Rick Watts | Enterprise Architecture & IT Expert

Rick Watts JD, PMP, PSEM

Enterprise Architecture & IT Expert

Rick Watts is a seasoned professional with over 30 years of experience, holding certifications as an Enterprise Architect, Project Management Professional, and Software Engineering Master. Rick’s technology background, ranging from small strategic consulting assignments to massive enterprise implementations, allows him to give clients incisive advice for litigation.

Clients use Rick’s knowledge of software project planning and his history of achieving organizational goals to quickly understand their cases. By analyzing the specifics of a software implementation failure, Rick effectively explains the strengths and vulnerabilities of a client’s technical arguments.

In addition to his core competencies, Rick brings expertise in litigation consulting and expert witness testimony. He has been involved in multiple litigation cases, providing valuable insights into areas such as enterprise architecture, software implementations, technical architecture design, project management, and system integrator delivery.

Summary of Qualifications

  • An industry veteran with over 30 years of hands-on expertise and leadership.
  • Certified in Enterprise and Cloud Architecture, Project Management, Software Engineering, Healthcare CIO, Data Privacy solutions, and more.
  • Expertise in management and technology consulting, leading projects of all sizes.
  • Proven track record in strategic planning, team building, and transformative efforts.
  • Unique ability to integrate innovation and technology for successful business outcomes.
  • Litigation consulting and expert witness testimony expertise in multiple cases.
  • Leadership roles in Healthcare, Technology and Gaming, and Higher Education.
  • Received a Juris Doctor of Law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law.
  • Holds a B.A. in Public Administration with a minor in Management Information Systems from Louisiana State University.
  • Affiliated with CHIME, PMI, EACOE, ISACA, IEEE, and other esteemed organizations.

Areas of Expertise

  • IT Services
    • Business Process Outsourcing
    • IT Managed Services (Applications and Infrastructure Outsourcing)
    • Commercial Off the Shelf packaged software implementation
    • System Integrator and System Implementation Partner
    • Commercial Request for Proposal and Vendor Selection
    • Architecture Assessment
    • IT Asset Valuations
    • Merger & Acquisition Due Diligence
  • Governance
    • Project, Program Management: Agile Scrum, Scrum of Scrum, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
    • Project Management: Jira, Monday, MSFT Project, Planview
    • Data Quality & Management: DAMA DMBOK2
    • Architecture Frameworks: Zachman, TOGAF
    • Security & Controls: NIST 500, NIST 800, COBIT, ISO 27001
    • Business Continuity: ISO22301, BSI 25999
  • Data Management
    • Applications: Cellular provisioning and billing, Litigation Management, IT System Management
    • Data Warehouse Design & Deployment: Oracle OBIEE, Oracle Cloud, Google Big Query, Apache Hadoop, Snowflake
  • Enterprise Business Systems
    • Enterprise Resource Management (ERM/ERP)
    • Financials & Supply Chain (FSCM): PeopleSoft, Oracle EBS/Fusion, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Lawson, Workday
    • Human Capital Management (HCM): PeopleSoft,  Workday, Lawson, Microsoft Dynamics
    • Customer/Supplier Relationship Management (CRM/SRM): Salesforce, Pega, Microsoft Dynamics
    • Service Management: Salesforce, ServiceNow
    • Product Lifecycle Management (PLM): Siemens
    • Governance, Risk & Compliance: RSA Archer, OneTrust
    • City Management: SAP
    • Real Time Location Services (RTLS): CENTRAK
    • Digital Asset Management and Digital Content Management Solutions
    • Electronic Medical Record (EMR): Cerner
    • Digital Health Products: smart beds, nurse call, patient engagement
  • Software Development
    • Applications: Cellular provisioning and billing, Litigation Claims Management, IT System Management
    • Languages: C, C#, Java, Python, R
    • Custom digital asset and content management solutions
  • Technology Platforms
    • Cloud Infrastructure: Google, AWS, Azure, Oracle
    • Databases: Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, Postgres, Big Query, Snowflake, Exadata
    • Virtualization: VMware, Cisco
    • Interoperability: Boomi, MuleSoft
    • Storage: Tintri, EMC, Dell
    • Networking: Cisco, Dell, Palo Alto

