Product Manager | Coach
2019 - PRESENTProductMicrobe (Freelance)- Developed a product to evaluate if a candidate was a good fit with the job, team, and a company for a market (SME) that’s yet untapped by the client Hudson. The first MVP was ready but was put on hold due to COVID-19.
- Managed the development of a product (Angular, SVG, Firebase) for product managers to create flexible, visual plans that combine strategy with discovery and delivery based on impact mapping and opportunity trees. It was for the client Climopp.com.
- Consulted and coached on a range of IT issues that varied in complexity.
Product Manager | Coach
2017 - 2019ACA IT Solutions (Client: MediaGeniX)- Introduced a product mindset and best practices: roadmap, user journey, contact with end users, and a lean UX canvas.
- Implemented a structure for scaling multiproduct teams.
- Conceptualized and built a small product to check the feasibility of converting from desktop/Smalltalk to web/Java. It was meant to only check technical feasibilities but was sold to three customers within a year (RTBF, M6, and TF1).
- Guided a product team of 12 to create a SaaS product around media rights management. The goal was to ensure that the competition does not approach existing customers and we reached our objective of two new customers by the end of 2019.
- Coached the team in the agile methodology, and after three months, the team achieved a stable velocity and delivered a new increment every two weeks, instead of every three months.
Product Manager | Coach
2017 - 2019ACA IT Solutions- Provided training that worked around the product management framework at ACA and multiple companies such as Becton-Dickinson, Idewe, Mobility+, and Nike.
- Successfully held an ideation workshop for Teamleader.
- Introduced and established the concept of product management into the company and trained 30+ business analysts to become product managers.
- Created a new offering around product management and coaching which combined lean startup, UX, design thinking, and agile development—generating further business with Mediagenix, Mobility+, Nike, Teamleader, Publiq, and Museum Pass.
Tribe Operations Coordinator for the Ghent Office
2016 - 2019ACA IT Solutions- Oversaw the program management of three software projects in parallel.
- Recruited and selected developer, UX, and product manager profiles along with optimizing team dynamics, based on roles and competencies.
- Served as the evolution coach of six and as a member of the leadership team of the business unit.
Agile Coach | Project Manager | Business Analyst
2017 - 2018ACA IT Solutions (Client: Securex)- Enabled the autonomy of the identity management team by introducing kanban and agile principles.
- Introduced program management by encouraging the two product owners to make decisions on a weekly basis.
- Implemented the business analysis of the onboarding process of a Securex employee.
Product Owner | Project Manager
2015 - 2017ACA IT Solutions (Client: Isabel)- Managed the development of an application for integrating banks. (Due to an NDA, I cannot go into more details.).
- Provided various services including business analysis, project management, story writing, prototyping (Balsamiq), and workshops.
- Established various processes to foster project delivery and communication.
Functional Analyst
2015 - 2015Ebit (Client: Federal Cancer Registration Belgium)- Performed a functional analysis for a new cancer registration platform.
- Guided the development team of three to build the product.
- Managed the project including providing the scope, budget and reporting to customer.
Advising Product Manager
2015 - 2015Ebit (Client: Worldwide Parking Solutions)- Mentored and coached the team in new product development for parking places.
- Provided guidance to create the strategy and roadmap.
- Found bottlenecks and resolved issues to facilitate project delivery.
Proxy Product Manager
2014 - 2015Ebit (Client: Wees Wegwijs)- Oversaw the discovery and delivery of an online learning platform for driver licenses.
- Managed a team of three in delivering the software product.
- Managed the project including scope, budget, and reports to the client.
Member of the Project Management Office
2008 - 2015Ebit- Handled the resource planning for ~ten projects (small and large).
- Designed the software development methodology and evaluated the results and made adjustments.
- Managed the implementation in Jira and Confluence.
- Coached employees (developers and analysts) in their day-to-day tasks.
Business Analyst | Project Manager
2008 - 2015Ebit (Primary Client: Bayer Cropscience, Four Years)- Defined the roadmap, vision, and strategy while aligning different business units, worldwide.
- Mapped out the customer journey of how genetic experiments are conducted, e.g., visits to labs and field trials; accompanied by a business analysis of the processes.
- Managed a team of six from concept to development including outsourcing of QA to Ukraine (three testers).
- Guided end-users in the adoption of the product, e.g., giving demos and workshops.
