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JA
John M. Aaron, PhD
Founder · Principal Architect
Milestone Planning and Research, Inc. Est. 1995
Adjunct Professor Elmhurst University · 2015–2021
Background

Thirty years implementing
and deploying probabilistic systems.

PhD economist, data scientist, and project management practitioner. Founder of Milestone Planning and Research since 1995. The research and the tools were built together — theory derived from operational deployment, not the other way around. 17+ years of PRIMMS production data produced the Bayesian calibrations. 893 trading days of IUVO™ data produced the Perceptual Macroeconomics framework.

30+
Years in practice
2,000+
PMs trained
6
Books published
4
AI systems built
17+
Years PRIMMS deployed

Scientist, practitioner, system builder.

Over 30 years of implementing and deploying probabilistic systems — first as a practitioner across complex ERP and business transformation programs, then as a researcher developing the theoretical frameworks that explain what makes those deployments succeed or fail. The result is a methodology and toolset for developing, validating, and deploying AI products with documented, auditable governance.

The research body spans econometrics, Bayesian inference, machine perception, hybrid cognition architecture, and the organizational conditions required for probabilistic systems to produce reliable, accountable outputs. The OCC framework (Organizational Cognitive Competence) translates this research into a practical quality standard for AI development and deployment — from requirements through phase-gate review to post-deployment monitoring.

Prior to founding Milestone Planning and Research, he served as Dean and Director of DeVry University's Masters Degree Program in Project Management and as Executive Director for Corporate Educational Services. He taught data science, supply chain management, and project management as Adjunct Professor at Elmhurst University from 2015 to 2021. He holds a commercial radiotelephone license, electronics certification, and served in the U.S. Naval Air Reserves — technical breadth that underpins both the PRIMMS signal architecture and the IDS-X cybersecurity diagnostics work.

PhD
Economics · University of Illinois Chicago · 1987
Econometrics, time series analysis, microeconomics
MS
Organizational Development · George Williams College
BS
Liberal Arts and Sciences · Northern Illinois University
Cert
Electronics Technology · Cleveland Institute of Electronics
PMP
Certified #1018 · PMI · 1993–2020
FCC
Commercial Radiotelephone License
USN
Electronics A School · U.S. Naval Air Reserves
Third class petty officer
Prof
Adjunct Professor · Elmhurst University · 2015–2021
Data science, supply chain management, project management
Platforms & tools
MATLAB · Stata · Python · SAP / S/4HANA · WORDSTAT · Tableau · SAS · Power BI · Bayesian WoE · LLM integration · Earned Value Management · PRIMMS-GPT · IUVO™

Four systems. One architecture.

The OCC framework, PRIMMS-GPT, and the IUVO™ forecasting system are all expressions of the same underlying architecture: deterministic signal computation anchored before any probabilistic interpretation layer is consulted. The governing equations close the questions that have formal answers; the LLM addresses what remains.

Project risk · Licensed desktop
PRIMMS®-GPT

MATLAB computes Bayesian WoE signals from schedule, Voice of Team, and documentary evidence — locked before Claude runs the five-layer Cortical Hierarchy. 17+ years operational. Six failure archetypes. Phase-gate quality review with OCC-5C adversarial challenger.

License inquiry →
Forecasting · Active · Free weekly
IUVO Narrative Forecast

S&P 500 forecasting driven by textual data. 185 headline topics co-integrated with price across 893 trading days. Stata locks all outputs before Claude interprets. 92.9% directional accuracy, Sharpe 23.0.

Current forecast →
AI quality methodology · Published
OCC Framework

Organizational Cognitive Competence under Inductive Uncertainty. Six trunk competencies, six branch failure modes, five OCC-5C quality dimensions. The governing standard for AI development, validation, and deployment used across all RATIO engagements.

Services overview →
Portfolio management · Web-enabled
PRIMMS® Portfolio System

Multi-user, web-enabled portfolio and project management system for ERP and business transformation programs. Bayesian monitoring roots. Deployed at Honeywell and across multiple enterprise programs.

myprimms.com →

The Inductive Enterprise — six volumes

The book series is the theoretical foundation from which the operational systems were derived, written concurrently with their deployment.

M1
The Inductive Enterprise
Enterprise AI deployment, AI governance, AI PMO, five policy instruments for organizational intelligence.
M2
Human Relevance in an Age of Induction
Hybrid Cognition, Hybrid Falsification, and institutional design under AI-augmented operations.
M3
Machine-Assisted Perception
PRIMMS, Bayesian WoE, cybernetics, project control. Theoretical foundation of PRIMMS-GPT.
M4
The Game You're Already Playing
Competitive strategy under AI convergence — bold-play theory and irreversible commitment.
B5
The Probability Advantage
Seven strategic domains for AI-enabled competitive advantage.
M6
Why Autonomous AI Cannot Make Man Irrelevant
Structural proof from Gödel, Turing, Hayek, Arrow, and Marks on the irreducible human boundary.
Selected papers and research →

Selected engagements

SAP implementations, S/4HANA upgrades, machine learning deployments, data science consulting, PMO leadership, and business transformation programs across manufacturing, distribution, defense aerospace, testing and certification, and financial services.

Client Period Engagement
Network Distribution 2023–2025 Data science consultant and PM to resolve invoice anomalies and install RPA automation. PM for S/4HANA upgrade.
Winland Foods, Inc. 2022 ML team lead — ~35% reduction in customer deductions processing labor. PM for S/4HANA infrastructure installation.
American Digital Corporation Recent Contract SAP PM for S/4HANA upgrade and lead data scientist.
Underwriters Laboratories 2016–2022 Contract data scientist on special projects. PM consulting, coaching, and training for IT and business transformation over six years.
MAGNETROL International 2012–2015 ERP vendor selection, global blueprinting, go-live at first site in 12 months. KPI design and analytics for value attainment.
Honeywell Technology Solutions 2009–2011 IT PM for defense aerospace contracts. Built EVM system. Managed IT portfolio with PRIMMS.
Honeywell Specialty Materials 2006–2011 IT application, infrastructure, and compliance projects. Business Planning and Consolidations PM. Salesforce CRM program manager.
Electro Motive Diesels 2004–2006 PMO consultant for SAP ERP supply chain implementation.
UOP 1997–2000, 2004 PMO lead for SAP ERP implementation. PM for Sarbanes-Oxley IT compliance.
CompTIA / U.S. Dept. of Labor 2001–2003 PM for National IT Apprenticeship System. Chairperson for CompTIA Project+ certification exam development.
SAP America · Tellabs 1995–2001 Contract PM for Litton Interconnect SAP implementation. PMO lead for SAP ERP at Tellabs — the founding Milestone engagement.
Discuss an engagement
AI quality audit, OCC methodology deployment, PRIMMS-GPT implementation, complex ERP programs, data science engagements, or executive education — 30 years of operational experience and published research.
Email John directly →