Litigation Consulting

  • Dr. Edwin A. Hernandez and ELGA Corp. v. Stingray Group Inc., Mood Media, et al. |
    Jurisdiction: US District Court, Southern District of Florida
    Case Number: 1:24-cv-21226
    Counsel: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC
    Nature of Suit: Trade Secrets
    Technology: Digital music streaming and content distribution.
  • I.A.T.S.E. National Health & Welfare Fund v.
    Avenu Insights & Analytics LLC, and CPAS Systems Inc.     |
    Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of NY, New York County
    Case Number: 650787/2024
    Counsel: DLA Piper LLP
    Nature of Suit: Breach-of-Contract
  • Valtrus Innovations and Key Patent Innovations v. SAP America, Inc. and SAP, SE. |
    Jurisdiction: US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
    Case Number: 2:24-cv-00021
    Counsel: Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP
    Nature of Suit: Patent
  • King & Spalding LLP, Confidential Consulting |
    Nature of Consultation: Class Action Litigation
    Technology: Consumer Reporting, Software Management
  • Pioneer Hotel Group, Inc, and Pinal Doshi v. Choice Hotels International, Inc |
    Jurisdiction: Fourth Judicial District of ID, Ada County
    Case Number: CV01-23-04099
    Counsel: Mooney Wieland Warren PLLC
    Nature of Suit: Breach-of-Contract
    Technology: Authenticating Digital Signatures, GeoLocation
  • Confidential Customer v. Confidential Vendor |
    Jurisdiction: American Arbitration Association
    Counsel: Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
    Nature of Matter: Software Change Failure
    Technology: Point of Sale System
  • Ivan Laguna and Margarita Lopez v. Lazer Safe, Pty, Ltd., Fiessler Electronik Gmbh & CO., Ermak USA, Inc |
    Jurisdiction: US District Court for the District of Massachusetts
    Case Number: 3:23-cv-30016
    Counsel: Sullivan & Sullivan, LLP
    Nature of Suit: Personal Injury, Product Liability
    Technology: IP GeoLocation
  • iPro, Inc v Flagler Hospital, Inc |
    Jurisdiction: Seventh Judicial Circuit of FL, St. Johns County
    Case Number: CA22-1559
    Counsel: The Minor Firm
    Nature of Suit: Breach-of-Contract
    Technology: Medical Order Entry System
  • Covid Testing Today, NRJY Inc v.
    Flow Health Laboratories, LLC, and Signal Diagnostics, LLC     |
    Jurisdiction: JAMS Arbitration
    Case Number: 5210000247
    Counsel: Hochfelsen & Kani
    Nature of Suit: Arbitration, Breach-of-Contract
    Technology: Medical Information Integration
  • FTC in re H&R Block |
    Jurisdiction: Federal Trade Commission
    Case Number: Docket 9427
    Nature of Matter: Consumer Protection Online Application
    Technology: Complex Web Services, Software Design
    Press Release: FTC Finalizes Order Requiring H&R Block to Pay $7M
  • Confidential Customer v. Confidential Vendor |
    Jurisdiction: Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS)
    Counsel: Stinson LLP
    Nature of Suite: Software Dispute, Breach of Contract
    Technology: ERP Software
  • Richard Chance v. Totem Technologies, Inc |
    Jurisdiction: State of OK, District Court of Tulsa County
    Case Number: CJ-2023-02533
    Counsel: Actuate Law, LLC
    Nature of Suit: Trade Secret
    Technology: Digital Cloud Code Repositories
  • Vimo Inc d/b/a GetInsured v. Deloitte Consulting LLP |
    Jurisdiction: Superior Court of CA, County of Santa Clara
    Case Number: G-24-7-NA, 22-cv-405262
    Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis LLP
    Nature of Suit: Trade Secret, Breach of Contract
  • Iconic Hearts Holdings, Inc v. Raj Vir; NGL Labs LLC; Joao Figueiredo; Hunter Isaacson; et al.
    Jurisdiction: Superior Court CA, County Of Los Angeles
    Case Number: 22STCV21509
    Counsel: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, LLP
    Nature of Suit: Trade Secret, Breach-of-Contract
    Technology: Online Games
  • Hidden Empire Holdings, LLC v. Darrick Angelone |
    Jurisdiction: US District Court, Central District of California
    Case Number: 2:22-cv-06515
    Counsel: Kramer DeBoer & Keane
    Nature of Suit: Breach of Contract
    Technology: Cloud Applications
  • Oriental Trading Company LLC v. Denovo Ventures LLC |
    Jurisdiction: District Court of Douglas County, Nebraska
    Case Number: CI 2206047
    Counsel: Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
    Nature of Suit: Copyright, Breach of Contract
    Technology: ERP Software
  • City of Goodyear v. Berry Dunn |
    In an arbitration regarding alleged failure of a for-hire project management firm to properly manage requirements, system integrator (SI) vendor selection and project delivery of a city-wide SAP ERP project. Conducted analysis of requirements documentation, SI vendor RFP and selection as well as project management artifacts to establish opinions that the defendant had failed to follow industry standards for requirements gathering, lacked expertise to select a vendor and manage an SAP project, did not use industry standards for project management. Case settled.
  • Kemper Corporate Services, Inc v. Computer Sciences Corporation |
    In an arbitration regarding the failed implementation of a property and casualty insurance system that was allegedly never made “generally available,” conducted a code quality analysis of source code translated from COBOL to Java using industry standard code analysis software and rules databases. Compared performance testing data from single user testing, volume testing, stress testing, and batch testing to legacy system benchmarks and established test plans. Examined release documentation for evidence of independent quality control testing. Case settled.
