Myron D. Parks

MYRON D. PARKS Scarborough, ON. M1S OK5 |--| www.linkedin.com/in/myronparks Digital Transformation Leader 15+ year record of success driving innovations in process, methodology, metrics and training; expertise in digital transformation, system/feature functional analyses, Agile/Scrum development and process/systems innovation. Creative leader with strong focus on improving the customer experience. Experience managing multiple complex projects and large-scale programs; led teams of up to 25. Recognized for ability to build positive relationships at all levels of an organization. Earned multiple awards and promotions with HCSC; improved productivity 141% in current role. Skills and Expertise: QA Strategy Process Analysis/Engineering Team Leadership & Training Creative Problem Solving Test Automation Project/Team Turnarounds DevOps KPIs/Performance Metrics Requirements Analysis CAREER HISTORY ALLIANT CREDIT UNION, Chicago, IL 2015 to 2018 $10B banking services company with 320,000+ members and 500 employees Manager, Software Quality Assurance Hired to establish new team, systems and processes from the ground up. Charged with improving quality across the organization with a focus on digital transformation, core systems, data services, and infrastructure. Built and lead team of 25 in Service Validation & Testing, Release & Deployment Management and DevOps within Agile/Lean development environment. Serve as release manager, personally approving all features and ensuring a continual focus on the customer experience. Replaced ad-hoc approach to testing with new processes, test activities, estimation tools, procedures and metrics; implemented test-based design and automated testing and validation for all releases. Managed department cost centre starting at 125K USD and rewarded additional budget each year based on successful roadmap objective completion for a final budget of 1.5M USD. Initiated the practice of using Microsoft Team Foundation Server (MS TFS) and Microsoft Test Manager (MTM) for Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) of test cases, bugs and requirements. Launched Acceptance Test Driven Development (ATDD) across agile and non-agile teams in the organization. Sponsored (as Product Owner), designed and launched Continuous Testing System (CTS) across by establishing the vision and writing Epics, Features and User Story creation and leading development teams to implementation. Developed and deployed development and released metrics which informed development teams when development is feature complete, when features would be ready to launch and finally, when features are actually ready to launch to production. Functionally decomposed digital platform by partnering with stakeholders to build a map of "current state" "value stream" features that were the baseline for when we cleared releases for use by customers. Created functional mapping of end-to end-business processes as an input to scope project testing, release and DevOps resource costs as well as provide coverage to the development team for overall feature/project effort. Delivered 70 feature releases in one year (a 141% increase) by instilling a focus on continuous improvement. Reduced time-to-market 82% by deploying release certification and management processes/controls. Instituted requirement to add ATDD acceptance criteria to all User Stories that entered development. This effort was instrumental in reducing bugs 39% despite a 67% growth in the code base and a 1.4x increase in productivity; saved $1.4M in re-work as a result of this improvement. Established systems and processes that have been a key factor in the development team winning 3 industry awards in 2 years Facilitated delivery of a new digital transformation infrastructure by building DevOps team, developing certification test suites, and leading a cross-functional work group to identify, update, configure and deploy the digital infrastructure. Transformed mission critical program, turning stalled initiative into a successful and highly productive program by developing key metrics, adding new testers, championing development of a critical path, and instilling a data-driven approach to decision-making. HEALTH CARE SERVICE CORPORATION (HCSC), Chicago, IL 2007 - 2015 IT QA Consultant -) | Senior IT QA Specialist (2014) Promoted twice within one year, assuming responsibility for leading complex testing projects while also re-engineering processes for maximum efficiency and accuracy. Guided teams of up to 25 through testing projects, provided status reports to senior management, coordinated with developers and QA teams to ensure that each application was completed on time, and presented recommendations to senior leadership.  