Themba Khoza
Senior Agile Project Manager
Bedfordview
Summary
Highly experienced Senior Agile Project Manager with a strong focus on delivering products using SDLC and Agile development methodologies. Over 14 years of diverse experience in consulting, FMCG, Automotive, Banking, and the Chemicals Industry, bringing a unique perspective to work. SAFe Scrum Master, SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager certified, CSP-SM, ACSM, CSM, Agile coach, and Agile PMP Practitioner certified. Goal is to help individuals understand and apply the Scrum framework effectively, leading to consistent incremental product delivery and business value. Maximizes team performance and utilizes Agile methodologies to ensure excellent service delivery. Building strong relationships with stakeholders is a key strength. Ultimate purpose is to build a great team and support individuals in their personal growth journey.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Agile Project Manager
Nedbank Wealth Insurance
07.2023 - Current
- Practical application of Agile Methodologies such as scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Scrum and kanban on large, scaled projects
- Lead Agile projects in the Wealth banking Domain for insurance products adhering to Agile principles and best practices
- Collaborate with cross functional teams in the Agile Release Train ensuring updates to stakeholders and management highlight achievements, challenges and recommendations
- Effectively communicate and plan Digital insurance requirements during WSJF allocation estimation session
- Lead PI Planning sessions in which business prioritize their features and objectives
- Organize and maintain project artefacts on JIRA and Confluence
- The Team must be equipped with the understanding and utilization of the tools based on your teaching and coaching
- Clearly define all risks and project impediments on a ROAM board that can be reviewed during the ART Scrum of Scrums event
- Promote effective communication and collaboration among team members and stakeholders
- The Definition of ready is followed to ensure all requirements that the Development take up have clear acceptance criteria’s, business specification documents, technical analysis reviewed, and all documents signed off by business
- Technical understanding of the Digital technology used so complex concepts can be easily communicated to technical team leaders across the technical landscape
- Assist with the improvement of the Technical Debt across the Project increment
- Ensure all Team events such as the DSU, Iteration Planning, Iteration retrospective, backlog grooming, and technical grooming sessions are setup for each Project Increment
- Represent the Digital Insurance Team in the ART SOS & Foundations as the main contributor to deliverables discussed in the sessions
- Manage vendor invoices and project time to ensure that they meet the monthly budget requirements
- Manage releases and Deployments for Digital insurance products
- Manage incidents and defects ensuring operations and production environments are working seamlessly
- Monitoring and tracking of integration point hand overs of requirements from Analysis to Design, from Design (UX/UI) to Front-end Dev (IOS/ AND/OB) and the technical back-end dev team responsible for the technical landscape.
- Successfully managed multiple projects simultaneously by prioritizing tasks according to urgency, resource availability, and alignment with organizational goals.
- Planned, designed, and scheduled phases for large projects.
- Identified plans and resources required to meet project goals and objectives.
- Monitored project performance to identify areas of improvement and make adjustments.
Agile Master
BMW Group
02.2021 - 06.2023
- Manage BMW Agile ceremonies & processes according to the BMW Agile Working Model& Azure Cloud & Platform Requirements
- Plan project deployments for UI/UX, Front-End Angular & Java backend completed user stories over the sprint iteration
- Plan backlog refinements, technical refinements, estimation, and weekly health checks to ensure stories meet the required DOR and acceptance criteria for development
- Guide the team on how to use scaled Agile/Scrum practices
- Ensure Developers commit code to their branches and unit test is applied for all User Stories committed in a sprint, automation via Jenkins and selenium is applied across all test cases
- Ensure technical debt is consistently catered for so the cloud environment is abreast with the latest versions of Quarkus, Angular, Security updates (Pent-Testing to test against security breaches)
- Consistently reviewing and applying Devops capabilities to ensure the Team is technically improving and resolving technical impediments
- Align with Agile COP’s and other feature teams to ensure good collaboration and align shared dependencies
- Collaborate with Product Owners and colleagues across multiple sites/locations, Scrum of Scrums and User Story Mapping sessions
- Assessed the Agile maturity of the team and coach the team to higher levels of maturity (Complete Agile Maturity Assessments to evaluate quarterly)
- Advocate transparency and openness to foster a culture of collaboration
- Assist the IT PDO and Business PDO to complete workshops and initiatives (Overview of targets and goals per cycle & quarterly)
- Lead Spotlight and Typlan engagements for product enhancements
- Lead Devops discussions and manage the operation KPIs
- Manage Operation Incidents through ITSM and ensure they assigned to the correct support groups
- Ensure OPS KPI reports are maintained and updated correctly
- Ensure user stories evolve from definition of entry (DoE) to definition of ready
- Apply BMW Agile processes and communicate changes in roles and functions to the feature teams
- Create reports for sprint reviews to highlight velocity, capacity, and sprint goal in detail as the feature team showcase the demo from the product increment.
