Andy Gural Email & Phone Number

TS Imagine is a fintech firm creating investment and risk management software for financial institutions around the world, from smaller hedge funds to major banks.• Updated and created margin, risk management, securities trading documentation, release notes and other software documentation.• Spearheaded the initiative of using personas. This helped clarify who we were making features for and why, eliminating miscommunication and rework.• Developed dozens of golden path processes in… Show more TS Imagine is a fintech firm creating investment and risk management software for financial institutions around the world, from smaller hedge funds to major banks.• Updated and created margin, risk management, securities trading documentation, release notes and other software documentation.• Spearheaded the initiative of using personas. This helped clarify who we were making features for and why, eliminating miscommunication and rework.• Developed dozens of golden path processes in securities trading software for support and training consistency.• Scoped AI products.• Wrote, storyboarded and produced training videos so that traders could get bite-sized training.• Recorded voice-over narrations, including broadcast-quality audio engineering.• Led the creation of new media assets including collateral, graphics and posters in-house, at a lower cost than using external vendors.• Wrote documentation for new products and features. This improved feature and version uptake by customers.• Led the creation of new media assets including video, collateral, graphics and posters in house, at a lower cost than using external vendors.• Visualized securities purchases processes so that users, managers and technical audiences could understand order statuses through trading processes.• Implemented operational views for products to better communicate quickly who and how systems operate.• Mentored juniors on technical writing best practices and tools including MadCap Flare, InDesign, Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Audacity/Audition and other products. Show less

Strategy Report writing – A client needs assistance in business transformation. As part of this a strategic review of their management team and product portfolio is being undertaken. The object of this report to the board is to provide a sound portfolio of strategies and goals around which to restructure the firm's primary software product, and therefore the management team.Ghostwriting - Policy reports for clients.

Product - Leading the creation of a 170-page business spec for an on-line retailer so that product development can take place efficiently, and that management can be confident that the delivered software will transform the company. As part of that effort, I am documenting current practices in the operations and customer service departments; also, I am ensuring that the newly formed IT department scales quickly to match the firm's growth.New product - Writing a 40,000-word wiki for a US… Show more Product - Leading the creation of a 170-page business spec for an on-line retailer so that product development can take place efficiently, and that management can be confident that the delivered software will transform the company. As part of that effort, I am documenting current practices in the operations and customer service departments; also, I am ensuring that the newly formed IT department scales quickly to match the firm's growth.New product - Writing a 40,000-word wiki for a US social media firm. Operations - Undertaking change management in operations at a fast growing logistics firm to ensure process and plant upgrades are smooth and timely. Show less

• Created software development roadmaps and business specs, workflows and standard operating procedures for manufacturing procedures. These included visual prototypes and extensive design specs. The impact has been a clear, cost effective development process, no re-work and customers delighted with valuable features. These were also designed with an eye to market differentiation. Examples of new business specs include: dashboards for executive insight, sales team management, inventory… Show more • Created software development roadmaps and business specs, workflows and standard operating procedures for manufacturing procedures. These included visual prototypes and extensive design specs. The impact has been a clear, cost effective development process, no re-work and customers delighted with valuable features. These were also designed with an eye to market differentiation. Examples of new business specs include: dashboards for executive insight, sales team management, inventory, logistics, finances and customer fulfillment and logistics.• Other deliverables included: white papers, a learning portal, release notes, new feature announcements, technical marketing, video scripts and press releases. The results have been improved sales and clear communication with clients and the marketplace.• Wrote procures technical documentation for a telephone customer support department that standardized processes and made training new agents faster.• Newsletter - Production of a newsletter of interest to technical news junkies.• Writing, designing and producing marketing pamphlets, folders, web sites, business cards on time and on budget. These proved effective in bringing in new clients quickly and effectively in concert with the implementation of customer relationship management software.• Documenting business processes so operational efficiencies were realized and training could be standardized. This made hiring, training and evaluating new employees faster.• Workshopped user personas for product teams so that roles and functions could be understood by distributed development teams. Improved communication resulted.• Delivered HR services including writing job ads, reviewing resumes, and the creation of HR policy manuals so employee expectations were clear.• Management coaching.• Planned and Implemented customer relationship management software for multiple clients. The impact has been improved sales and management insight into sales operations. Show less

