Cigna Internship
This summer I interned at Cigna in their Technology Early Career Development Program (TECDP). Within TECDP I worked in Group IT, which is a branch of the IT department, as a Project Coordinator in the Claims and Leave Management Program. Within Claims and Leave Management, I was on the team that handles the financial integration and payments. My role was to coordinate all aspects of the project life cycle and to work with matric IT partners to document status of deliverables, milestones, risk and issue resolutions. I helped develop the integrated project plan, resource plan, communication plan, and related project management artifacts. One way I assisted with these roles was to listen to my team’s daily Scrum meetings and record Meeting Minutes. I would then distribute my notes to not only my team members, but also to other project managers to keep them up to date with where our team was within the project life cycle. I also met with different team leaders and project managers throughout the summer to get their feedback and input on changes implemented in the project.
One of the most valuable things I learned this summer was Agile and how to manage a project using the Agile methodology. Cigna uses Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) methodology for most of their new IT projects. Understanding how an Agile project is delivered in large corporations and how to work with team members to keep a project on track in an Agile framework is a valuable skill set that will help me in many IT and business roles. I also became comfortable using different technology tools and trackers to record the progress of the project, such as Rally. In terms of general life skills, the most valuable non-technical lesson I learned this summer was how crucial it is to be a clear and thorough communicator. Each individual on our team has a unique personality and a unique set of skills. In order for the team to function properly there needs to be full transparency and communication from the project manager, scrum master, developers, testers, and the business people. Communication is also important in other aspects of life at the office. One of my tasks was to help plan and host networking events and activities for our department. To do this I had to organize and be proactive in finding a place and time that worked best for the majority of my coworkers.
The TECDP intern program included a series of speakers, trainings, and networking events. Throughout the summer I attended presentations given by the CEO, CIO, head of marketing, and head of security. I also attended many technical trainings in which we learned how to use different technical tools and programs. There were several networking events where I was able to meet other interns and full-time employees at Cigna in a more relaxed environment. A big part of the TECDP internship is the intern group project. All of the TECDP interns were split into teams of 10 to 12 people and within each team there was a development group and a non-technical group; I was on the non-technical group. Each team had to create a web-based solution to solve a business problem and present it to the project stakeholders and CIO at the end of the internship. My team’s task was to create a solution that would eliminate surprise pharmacy costs. The web-based app we developed is called Mindful. This app helps provide customers with the tools to retrieve accurate price estimates and find the lowest prices at their most convenient location. My roles on the team included: contributing to the promotional video, financial documentation, Project Charter, and final PowerPoint and presentation. I learned so much through this project and the entire internship. It was a fantastic experience that gave me a feel for what it is like to work in the IT department at a large company.