- Transition Manage applications from Vendor to ZA IT Hub.
- Proven ability to learn quickly and adapt to new situations.
- Skilled at working independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
- Managed time efficiently in order to complete all tasks within deadlines.
- Assisted with day-to-day operations, working efficiently and productively with all team members.
- Used strong analytical and problem-solving skills to develop effective solutions for challenging situations.
Scrum Master / Project Lead IT
The HEINEKEN Company
01.2020 - 12.2020
- Initiate projects kick off for e-Commerce projects and Consumer Data Platforms
- Setup project scope, budget, project timelines and stakeholder engagement
- Ensure projects have the required project documentation per project phase
- Apply Agile methodologies as the companies drive for Agile transformation and digitalization
- Coach teams to apply agile methodologies to enable faster project delivery in increments
- Plan and attend Pre-PI and PI Planning sessions to define project features with key stakeholders
- Utilize Pre- PI session to prioritize features with business and management
- Derive user stories and tasks during sprint planning with project team
- Set sprint goal and objectives with User stories estimated during backlog refinement
- Plan agile ceremonies within 10-week sprint cycle - Sprint planning, Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Reviews & Retros
- Sprint Planning must contain User Stories with Acceptance of Criteria with a clear definition of done completed by the team
- Remove technical and functional impediments during the sprint
- Lead Commerce Projects by ensuring the right stakeholders and resources are available
- Setup Project Briefs & PIDS depending on the size of the project
- Ensure technical BRD's are available with reasonable technical information for analysis
- Budget and scope are communicated with project stakeholders to ensure project is aligned
- Reason for Leaving Due to Covid, Contract was cut short and ended in December.
SAFe Scrum Master
Nedbank
06.2019 - 12.2019
- Facilitate the daily stand ups in the BITE Squads
- Facilitate the backlog grooming sessions in preparation for Iteration planning
- Facilitate PI Planning sessions with business to ensure product features are clearly depicted with the correct business objectives assigned
- Facilitate the iteration planning sessions at Team level ensuring prioritized backlog has clear goals and estimations
- Use Estimation techniques like playing poker (Fibonacci sequence) or T-shirt sizing
- Facilitate and coordinates system demos and show & tells to highlight deliverables achieved during the iteration
- Facilitate Sprint retrospective for Team self-reflection and continuous improvement
- Remove team impediments and blockers highlight them on the ROAM board
- Ensure Team dependencies are traced and tracked across the ART allowing for prioritization, resource sharing and clear accountability
- Reason for Leaving Head hunted
Project Manager Scrum Master
BMW Group
06.2017 - 05.2019
- Manage the Production and Innovation team on BMW innovation topics and new technology development
- Lead daily stand ups as the scrum master ensuring daily feedback and communication is maintained
- Motivate the development team and ensure Agile Principles are maintained on the projects
- Encourage open communication and team participation for all User stories and Epics associated with team
- Maintain all aspects associated with the story board ensuring Epics, User Stories, Features and Tasks are clearly defined and prioritized accordingly
- Define sprint planning sessions, sprint retrospectives and sprint review sessions
- Ensure BMW standards for IT projects and processes are applied per project
- Lead project initiatives and agile strategies enforced by the quality assurance policies in BMW
- Project reporting to the IT Technical Lead, IT Manager and the General Manager
- Define project requirements from the product owners’ vision into workable and sizeable user stories
- Partake in other project management activities besides daily scrums and project documentation
- Monitor and co-ordinate project tasks and deliverables assigned to the project team
- Manage the Product Owners and Key User expectations based on the project delivery
- Assist in managing Product backlog (From a Product Owners perspective)
- Assist in managing The Sprint backlog (From the Developments Teams Perspective)
- Servant Leader to the development team
- Assist in removing impediments and persistent issues that can hinder the Development Teams success in meeting their sprint goal
- Manage access and assign users to JIRA and Confluence, manage project boards and reports on JIRA and update spaces on confluence
- Manage the Agile Tool chain for utilizing and assigning tools like JIRA, Confluence, X-Ray and Jenkins to projects