Consulting• Reviewing resumes and screening candidates for a variety of resumes for clients including senior developers, call centre agents, shippers, et cetera resulting in several successful hires.• Quoting and ordering system software gap analysis for a NYC-based manufacturer so that cost of goods, task completion and critical tasks could be monitored.• Deployed and customized a CRM for a NJ-based realtor.• Developed innovative marketing strategy and materials for a NYC-based… Show more Consulting• Reviewing resumes and screening candidates for a variety of resumes for clients including senior developers, call centre agents, shippers, et cetera resulting in several successful hires.• Quoting and ordering system software gap analysis for a NYC-based manufacturer so that cost of goods, task completion and critical tasks could be monitored.• Deployed and customized a CRM for a NJ-based realtor.• Developed innovative marketing strategy and materials for a NYC-based financial service specializing in New York State Tax Court appeals.• Gap analysis of a NJ-based software firm’s ERP.• Business analytics and workflow design for an order fulfillment business. The result was improved priority setting for development teams.• Business process mapping and transformation for a medical clinic’s customer service and triaging operations. • Business and product analysis for a freight and logistics startup. Product Design included user interface and workflow analysis. This culminated in extensive report and dashboard design so that logistics managers, executives, dispatchers, drivers, bookkeepers/finance, shippers and consignees could visualize orders and process quickly and efficiently.• Created marketing materials for a financial litigator with expertise in construction. Led the creation of marketing materials for a firm specializing in selling rental condos, and that of a designer window treatment supplier. Materials were created on time and under budget, and had an immediate positive impact on sales.• Writing marketing content for a cultural business; and implementing a go to market web site.Training• Presented on the strategic management of technology products using personas, problem statements and portfolios at the Knowledge in an Interdisciplinary Society conference held by the London Centre for Interdisciplinary Knowledge at the University of London (Birkbeck). Show less

Consulting Mandate for a digital and static advertising system• User documentation for digital and static out of home (OOH) advertising enterprise resource planning system. Deliverables included a new 80,000-word knowledge base, user information portal and product communications.• Drafting white papers and technical marketing copy.• Wrote the in-house dictionary, bringing standardization to product nomenclature.• Developing two dozen user personas and more than 100 golden paths.… Show more Consulting Mandate for a digital and static advertising system• User documentation for digital and static out of home (OOH) advertising enterprise resource planning system. Deliverables included a new 80,000-word knowledge base, user information portal and product communications.• Drafting white papers and technical marketing copy.• Wrote the in-house dictionary, bringing standardization to product nomenclature.• Developing two dozen user personas and more than 100 golden paths. The impact was that multiple departments in offices around the world had a shared understanding of who the users were and how they interacted with each other. The value of the golden paths is that consistent best practices can be recommended by sales, support and account managers.• Prototyping user interfaces for new and updates to existing features, and working with product owners and developers to ensure that the goals for new features are met and unintended impacts minimized.• Strategic product design: identified coverage gaps in a poorly differentiated product by interviewing existing customers. Mapping customer business processes allowed for the setting of clear priorities by product and development managers.• Developed business specs to innovate new dashboards for insight into sales manager, sales territory and sales agent performance, and additional dashboards for executives, and operations teams that had the least impact on development. The result was trend insight at a glance without needing to wade through many separate reports. This also improved product differentiation considerably as no other competing product has similar analytics. Show less

