Christopher Sykes Email and Phone Number

Jan 2023 - present (Working with two new teams)- Leading two teams, one focused on DevOps, Infrastructure and testing automation, the other focused on developing an entirely new software product for the company- Prioritized backlog and roadmap for each team to achieve R&D executive and product goals- Defined and kicked off a requirements gathering process to align business and engineering on product goals - Coach teams on using scrum, kanban and other agile techniques to achieve higher performance- Build and maintain the roadmap for an android app- Build and maintain roadmap for a devops/infrastructure team- product initiative, feature epic and user story authoring- leadership of bug triage and production-level issue resolution for products ownedJul 2020 -Jan 2023- Product owner for a Software Product aimed at the Global home fitness market- Collaborate with cross-functional team to deliver high quality features- Guide product and features from ideation through production release- Work with UX regularly on feature designs and usability enhancements- leverage feedback to iteratively improve product- Prioritize backlog to favor highest value work each sprint- Utilize Analytics data to inform decisions on which features to expand and which to reduce investment in - Use empathy, use interviews and user personas to understand perspective of customers- Establish process for acceptable failure tolerance in automated 3rd party integration testing- Help QA define manual and automated regression tests for product- Maintain product roadmap to align with product vision and strategy- product initiative, feature epic and user story authoring- leadership of bug triage and production-level issue resolution for products owned- Write concise release notes to highlight important updates- Acceptance Test core functionality of minor and major releases- Collaborate with QA testers in test writing and regression test planning for major releases

- member of the Toptal network

- Product Owner for a web SaaS product - Prioritized backlog for cross-functional team to maximize value and ship features- collaborated with various business areas to deliver features to customers- Maintained product Roadmap to meet customer needs and drive strategic goals- Collaborate with UX to design features with user first design- Utilized iterative customer feedback to improve the product- Used SMART goals to provide guiding “north star” for team- Observed project deadlines and prioritize work to achieve goals by deadlines- Collaborated with stakeholders to understand their needs and create actionable stories - Gathered MVP requirements from stakeholders to inform epics and user stories- Collaborated with team to refine user stories and epics in order to take action on them- Provided formal acceptance of features and work from team as “done” - Utilized google analytics data to assess end user engagement of features - Worked within a modified SAFe framework at an organizational level- Feature epic and user story authoring- leadership of bug triage and production-level issue resolution for products owned

- Designed a program to ship 3rd party API integrations with domestic and international clients- Prioritized backlog to focus on highest value features and work- Built trust with stakeholders and team to drive collaboration on features- Leveraged agile processes to deliver features quickly and frequently- Collaborate with UX team and engineers on designs for features- Held Product Owner Role for a backend database product- Held Scrum Master role for web app and for brand marketing website teams- Responsible for helping write action reports for any production outages- prioritize and manage a backlog of work derived from multiple projects and stakeholder requests at one time- Guided the development team through breaking down large epics and features into user stories - Facilitated collaboration between and within teams- Lead facilitated discussions to solve disputes- Responsible for Removing blockers for developers- Implemented an agile PMO alongside other technical Project Managers- Test and troubleshoot software applications and services as needed- Facilitate backlog refinement sessions with the team to help clarify upcoming work- Manage and track delivery of a team's sprint commitment while fulfilling the Scrum Master Role- Manage the incoming work to a team when fulfilling the Product Owner Role- Strategic planning and management of project work in an agile framework- JIRA administration and workflow management as needed- Responsible for reporting on team resource allocation- Responsible for evaluating and signing off on project briefs for our project approval process- Hot-fix coordination for fixes to production systems experiencing outage or a major defect - product initiative, feature epic and user story authoring- leadership of bug triage and production-level issue resolution for products owned

- Managed vendors, making sure they adhered to statement of work- Made sure outside vendors had non-disclosure agreements - Managed projects and lead project teams- Helped establish project management best practices within the department- Helped develop a new process to complete proof of concept projects• Communicated with and managed stakeholders• Developed and implemented mitigation strategies for risks• Utilized Microsoft Project to manage projects

- Worked for the Distance Learning Center (DLC) and managed projects. I also helped start projects for the DLC - Provided project documents, updates, and reports on projects to stakeholders- Built timelines and milestones to form a project schedule- I had a handful of projects I managed, and my day-to-day work was mostly self-directed with minimal input from my supervisorIt was a very rewarding experience, and I learned a great deal about managing projects and working with project teams. I also learned a great deal about reporting to stakeholders on project progress

I worked as a sales associate, selling business credit cards on behalf of American Express OPENI was required to know the details of three different card products and build rapport with my clients in order to determine the best card fit for themI had to know how to properly state our disclosures, legal agreement information, and also explain how the process of enrolling in a business card worked for my clients over the phone

Filled orders with consumable parts in a medical warehouseOn an average day there were about 200 orders that I would go through and fillOrder accuracy was important, in order to make sure the customer received what they orderedMaintained and kept boxes of materials tidy in warehouse per "Five S" guidelinesPulled from the shelves to fill an order, I would give to the packaging personnel to pack into boxes and ship.

Managed staff at eventsSet-up, service and clean-up of weddings and other large events (200+)Time management of event tasks

Summer LaborMowed right-of-ways and lots and watered treesMaintained Prairie, ponds and trailsFixed problems with minor machinery or tools

Filmed events for the UniversityUtilized sophisticated video equipmentHad to have knowledge of how to properly compose shots In order to assure quality footage of events

Continuously built a social community on my wingPerformed minor administrative duties in the hallEnforce policies of the building and campusBe a role model to residents