- Train business on utilizing Tools like JIRA and Confluence as part of our Agile Transformation process
- Reason for Leaving An opportunity arouse to gain more experience as a SAFe Scrum Master
Delivery Manager
Software Testing Solutions
10.2015 - 06.2017
- Clients: DSTV, Showmax, Investec, Standard bank, eNCA, Software Testing solutions (Clients: DSTV, Showmax, Investec, Standard bank, eNCA, Sun international
- Responsibilities
- Managed resources effectively to avoid unnecessary delivery delays.
- Ensure continual improvement of our Delivery Management System towards achieving high performance in business performance indicators- Zero high severity defects in production, value to our customers on QA spend, projects implemented on time with no delays
- Define the Testing Strategy for the team to follow at each client site, new and existing
- Mentored junior team members to develop their skills and advance within the organization.
- Regularly report on delivery management performance to internal stakeholders and clients
- Engaged customers to discuss business needs and explore opportunities to increase sales.
- Enforce the delivery management policy with employees and managers
- To periodically review the relevance, appropriateness, and effectiveness of the delivery policy
- First line escalation on delivery risks per site from team members
- Manage corrective measures with team members
- Participation in the performance management process, formal and informal, for all staff at site
- Mentoring, coaching and motivating resources
- Contribute to employee engagement within the portfolio
- Facilitate training to junior staff on the latest quality assurance testing methodologies
- Create test plans, work plans, operational documents and apply testing strategies to client projects
- Resource planning and organisation for onsite and offsite projects
- Report on testing activities to ensure clients and internal stakeholders have the informative means to make critical project decision
- Train testing teams on the latest SDLC methodologies such as Agile, Test Analyst, Test Design, Test Requirements and SQAMM testing principles which are SETA accredited & approved
- Measure performance management across STS resources to ensure they maintain a high standard of delivery through balance-scorecards and review sessions
- Reason for Leaving Opportunity to work in a new Industry
- Oversaw daily operations of the delivery team, ensuring timely completion of tasks and adherence to company policies.
SAP Corporate Test Lead
SABMILLER BIS, Software Testing Solutions
01.2014 - 09.2015
- Responsibilities
- Communicate, consult & liaise with the GSR Team Leads, Corporate solutions and Test Manager
- Create a test plan with the given estimates and processes according to the project plan
- Prepare test Cases and scenarios for Corporate Finance
- Plan testing schedule and environment according to test plan
- Conduct meetings involving Corporate Finance leads & GSR Leads to discuss Testing progress and test plans
- Execute test plans against scheduled plan dates
- Ensure Unit Testing, Regression Testing, sanity testing, and connectivity testing are completed in appropriate test cycles
- Build workflows required for Journal processing – AP Workflow, Cross Entity Workflow, Mass Journal Workflow (Mainly setup requirements on SAP ECC, User Provisioning and Table Maintenance)
- Track and log defects(anomalies), assign them to the appropriate Teams for defect resolution
- Retest resolved defects for defect closure
- Testing mainly based on Corporate SAP Finance processes such as Record to Report- Cash & Banking, Travel & Expense, Record Transactions (Manual Journals, Mass journals, GL Reports, Intercompany & Month End Closing processes) Procure to Pay (SRM- creating shopping carts & approval process)
- Support to SA Regional Team and Global Team on SAP Table Maintenance for workflows
- Go live support during release of new enhancements, processes or corrections –ensure any systems setbacks are logged and tracked with incidents numbers and estimated fixes
- Create & document test closure report for end of test cycle reporting for management
- Involvement in cutover meetings and planning prior to go live release
- Handle testing meetings ensuring testing progress is updated to the business analysts and GSR test analysts and leads
- Effective communicator to Business Teams, Global Teams and Technical Teams ensuring clear understanding of deliverables and tasks to be completed
- Reporting of tasks completed and planned to test manager and delivery manager
- Prepare Test data and QA environment for connectivity and regression test cycles
- Prepare user roles and access for the selected test users on the QA environment
- Reason for Leaving Contract ended
- Streamlined testing processes for increased efficiency and reduced overall test cycle time.