Architect | Team Leader
2007 - 2008Ebit (Client: Traficon, now FLIR)- Led a team in the maintenance of the existing product.
- Evaluated the existing product, determined needs, and added new features.
- Architected the process of implementing the project tasks.
Architect | Developer | Functional Analyst
2003 - 2007Actonomy- Analyzed, architected, and implemented a fuzzy matching engine.
- Bootstrapped the Vacature.com job-matching site (it was the top site at that time in Belgium).
- Created a new, competency-based HR platform that was sold to the city Kortrijk.
Developer | Analyst
1999 - 2003Devgen (now Syngenta)- Created an internal tool for the registration of experimental data and added insights through clustering and AI. The product was used for 12 years until Devgen was acquired by Syngenta.
- Served as an architect and developer of an object-relational mapper to allow the agile development of software products.
- Analyzed and developed an intranet CMS (based on Apache Cocoon).
Researcher | Developer
1997 - 1998Bikit- Created a working Java desktop app for tracing parcels across Europe (based on EDI) as proof of concept (a European research project).
- Automated the insurance advice for KBC, using an object-oriented expert system (ObjectIQ).
- Provided advice on UML round trip tools (Rational Rose).
Jonas Van Poucke
Product Manager in Ghent, Belgium
Member since May 4, 2020
Jonas is a seasoned product manager who skillfully combines strategy, discovery, and delivery. Thanks to his broad interests and robust drive to learn, Jonas hits the ground running when encountering a new domain. He's also executed many of his own product ideas, so he stays up to date on a technical level and often delivers a product that surprises and exceeds expectations.
Jonas is now available for hire
Project Highlights
- Led the product-market fit and MVP creation of a novel product in assessing candidates.
- Developed my own side project to more easily manage products plans based on impact mapping and the Shape Up methodology (by Basecamp).
Expertise
- Agile
- Coaching
- Design Thinking
- Impact Mapping
- Product Roadmaps
- Product Strategy
- Scrum
- User Experience (UX)
Education
- Ghent University
Select Certifications
- Jeff Patton & Associates
- Mind the Product
- Prosource
Employment
Project History
- Recruitment and Assessment Product for SMBsLed the product-market fit and MVP creation of a novel product in assessing candidates.
Elevator Statement:
We believe that there are recruiters of SMBs in Benelux Union who are hiring candidates on a recurring basis who need to optimize their present selection process and reduce the risk and cost of a flawed employment match. Because of CAST, they can increase the objectivity and efficiency of their selection procedure so that they can maintain control when the selection process becomes complex.
Unlike other solutions, CAST reduces the time to hire without sacrificing quality by applying scientifically validated tests, provides insights adapted to the company needs, is straightforward to use by recruiters and attractive to candidates.
We know we are right when we have more than ten beta users and we have more than 200 paying subscribers in the year after official release of version 1. - A Lightweight Product Plan That is Built for ChangeDeveloped my own side project to more easily manage products plans based on impact mapping and the Shape Up methodology (by Basecamp).
I developed a product for product managers to create a flexible, visual plan. It combines strategy with discovery and delivery and is based on impact mapping and opportunity trees.
Technologies: Angular, SVG, Firebase
Education
- Postgraduate degree in Information Technology (Computer Science)1996 - 1997Ghent University - Ghent, Belgium
- Teacher's degree in Education1996 - 1996Ghent University - Ghent, Belgium
- Master of Science degree in Chemistry1990 - 1995Ghent University - Ghent, Belgium
Certifications
- Certified Scrum Product OwnerOCTOBER 2018 - PRESENTJeff Patton & Associates
- Product Management Foundations 101 & Product Management Essentials 102OCTOBER 2018 - PRESENTMind the Product
- Workshop — User Story Mapping (Jeff Patton)OCTOBER 2016 - PRESENTMind the Product
- Mastering Business Analysis (Robertson)OCTOBER 2013 - PRESENTIT Works
- Volere Requirements Management (Robertson)OCTOBER 2011 - PRESENTIT Works
- BPMN in PracticeSEPTEMBER 2011 - PRESENTIT Works
- Prince II PractitionerJULY 2010 - PRESENTKluwer
- Prince II FoundationJULY 2008 - PRESENTEconocom
- Scrum MasterNOVEMBER 2007 - PRESENTProsource
