Gustav du Plessis

As the product manager, I managed the successful collaboration and coordination between three contracted parties, UX, front-end developers, and back-end developers, to deliver a SaaS-based educational solution on a limited budget and within five months, two weeks ahead of schedule.

As a product manager, I reviewed the product status. I then revamped the roadmap to ensure the completion of an MVP within five weeks by introducing Scrum practices and project management tools. I closed the gap between management and the development team.

The product extracts key insights for relevant search terms or indicators using a propriety algorithm to index and prioritize data obtained from crawling eCommerce, social media, news, and blog sites. This product provides users with critical insights often missed in an information-overloaded world.

I followed a continuous improvement approach to implement a CRM system within a strict monthly budget. As an initial approach, Intercom was used in conjunction with Mailchimp to facilitate communication with customers.

Once the monthly budget increased and resources allowed for improvement, we introduced an integrated CRM system with relevant automation, reports, and onboarding/retention campaigns. As the business grew and environments changed, we continuously reviewed, improved, and adapted reports, automation, and campaigns.

The product utilizes MQTT protocols between the inverter, a Raspberry Pi, and Sonoff switches to switch the connected appliance on at appropriate times based on data provided by the inverter, such as current watts provided from PV, battery SOC, and total inverter load.

I led the design and development of a product (consisting of custom-developed software, white box solutions, and their integration) to enable the scheduling, delivery, LMS, and reporting of one-on-one live online tutoring.

The model was synthesized by combining the Diffusion of Innovation Theory with the Kubler-Ross grief cycle. Its suggested application is to use the model in combination with a more holistic change management approach or process.

It was published and presented at the 20th IFIP Conference e-Business, e-Services, and e-Society I3E2021 in Galway, Ireland (I3e2021.com/).

DOI: Doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85447-8_28

The system allows franchisees to manage the daily operation of all franchise activities, such as client management and communication, contracts and invoicing, learner management, learner progress management, and stock ordering. From a franchisor's perspective, the system provides various control measures and reports.

The first version of the system was developed within 12 weeks from an MVP designed in MS Excel.

The workbook is used by over 40 franchisees within a franchise network to manage budgeting and operational finances, complete marketing planning, track sales and conversions, and generate reports to measure and track success.

Implemented Freshdesk in combination with a custom query submission form to replace all email, WhatsApp, Slack, and phone call queries with a single portal for query submissions. The custom query submission form was created to allow improved automation on the free Freshdesk plan.