- Conducted regression testing of existing products.
- Enhanced product performance with thorough troubleshooting and identification of critical defects.
- Reduced defect leakage rate by conducting thorough root cause analyses and proactively addressing areas of concern in future release cycles.
MDM SAP FICO & Project Co-Ordinator Analyst
SABMiller
01.2012 - 12.2013
- Ensuring Info Requirements are understood, designed, and delivered in the Triumph Global Template
- Deliver Financial Information to agreed Milestones, Timescales
- Scope, Quality and Budget
- Issues and risks, and report progress to Global Solution Owner for MDM (Master Data Management)
- Provide Customer Service and Technical Advice in a complex SAP Environment (SAP/Cransoft for a global solution)
- Write Functional Specifications and reviews designs for the governance of the Master Data
- Ensure Data conforms to SAP tables, rules and Config to enable a workable solution which needs to align to SABMiller as a group – for multiple countries
- Protects the integrity of the global solution ensuring that change requested follow the agreed approval process before applying them
- Troubleshot and resolved complex issues related to general ledger entries within the SAP environment, maintaining data integrity at all times.
- Perform testing of all information management functionality developed (Comparing Cransoft with SAP)
- Implemented budgeting and forecasting activities within the organization using advanced features available within the SAP FI/CO module.
- Ensuring Data is correctly stored in SAP
- Conducted gap analysis and process improvements within the finance function, leading to increased efficiency in financial operations.
- Roll out of Global Systems for Finance Master Data
- User Support for Poland, Ecuador & South Africa
- Assist with UAT Sessions (SA) and Training Documentation and incident resolution through Maximo
- Ensuring Integration of Applicable Master Data to other SAP Modules like SRM & HR
- System Cut-Over Activities in the Finance Functional area for Poland & Ecuador, Go-Live Support
- Master data alignment with Cransoft by ensuring that the SAP Systems (MDM clients) are in sync with the Cransoft tool
- Manage new deliverables, change requests and developments
- Ensure that daily configuration and RICEFW reports are generated to track the Progress of the team
- Liaise with Management to monitor changes and deliverables that may be required
- Project Planning and Management
- Liaison with program and project leadership on all Finance Poland deployment aspects
- Facilitate Finance activities and deliverables by updating finance trackers
- Maintain & update finance daily trackers to ensure project scope is on track
SAP FICO Analyst
Accenture
01.2010 - 12.2012
- Perform Testing of Finance test scripts during the testing phase
- Perform Functional component testing which requires the testing of configuration using transaction codes
- Review configuration maintenance for Accounts receivable and General Ledger
- Perform Regression Testing for Product Costing scripts, technical component testing & Functional Component testing for Sundry AR scripts
- Review functional design documents
- Served as a subject matter expert on SAP FI/CO-related matters, contributing to the development of training materials and knowledge transfer sessions for colleagues.
- Provided 24/7 support for critical financial processes during month-end and year-end closings, ensuring timely completion of crucial activities.
- Reduced month-end closing time by optimizing the use of SAP FICO functionalities for financial reporting.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop integrated solutions using SAP FICO capabilities, enhancing overall business performance.
- Facilitated a smooth transition during an ERP upgrade, migrating critical financial data into the new SAP FICO platform.