Montreal, Canada Area

Asset Science is a leading designer and provider of a new generation of testing and diagnostic software tools, factory Desktop as a Service (DASS) tools, for wireless device remanufacturers worldwide.• Prototyped new role-based dashboards for executives, factory managers and team leaders, reports, and developed innovative industry metrics. The result was an expansive but practical product vision. It improved investor confidence and reassured existing customers that the company had a… Show more Asset Science is a leading designer and provider of a new generation of testing and diagnostic software tools, factory Desktop as a Service (DASS) tools, for wireless device remanufacturers worldwide.• Prototyped new role-based dashboards for executives, factory managers and team leaders, reports, and developed innovative industry metrics. The result was an expansive but practical product vision. It improved investor confidence and reassured existing customers that the company had a coherent vision of the market, customer needs and the product’s future.• Created daily sales operations reports that monitored pilot and current customer performance for at-a-glance executive insight.• Documented client current practices. The result was deep insight into their current baselines so that production line improvements could be recommended by experts on our team. • Wrote business specs for new products that maximized current IP and differentiated corporate offerings.• Updated product backlogs to ensure that new features were coherent and had clear business and revenue objectives. Daily product team management of activities tasks, goals, milestones and timelines.• Improved sales productivity by implementing a CRM and sales pipelines.• Created effective marketing materials, oversaw the development of a new web site; ensured teamwork to develop branding for the company and its product portfolio. The impact was that the sales team was overwhelmed with new leads in only three months.• Produced multimedia assets including technical and marketing photography and images and video in house along with the digital asset management and document processes needed to regularize use. The result has been that multimedia projects happened quickly, were on time and on budget.• Authored technical marketing documents, presentations and role-based user guides that ensured quick market uptake and customer autonomy. The results were improved satisfaction and shorter tech support queues. Show less

Product planning consultant for a business startup for US medical market. Responsibilities included: • Competitive intelligence to obtain transparency into competing and allied entities.• US Patent/Intellectual property pathway analysis.• Advisory board creation and primary source research.• Strategic planning for the business and early operational set up and the design of the pilot and the product roadmap.

Various

Documenting the retrofitting of armoured bank trucks used for transporting cash and valuables.• This included documenting the teardown and gutting of fleet vehicles at a Toronto facility and upgrading the interiors and the security systems so that customizations can take place at facilities around the world, by technicians speaking a variety of languages and with different reading levels.• The project involved extensive on site vehicular industrial photography. The result was a clearly… Show more Documenting the retrofitting of armoured bank trucks used for transporting cash and valuables.• This included documenting the teardown and gutting of fleet vehicles at a Toronto facility and upgrading the interiors and the security systems so that customizations can take place at facilities around the world, by technicians speaking a variety of languages and with different reading levels.• The project involved extensive on site vehicular industrial photography. The result was a clearly explained manufacturing process that can be understood quickly. 6,500 high quality photographs were taken in addition to the creation of blueprints.• Wiring harness illustrations were also used to explain the retrofit. As equipment often spanned multiple compartments and systems, easy to understand circuit drawings ensured that work could be undertaken with a clear understanding.. Documentation included power, audio, video, countermeasures, biometric, security and systems integration.• Researching and writing business case studies for an enterprise resource planning integrator based in India.• Developed implementation, admin and user guides for an enterprise security product offering single-sign on for role-based services, data and entitlements.• Needs analysis, documentation and training for users of OHIP's medical billing for the Assistive Devices/Home Oxygen Program in Ontario.• Optimizing on-line help to improve search engine results for a SAAS product.• Graphic design of advertising collateral for various clients including ERP software, an upcoming documentary film and other clients.• Ghostwriting a scientific literature survey about electronics waste recycling in Europe, Africa, South Asia and China.• Business plan and white paper author to secure VC investment for a SAAS product.• Photographer supplying journalistic images for the newsroom drama Les jeunes loups.• Documentary film production including sound recording, title design, marketing and continuity. Show less

