Supporting Strategic Corporate Service Business outcomes with a focus on rapid service outcomes

For the last 23 years of my employment, I was involved in setting the strategic milestones for ITSM in a Group IT environment and Smaller Business units. Even though most of my qualifications are 2-4 Expert, working with curiosity, analysis and Common sense I was involved in some major maturity jumps.Even though I have a lot of technical expertise (Being agnostic of tool, people and process) I am able to easily jump from developer to the Senior Echelons of Management and speak both… Show more For the last 23 years of my employment, I was involved in setting the strategic milestones for ITSM in a Group IT environment and Smaller Business units. Even though most of my qualifications are 2-4 Expert, working with curiosity, analysis and Common sense I was involved in some major maturity jumps.Even though I have a lot of technical expertise (Being agnostic of tool, people and process) I am able to easily jump from developer to the Senior Echelons of Management and speak both languages. Show less

Based on recent movements within the Industry, lines have blurred based on Agility, the implementation of sAFE, the adoption of the new way of thinking in IT where T-Shaped individuals (Multi-Skilled) are much more prominent, the end-goal is to become more of a generalist rather than a one-trick pony. Things have also rapidly moved in our organisation and currently this is the closest fit I can give to what I do and deliver on a daily basis. To be honest, at the moment… Show more Based on recent movements within the Industry, lines have blurred based on Agility, the implementation of sAFE, the adoption of the new way of thinking in IT where T-Shaped individuals (Multi-Skilled) are much more prominent, the end-goal is to become more of a generalist rather than a one-trick pony. Things have also rapidly moved in our organisation and currently this is the closest fit I can give to what I do and deliver on a daily basis. To be honest, at the moment the best way to describe my role is a little bit of everything from, Service Management, Project Management and Infrastructure , this year I also started ups-killing myself in things I would never imagine, coding, Cloud, IT Security, tools that sounds like noises (Splunk), LinuxThis is an exciting time to be in IT, the evolution of it is more rapid than ever and if your mindset doesn't change your employment status will. Show less

New Role created as part of the Secured lending team, will be responsible for automation of the testing process for regression testing as well as a dual role within the Engineering practice to change and improve the current technology within the the current Portfolio. This is an amazing opportunity as it gives me the ability to to apply my technical knowledge across all the infrastructure stacks and application stacks for the most important part of Standard Banks vision, all the… Show more New Role created as part of the Secured lending team, will be responsible for automation of the testing process for regression testing as well as a dual role within the Engineering practice to change and improve the current technology within the the current Portfolio. This is an amazing opportunity as it gives me the ability to to apply my technical knowledge across all the infrastructure stacks and application stacks for the most important part of Standard Banks vision, all the countries that are still centrally supported by South Africa via various credit systems, thus working with diverse cultures and thus truly being able to say, Africa is our home, we drive her growth. I have been very fortunate to be able to work in a plethora of positions across multiple technologies. Show less

Application development and design - Build managementThis position is responsible for implementing and managing release processes for the progression of code through the development, test, and production environments. The Software Release Manager collaborates and partners with all stakeholders including project managers, technical and business management, application development, testing teams, change and implementation management, and National IT to proactively identify… Show more Application development and design - Build managementThis position is responsible for implementing and managing release processes for the progression of code through the development, test, and production environments. The Software Release Manager collaborates and partners with all stakeholders including project managers, technical and business management, application development, testing teams, change and implementation management, and National IT to proactively identify dependencies and perform the release management function. Additionally, they work across the organization to build-out the release calendar by working closely with the project managers in order to identify all dependencies, coordinate and centralize all releases. Negotiates, plans, and manages all release activities. The position also manages risks and resolves issues that affect release scope, schedule, and quality. Manages relationships and coordinates work between different teams. They will conduct Release Readiness reviews, Milestone Reviews, and Reporting. Communicates release details and schedules to the Business, and is a key participant within Go/No-Go reviews. Another key activity will require position to partner with engineering teams and technology partners to continuously improve release process. Also partners with the testing teams to ensure test environment entry and exit criteria are met. They must understand all change activity including status, risks and deployment activities. Software Release Manager will lead and coordinate the Go-Live activities including the execution of the implementation plans and activities. Lastly, they will audit, monitor and enforces established release management processes and policies in support of cross-domain configuration and continuous integration, testing, completeness and consistency. This requires managing processes to mitigate deployment risk through planning, scheduling, and tracking the portfolio of scheduled change. Show less