  • Orange County, CA v. Tata Consulting Services |
    In this breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation case in connection with the implementation of a new property tax management system. Examined process documents, architectural documents, testing documents, source code, defect reports, and IBM Rational and Microsoft Team Foundation Server systems. Reached opinions that Tata failed to develop PTMS using an “n-tier” architecture in accordance with its RFP response and design documents, deviated from its established software development processes, and misrepresented the extent to which unit and system testing had been completed during the project. Drafted expert and rebuttal reports. Assisted with identification of exhibits for trial. Consulting expert. Case settled.
  • City of Goodyear v. Quintel Management Consulting |
    In a breach of contract case involving the implementation of an SAP ERP system for city-wide services management. Conducted analysis of RFP responses, project artifacts and software final delivery to determine if defendant’s representations regarding software being fit for purpose and would meet requirements with out of the box functionality were accurate and whether software as delivered was standard or customized leaving major cost and supportability issues. Reviewed project artifacts and testing results to determine if software has delivered satisfied contractual requirements. Case settled.
  • 3M v. State of Connecticut |
    In an arbitration in which plaintiff was seeking payment for delivery of a state-wide integrated vehicle management system, the defendant contended that the software requirements had not been met. Conducted analysis of Microsoft’s independent audit and application assessment in order to refute the results generated by the Microsoft Code Analysis Tool .NET (CAT.NET) which indicated certain security and code complexity requirements had not been met. Verbal report. Case settled.
  • CGI v. eHealth Ontario |
    In this breach of contract case alleging wrongful termination for default of a contract to deliver a Chronic Disease Management System Diabetes Registry (CDMS-DR). Conducted analysis of documents and defect resolution tracking data to validate plaintiff’s claims of delivery completion and establish that defendant impeded plaintiff’s ability to deliver the project on schedule. Rebutted defendant’s experts’ claims that plaintiff failed to meet the contractual specifications and violated project management and software engineering standards causing delay and justifying defendant’s termination of the contract. Parties agreed to a special arbitration wherein the plaintiff was awarded nearly $27 million CAD.
  • ACADEMY SPORTS + OUTDOORS v. Wipro Limited and Wipro Inc |
    In a breach of contract case involving the implementation of an Oracle Retail Merchandising System for a sporting goods retailer. Examined project management materials and process, architecture and technical requirements as well as vendor roles in project delivery and key contractual deliverables. Reached opinions that the vendor failed to properly manage the project, deliver key personnel and comply with contractual requirements for project delivery. Case settled.
  • 3M v. Commonwealth of Kentucky |
    In an arbitration in which plaintiff was seeking payment for delivery of a state-wide integrated vehicle management system, the defendant contended that the software requirements had not been met. Conducted analysis of Microsoft’s independent audit and application assessment in order to refute the results generated by the Microsoft Code Analysis Tool .NET (CAT.NET) which indicated certain security and code complexity requirements had not been met. Case settled.
  • CedarCrestone, Inc v. Xerox Business Services |
    A software failure matter brought by a consulting and systems integration vendor against a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider. Rebutted plaintiff’s expert’s opinions that project management failures and schedule delay allegedly caused by defendant impeded plaintiff’s ability to attain critical project milestones. Proffered additional opinions that plaintiff’s violations of project management and software engineering industry standards resulted in software defects that should have surfaced in plaintiff’s developer testing, and which ultimately caused the failure of the overall BPO program. The plaintiff was subcontracted to provide a PeopleSoft upgrade forming the foundational system for the BPO. Established that the plaintiff’s failure to successfully deliver the upgrade by the scheduled go-live date precluded the defendant’s ability to go-live with the BPO, resulting in multi-million dollar penalties and other consequential damages to the defendant. Case settled.
  • Brookings v. CedarCrestone, Inc |
    In an IT project implementation failure case alleging the system integrator failed in deploying a PeopleSoft ERM grants system. Provided root cause analysis for project failure, focusing on the ISV role of the vendor in managing a project to delivery as well as actions by the plaintiff that contributed to the project failure. Opinions were core to the settlement of the suit. Case settled.

Technical Due Diligence & Audits

  • Lenskart Solutions |
    Nature of Consultation: Startup M&A
    Technology: Extended Reality (XR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR).
  • ECRS Software Corporation Technical Audit & Assessment |
    Counsel: Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
    Nature of Consultation: Software Analysis
    Technology: E-Commerce, Synchronization, Software Reliability.
Download Rick’s CV

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