading the risk management function as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton for a $3B US Air Force contract. She is an Author of ‘Practical Project Management for Engineers’ book along with certified project management professional (PMP) with a bachelor in electrical engineering and a master in systems engineering and leadership. Nehal’s volunteer professional association service includes Chief Strategy Officer for the National Association of Asian American Professionals, supporting and empowering Asian leaders to further career advancements and climb the corporate ladder, and Assistant Director of Events for the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Technical Operations (Tech Ops) organization.