The role of the Problem Manager is to deliver effective problem management for the bank’s technology platform, resulting in the provision of stable and robust services to support business applications and To prevent problems and resulting incidents from happening, to eliminate recurring incidents and to minimize the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented.” (ITIL v3 Service Operation, 2007, p59).Specifically the role is: 1) to manage the life cycle of problems from problem… Show more The role of the Problem Manager is to deliver effective problem management for the bank’s technology platform, resulting in the provision of stable and robust services to support business applications and To prevent problems and resulting incidents from happening, to eliminate recurring incidents and to minimize the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented.” (ITIL v3 Service Operation, 2007, p59).Specifically the role is: 1) to manage the life cycle of problems from problem identification, through root cause analysis, to the completion of associated remediation tasks of problems resulting from incidents in the production 2) identify incident trends in production and initiate and manage proactive projects to prevent problems from occurring 3) interface with other production management work streams (incident, capacity, event, change) to highlight problems and initiate remediation activities 4) Manage the local problem management staff to ensure they address all objectives 5) Serve as regional lead for all incident, problem, change, and knowledge related escalations, including audit, regulatory, and other priority issues. Show less

Daily Change Management Operations Review all Changes and approve or reject them based on their adherence to documented Change Management Process requirements and standardsFacilitate regular Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings and prepare all meeting materials; Publish meeting minutes and track action itemsCapture Change Management metrics, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Critical Success Factors (CSFs)Raises and tracks Change Management related issues and conflicts… Show more Daily Change Management Operations Review all Changes and approve or reject them based on their adherence to documented Change Management Process requirements and standardsFacilitate regular Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings and prepare all meeting materials; Publish meeting minutes and track action itemsCapture Change Management metrics, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Critical Success Factors (CSFs)Raises and tracks Change Management related issues and conflicts, removes barriers, resolves issues involving stakeholders and escalates to appropriate level where requiredProvides knowledge and expertise on the use of the Change Management Process and toolEnsure proper Change Management related process documentation is maintained on a regular basis to ensure compliance with Enterprise Policy and StandardsProcess Management Drives Change Management Process timelines including process reviews, metrics definition and Score CardsDrives the relationship of Change management with other Service Management Processes to improve efficiency and effectivenessConduct regular audits of the Change Management process to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the process.Identify and drive initiatives in support of Continuous Process Improvements for the Change Management ProcessProvide Change Management Process Education to RBC IT Staff; Ensures all participants in the Change Management Process understand their roles and perform the functions requiredRelationships & Communication Provides superior client experience and strengthens relationship with Infrastructure and Application Development management teamsCollaborates with Infrastructure and Application Managers to ensure process standards are being metProvides senior management with timely updates on related issuesWorks cross functionally with all Application and Infrastructure department heads to investigate and integrate requirements Show less

Headed up the Incident and Problem management team and capability within the Personal and Business Banking environment focusing on operational process enforcement, Process improvement and Governance.

Process ExecutionRaise and manage problems through the Problem Management Life CycleUse the prescribed root cause analysis methodology to determine root cause/underlying cause of the problem, and make subsequent recommendationsLead the investigation of problems, via root cause analysis (e.g. following on from major incidents) or through proactive trend analysis and monitoring.Participate in Service Restoration efforts where requiredCo-ordinate, allocate and track problem… Show more Process ExecutionRaise and manage problems through the Problem Management Life CycleUse the prescribed root cause analysis methodology to determine root cause/underlying cause of the problem, and make subsequent recommendationsLead the investigation of problems, via root cause analysis (e.g. following on from major incidents) or through proactive trend analysis and monitoring.Participate in Service Restoration efforts where requiredCo-ordinate, allocate and track problem tasks for each problemIdentify new known errors and record into the Known Error DatabaseProduce both verbal and written communication with support teams and management over the status of Problem Records.Process ComplianceAssist in ensuring that the process is being followed through effective communication and policy adherenceAssist in ensuring that all parties involved in the problem management process, adhere to the policies and procedures laid out for effective problem management Process Measurement & ReportingEnsure that quality data is provided for reporting on key performance and quality indicators in relation to Problem ManagementCustomer SatisfactionFoster key relationships between Problem Management, Group Technology Operations and other support areas Show less

During my tenure at African Bank, I was heavily involved in the implementation of the Service Management methodology and tool. This included both the practical running and implementation of a best practice framework for Incident and Problem Management on Unicenter Service Desk.Service Desk ManagerIn large organisations where the Service Desk is of a significant size, a Service Desk Manager role may be justified, with the Service Desk Supervisor(s) reporting to him or… Show more During my tenure at African Bank, I was heavily involved in the implementation of the Service Management methodology and tool. This included both the practical running and implementation of a best practice framework for Incident and Problem Management on Unicenter Service Desk.Service Desk ManagerIn large organisations where the Service Desk is of a significant size, a Service Desk Manager role may be justified, with the Service Desk Supervisor(s) reporting to him or her. In such cases, this role may take responsibility for some of the activities listed above, and may additionally perform the following activities:„ Manage the overall desk activities, including the supervisors„ Act as a further escalation point for the supervisor(s)„ Take on a wider customer service role„ Report to senior managers on any issue that could significantly impact the business„ Attend Change Advisory Board meetings„ Take overall responsibility for incident management and request fulfillment on the Service Desk. This could also be expanded to any other activity taken on by the Service Desk – e.g. monitoring certain classes of event. Show less