Launched operational metrics dashboard to provide a view of project release health across testing, development, business analysis and program management on the Hewlett Packard Quality Center (HP QC/ALM) platform. Developed and delivered HP QC/ALM training to teams across the organization in developer, program manager, business analyst, manager and tester roles. Pioneered a process for SHIFT LEFT requirement and feature analysis with development teams which led to clearer acceptance criteria, reduced bugs, and improved project goal attainment Designed and led the implementation of an enterprise-wide metrics dashboard which was the basis for standardizing metrics across development, program management, business analysis and testing domains throughout the organization. Salvaged mission-critical system update leading 4 application teams; took control of project quickly, developed comprehensive test plan, and closely managed all aspects of the project. Completed ahead of schedule and received performance award for exceeding expectations. Doubled productivity by forging partnership between key business division and system testing team. Cut cost of 3-year testing project 30% by negotiating with senior level business partners. Built and led team of subject matter experts to reduce growing backlog of defects; reduced defects by 30% and recommended long-term strategy that was adopted by management. Elicited Requirement specifications from code reviews and requirement interviews with stakeholders in order to create precise/effective test cases, ensure proper functional coverage and establish a satisfactory risk profile to inform release deployment timing. Created plan template for test automation projects and worked closely with project manager, functional and system test teams to create automation test plans and planning materials.Developed and delivered HP QC/ALM training to teams across the organization in developer, program manager, business analyst, manager and tester roles. Test Engineer (2007 to 2014) Recruited to work on 5-year project to overhaul claim adjudication system. Reviewed business requirements, application design, and code. Evaluated new tools and technologies. Created and executed test plans, cases and scenarios for multiple applications. Administered Rational ClearQuest defect tracking repository. Tracked web, mainframe and client server test scenarios in Rational Manual Tester and HP QC/ALM. Led team of 6 testers to manage all testing on Federal Employee Program (FEP). Delivered 4 major releases and multiple revisions over a 3-year period. Results included: Identified key roadblocks and devised innovative solutions to ensure a successful program. Developed exceptional partnership with the business team. Improved test claim entry from 2,500 to 200,000 per week through process redesign. Served as test lead on multi-release update to the company’s automated claim adjudication system, leading team of 6. The application performed flawlessly and formed the foundation for many important future developments. Took the initiative to create and present several HP QC/ALM and financial technology (FINTECH) system training programs for junior team members; created learning objectives, developed structured modules and delivered well-received classes on SQL, technical testing skills, and claim processing. Gathered requirements to improve development team implementation success and test plan coverage of functional/non-functional system fea. Early Career: Senior Quality Assurance Engineer, INCISENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Chicago, IL (2007) Senior Quality Assurance Analyst, TRANSUNION, LLC, Chicago, IL (2003 to 2007) TEST/TECHNOLOGY SKILLS SUMMARY Test Methodologies— Agile, SCRUM, SAFE, Waterfall/Iterative Languages—JCL, COBOL, Assembler, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, Ajax, PHP, HTML, .NET Web Server/Platform—Apache, Tomcat, IIS, WebSphere Databases/Tools—DB2, IBM DB2v9, IBM Optim, SPUFI, MS SQL 2005, MySQL, Navicat, MS Access Automated Test Tools—Rational Functional Tester, Quick Test Professional (QTP), Watir Configuration/Project/Requirement/Test/Defect/ Management Applications—Eclipse, CVS, MS Project, Clarity, CaliberRM, Rational RequisitePro, ClearQuest, HP QC/ALM, Rally, CruiseControl, Mavenlink, MS TFS Operating Systems—Windows, Linux, UNIX, z/OS, OSX System Utilities—TSO, ISPF, File-Aid, File Master Plus, WS_FTP, PUTTY Virtualization Platforms—Citrix, VMware EDUCATION Ed.M., E-learning. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL (2010) B.A., Liberal Arts. Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL (2008) Studied towards School Psychology Ed.S., The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (2011 to 2014) Certifications: Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt | Certified Scrum Master | Certified Scrum Product Owner | ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management | ITIL Intermediate Certificate in IT Service Operation | SAFe 4 Certified Agilist | ITIL Intermediate Certificate in IT Service Strategy Relevant Professional Training: Business Writing The Consultative Approach Managing Software Requirements with Use Cases Managing Requirements with RequisitePro Managing the Iterative Process Introduction to Object Oriented Analysis and Design Object Oriented Analysis and Design with the Unified Modeling Language Performance Testing with Rational Performance Test Suite Web Testing Techniques and Practices CIWS Web Master Certification Fundamentals CIWS Web Master Certification Site Designer SUN Java Programming for Non-Programmers SL-110 SUN Migrating to OO Programming with Java Technology OO-226 SUN Java Programming Language SL-275 Oracle Advanced Object Oriented Analysis and Design with Java Technology Risk-Based Testing ITIL Foundations ITIL Service Operation ITIL Service Strategy SAFE 4.0 Certified Scrum Master Certified Scrum Product Owner