Documentation consultant for a software start-up that began offering international logistics software as a service to carriers and manufacturers in the spring of 2013.• Scoped, designed and wrote user documentation for internal and external products.• Wrote, storyboarded and produced training videos that sped market adoption.• Developed and enforced documentation templates and standards, eliminating costly re-work.• Researched and made technology purchase… Show more Documentation consultant for a software start-up that began offering international logistics software as a service to carriers and manufacturers in the spring of 2013.• Scoped, designed and wrote user documentation for internal and external products.• Wrote, storyboarded and produced training videos that sped market adoption.• Developed and enforced documentation templates and standards, eliminating costly re-work.• Researched and made technology purchase recommendations.• Deployed and administered an intranet for technical publications and the help desk.• Participated in QA testing, feature change requests and new feature design.• Oversaw vendors and ensured that deliverables were on time and on budget.• Detailed how business requirements were to be implemented as new software features.• Wrote courseware, study guides and tests that provided effective new hire training and gave management performance benchmarks. The result was faster, more standardized training and fewer new employee terminations in only three months. Show less

Various

Created a wide range of exciting and interesting material for clients in diverse industries including:• Getty Images contributor.• Documentation consultant for a status report on the current and future state of the North West Territories Department of Health and Social Services e-health infrastructure. • Writing press releases for a medicine compliance firm that serves the United States and Canada • Marketing materials for micro-genetics software. • E-Learning modules for… Show more Created a wide range of exciting and interesting material for clients in diverse industries including:• Getty Images contributor.• Documentation consultant for a status report on the current and future state of the North West Territories Department of Health and Social Services e-health infrastructure. • Writing press releases for a medicine compliance firm that serves the United States and Canada • Marketing materials for micro-genetics software. • E-Learning modules for delivery over BlackBerry smartphones in Indonesia and the United States. • Marketing design for an e-learning reseller.• Multiple marketing web sites for a business services/accounting company. Show less

Ryma Technologies developed best practice product planning methodologies. I authored and co-authored their user education materials and customer support documentation.• Working closely with subject matter experts, designed educational document templates.• Made recommendations for improved business processes and technologies.• Developed an internal educational wiki that improved internal communications and reduced re-work and error.• Wrote audio-visual technical sales… Show more Ryma Technologies developed best practice product planning methodologies. I authored and co-authored their user education materials and customer support documentation.• Working closely with subject matter experts, designed educational document templates.• Made recommendations for improved business processes and technologies.• Developed an internal educational wiki that improved internal communications and reduced re-work and error.• Wrote audio-visual technical sales presentation materials. Show less

MEI develops and deploys financial software for manufacturers and brokers in the consumer package goods industry for the UK, the United States and Canada.• Wrote educational materials for developing, current and legacy products. • Updated technical documents that shortened our sales cycle, improved user comprehension. The improvement in fault tolerance also reduced technical support costs.• Developed a documentation roadmap that resulted in the creation of a Community Space that… Show more MEI develops and deploys financial software for manufacturers and brokers in the consumer package goods industry for the UK, the United States and Canada.• Wrote educational materials for developing, current and legacy products. • Updated technical documents that shortened our sales cycle, improved user comprehension. The improvement in fault tolerance also reduced technical support costs.• Developed a documentation roadmap that resulted in the creation of a Community Space that eliminated multiple content silos for technical, sales and product information. • Created technical and general marketing sales materials, including sales documentation, sales slide shows and production of HD videos.• Graphic design and illustration.• Vendor supervision. Show less

Mecanica Solutions provides engineering services and product life cycle management software to automotive and aviation manufacturers.• Working closely with subject matter experts, wrote user training manuals and installation guides for product life cycle management products including document management, project/program management, aviation harness circuit intelligence, as well as volume, mass and centre of gravity CATIA analysis software.• Design duties included photography… Show more Mecanica Solutions provides engineering services and product life cycle management software to automotive and aviation manufacturers.• Working closely with subject matter experts, wrote user training manuals and installation guides for product life cycle management products including document management, project/program management, aviation harness circuit intelligence, as well as volume, mass and centre of gravity CATIA analysis software.• Design duties included photography, illustration and lay-out.• Developed brand strategy and creative direction for marketing materials including sales collateral and corporate web sites (information architecture, iconography, design and content), wrote press releases, edited corporate blogs and penned C-level briefing documents.• Co-authored and edited research and development reports to document our software innovations.• Made purchase recommendations for research materials and state-of-the-art software that improved business processes. Show less