- Developed customized reports using ABAP programming, meeting specific needs of finance and management teams.
- Assisted management in making informed decisions, providing accurate financial reports generated through SAP FICO tools.
- Actively participated in auditing processes, providing comprehensive insights based on data extracted from the SAP FICO system.
- Trained end-users on best practices for utilizing the full potential of the implemented SAP FICO modules.
- Streamlined intercompany transactions by setting up appropriate configurations within the SAP FI/CO application.
- Troubleshot and resolved complex issues related to general ledger entries within the SAP environment, maintaining data integrity at all times.
- Conducted gap analysis and process improvements within the finance function, leading to increased efficiency in financial operations.
- Enhanced company''s financial efficiency by implementing SAP FICO modules and streamlining processes.
- Oversaw document development across project workstreams to create internal control statements per compliance and regulatory standards.
- Perform testing & execution of scenarios that have being accepted by the Governance Team
Education
Matric - Senior Certificate
Jeppe Boys High School
Johannesburg, South Africa12-2002
National Diploma - Computer Systems Engineering
Vaal University of Technology
Vanderbijlpark, South Africa 04.2001 - 01.2008
Post-Baccalaureate Diploma - Program in Business Management
University of South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa 04.2001 -
No Degree - Agile Certification
Scaled Agile
04.2001 -
No Degree - Scrum Master Certification
Scrum Alliance
04.2001 -
No Degree - Agile Project Management Certification
APMG International
04.2001 -
No Degree - Agile Coaching Certification
International Consortium For Agile
04.2001 -
No Degree - ISTQB Testing Certification
South African Software Testing Qualification Board
04.2001 -
Skills
SAP FICO
undefinedCourses Certifications
- 2015, Certified Tester Foundation, SASTQB
- 2015, PRINCE2, ACUTECH
- 2016, Program in Business Management, UNISA
- 2017, Agile bootcamp, Kaizania
- 2017, PSM (Course), Scrum.org
- 2018, Agile PMP Certified, APMG
- 2018, Certified Scrum Master, Scrum Alliance
- 2020, Advance Scrum Master (ACSM), Scrum Alliance
- 2020, SAFe Scrum Master, Scaled Agile
- 2022, Certified Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM), Scrum Alliance
- 2023, SAFe Product Owner / Product Manager, Scaled Agile
- 2024, IC-Agile Certified Professional Agile Coaching (ICP-ACC), IC-Agile
Position
Senior Agile Project Manager
Ee Status
Black Male
Preferred Location
Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng
Contract Type
Contract
Personal Information
- Available: 1 month notice
- ID Number: 8306245771087
- Nationality: South African
Timeline
Senior Agile Project Manager
Nedbank Wealth Insurance
07.2023 - Current
Agile Master
BMW Group
02.2021 - 06.2023
Scrum Master / Project Lead IT
The HEINEKEN Company
01.2020 - 12.2020
SAFe Scrum Master
Nedbank
06.2019 - 12.2019
Project Manager Scrum Master
BMW Group
06.2017 - 05.2019
Delivery Manager
Software Testing Solutions
10.2015 - 06.2017
SAP Corporate Test Lead
SABMILLER BIS, Software Testing Solutions
01.2014 - 09.2015
MDM SAP FICO & Project Co-Ordinator Analyst
SABMiller
01.2012 - 12.2013
SAP FICO Analyst
Accenture
01.2010 - 12.2012
National Diploma - Computer Systems Engineering
Vaal University of Technology
04.2001 - 01.2008
Post-Baccalaureate Diploma - Program in Business Management
University of South Africa
04.2001 -
No Degree - Agile Certification
Scaled Agile
04.2001 -
No Degree - Scrum Master Certification
Scrum Alliance
04.2001 -
No Degree - Agile Project Management Certification
APMG International
04.2001 -
No Degree - Agile Coaching Certification
International Consortium For Agile
04.2001 -
No Degree - ISTQB Testing Certification
South African Software Testing Qualification Board
04.2001 -
Matric - Senior Certificate
Jeppe Boys High School
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