Mike Dear Email & Phone Number

United Kingdom

Kingswood, Surrey

In addition to the skills and responsibilities defined below in my role as a Senior Business Test Analyst in the Group Protection Business Unit, this role has also encompassed: • International assignment to a sister company in the US to support and enable the successful delivery of testing for both systems and process changes that provide the capability for that organisation to operate in the US Bulk Pensions market• Direct responsibility for the delivery of testing for a range of hardware upgrades across the organisation that included both end users machines and server upgrades • Strategic planning of test delivery, aligned to multiple portfolios of projects across the business units within the division• Assessment of the teams’ current level of maturity and capability, identifying gaps or weaknesses and implementing plans to address these• Implementation of a new delivery framework for the team, focusing on both the core deliverables that are produced as well as how the team tailor these to meet the needs of the project and the stakeholders involved• Enabling alternative approaches to delivery, particularly looking at how we can embed more Agile principles into our current Waterfall methodology• Line management and development of direct reports, and recruitment of new members to the team

Kingswood, Surrey

• Working with multiple third party suppliers, using both onshore and offshore models. Defining and agreeing test approach with these suppliers and establishing collaborative working practices between all parties • Managing and coordinating code deployments into multiple test environments, non-functional test activities and working with the development supplier (offshore) to share and validate test results• Within a traditional V-Model approach, defining the test strategy, test plans and scope, and managing the sign off of these with both business resources and key stakeholders • Principal point of contact and liaison for supplier Test Managers and Project Managers as well as internal and supplier Business Analysts; ensuring that queries against requirements or defects are resolved quickly and clearly so that a common understanding is gained • Working with the business at all levels to determine test coverage, test scenarios and test data, applying risk based techniques when required• Management of both business testers and test analysts, including demand planning and reporting against budget • Test reporting and presentations to all levels of the business, including senior stakeholders at director level, ensuring that factual and informative information is provided whilst maintaining commercial awareness and sensitivity• Coordinating additional test activity for wider L&G Programmes such as infrastructure changes, mainframe upgrades and business resumption activities • Identifying and implementing enhancements to existing policies and procedures, applying lessons learnt from previous projects to deliver a continuous cycle of improvement • Risk, Issue and Defect management• Training and development of test analysts • Writing and executing test scripts using HP Quality Center

Kingswood, Surrey

• Lead analyst for the core operations process modules during the defining of requirements for the new core administration platform, ensuring these were aligned to the department’s strategic goals and business drivers• Planning, running and documenting business processes re-engineering workshops and business requirements workshops with business users and suppliers, both onshore and offshore• Offshore milestone review with 3rd party supplier, ensuring that the build specifications met the business requirements