Beginfinite is a developer of anti-spam and anti-virus software for Novell, and increasingly, for RIM and other messaging products.• Interviewed content experts for case studies, white papers and technical training materials that improved sales and raised our firm’s profile in the Novell electronic security community.• Documented six network security products, creating dynamic, effective manuals, courseware, installation guides and Wikis that cut technical support costs, boosted… Show more Beginfinite is a developer of anti-spam and anti-virus software for Novell, and increasingly, for RIM and other messaging products.• Interviewed content experts for case studies, white papers and technical training materials that improved sales and raised our firm’s profile in the Novell electronic security community.• Documented six network security products, creating dynamic, effective manuals, courseware, installation guides and Wikis that cut technical support costs, boosted customer satisfaction and increased profitability.• Developed and implemented marketing strategy and collateral for the NetCleanse division.• Photography and illustration.• Wrote and co-wrote extensive training materials for internal and external audiences• Supervised vendors and technical artists. Show less

Various

Provided product development and business services to a variety of customers.• Created brand strategy and marketing materials for an industrial electronics recycling service.• Wrote web-based case studies for a firm specializing in internet-based video surveillance.• Copy editor for a series of fitness text books.• Business plan research for a clinical equipment manufacturing start-up.• Press releases for a wedding industry portal.• Wrote engaging promotional copy for… Show more Provided product development and business services to a variety of customers.• Created brand strategy and marketing materials for an industrial electronics recycling service.• Wrote web-based case studies for a firm specializing in internet-based video surveillance.• Copy editor for a series of fitness text books.• Business plan research for a clinical equipment manufacturing start-up.• Press releases for a wedding industry portal.• Wrote engaging promotional copy for high technology clients. Show less

Developer of multimedia courseware, physician and pharmaceutical educational materials, and medical software in Europe and North America.• Wrote user documentation and on-line help for web-based pharmacy software that increased customer profits and productivity.• Scripted, edited and storyboarded innovative and engaging computer-based training courses, cutting both training time and costs.• Created new, better organized on-line medical instructional templates as well as designed and… Show more Developer of multimedia courseware, physician and pharmaceutical educational materials, and medical software in Europe and North America.• Wrote user documentation and on-line help for web-based pharmacy software that increased customer profits and productivity.• Scripted, edited and storyboarded innovative and engaging computer-based training courses, cutting both training time and costs.• Created new, better organized on-line medical instructional templates as well as designed and wrote pharmaceutical sales rep training multimedia courseware. Developed material for on-line instructional games for physicians. This encouraged medical students to learn science in a fun and innovative manner.• Managed a productive and diverse writing team.• Researched, wrote and presented training seminars.• Managed and kept up-to-date corporate web sites, wrote promotional copy and developed marketing collateral.• Researched and contributed analyses to company business plans and performed extensive competitive intelligence, increasing the effectiveness of management decision-making. Created and published daily web reports detailing and explaining changes in medical science, technology, industry, politics, and the Internet. This improved productivity, decision-making, and sped-up adoption of IC Axon products by physicians and corporations.• Analyzed web server logs for pharmaceutical product web site traffic. Show less

Journalist at regional weeklies in Ontario and Quebec:• News writing• Indoor and all weather out-door photography including cold weather film photography• Darkroom• Pagination• Pre-press production including colour separation

Ba, Double Major: Philosophy/Journalism, Minor: History Of Science

Dec, Arts

Hslc