David is available for hire
Hire DavidDavid Machiels
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Location
Herent, Belgium
Toptal Member Since
November 13, 2020
David is an IT delivery/program/project manager with a demonstrated history of software development projects and infrastructure rollouts. As a consultant, David's worked with finance, manufacturing, and logistics enterprises. Though he calls Belgium home, David has engaged clients in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Malta, the Netherlands, and the US. David is well-versed in popular methodologies and frameworks such as PRINCE2®, PMBoK, Scrum, and SAFe.
Project Highlights
Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Rollout for 30,000+ End Users
Managed the rollout of Microsoft’s digital workplace offering for 30,000+ users, including identity and access management, exchange migration, migrations to SharePoint as well as custom development on Azure for a pan-European banking group.
Software Development Team Move from the US to India (IN)
Successfully transitioned development of a live application from a team in the US and Belarus to a new team in Pune, India.
Integration and Automation Built on Azure Services
Built an integration between legacy, on-premises software systems at a major bank with new, cloud-based automation in Azure and content stored in SharePoint Online.
Expertise
Work Experience
Release Train Engineer | Data Insights and Analytics
2021 - PRESENT
Ahold Delhaize
- Established an operating model for distributed teams, 35+ FTE across the EU and India.
- Implemented an accelerated cadence of bi-weekly releases through optimized processes.
- Established a demand management process for capturing, refining, and operationalizing incoming requests from business stakeholders. The pipeline contains 80-90 incoming business initiatives at any time.
- Adopted a prioritization model for feature requests across the various subsidiaries in the company.
- Introduced quarterly PI Planning, drove the event, and acted as the main facilitator for both teams and stakeholders within my scope.
- Drove a maturity assessment for delivery teams in scope, culminating in an improvement roadmap.
- Coached and guided scrum masters on facilitating common ceremonies such as stand-ups, backlog refinement, retrospectives, etc.
Technical Project Manager
2020 - 2020
Wolters Kluwer
- Project-managed an NPS improvement track for tax and accounting solutions, ensuring that product development was stabilized and the environment was fit for migrating key clients to a new platform.
- Initiated a de-risking track concerning the migration of a content platform's search engine back end towards Apache Solr.
- Transitioned several product teams from active development in the US and EU towards maintenance mode in Pune, India.
- Improved GDPR compliance across several products, working with legal representatives, external vendors, and development teams.
Global Cloud Migration Program Lead
2017 - 2020
KBC
- Handled the onboarding to Office 365 for CSOB Pojišťovna, a Czech insurance agency.
- Oversaw the onboarding to Office 365 for Patria Finance, a Czech trading company.
- Migrated DZI Insurance, a Bulgarian insurance agency, to Dynamics 365.
- Delivered several identity and access management extensions for K&H Bank, Hungary.
- Developed apps for the provisioning tools for Office 365 products (SharePoint, Teams), monitoring and logging initiatives for service management (Azure), and document archival.
- Managed multiple project teams and operational budgeting.
Global Test Manager
2016 - 2017
KBC
- Established a standardized testing approach within a cloud migration context.
- Designed and documented a testing process, including templates, presentations, and reusable materials for international entities.
- Aided in the sourcing, coaching, and management of local test analysts.
- Followed up on test results and reported them to the program PMO.
- Worked within a complex environment with various stakeholders of multiple nationalities.
- Managed a team of local test analysts tasked with providing quality assurance of the delivered solution.
Technical Project Manager
2016 - 2016
KBC Group
- Contributed to software development projects in the context of Office 365, SharePoint and the Microsoft Azure platform, as well as integrations with other proprietary software such as Adobe LiveCycle and web services.
- Managed a team of 5-to-8 .NET developers and related stakeholders throughout the company.
- Oversaw Agile project planning, user story mapping, and sprint-based project delivery.
Business Analyst
2014 - 2016
KBC Group
- Performed a functional analysis for internal communications, migrating content management platforms such as IBM Connections to Office 365 (SharePoint).
- Elicited business requirements and implemented requirements engineering.
- Drafted solution designs, including proofs of concept, prototypes, and GUI specifications in Axxure and Balsamiq. Worked on use case analysis and model design using UML and BPMN in tools such as Sparx Enterprise Architect.
- Liaised between business users and technical development to ensure a close fit of requirements and implementation.
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Consultant
2014 - 2014
Terumo Medical Corporation
- Coached project managers and senior executives on applying project and portfolio management best practices.
- Planned SharePoint-based collaboration workspaces for project teams and project metadata management for demand management.
- Handled the full implementation of Microsoft Project Server 2013 and portfolio management capabilities.
- Delivered implementation- and configuration documentation.
- Facilitated the upload of project data into the environment.
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Consultant
2013 - 2014
Sibelga
- Delivered a Project Server 2010-based solution for coordinating construction and operational maintenance efforts of Sibelga, distributor of natural gas and electricity in Brussels.
- Set up a web-based environment that allows centralized portfolio management for more efficient scheduling of network maintenance.
- Facilitated requirement gathering workshops with Sibelga's PMO.
- Delivered project management training to ensure best practices are known and applied throughout the project lifecycle.
- Collaborated with the client’s operational staff and IT vendors for the implementation and administration of the environment.
- Delivered project documentation to executive stakeholders.
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Consultant
2013 - 2014
BPost
- Onboarded additional users to Project Server 2007, including coaching in best practices for handling project work on the platform.
- Performed a root cause analysis of the platform's data integrity concerns and gave advisory presentations regarding platform improvements.
- Handed over the environment to an external IT vendor for continued operational support.
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Consultant
2013 - 2013
European Commission
- Consulted from end-to-end of the set up of a pilot project for managing fraud-fighting efforts, expenses, and overseas engagements by the European Commission, based on the Microsoft Project Server 2010 platform.
- Analyzed the current project lifecycle, metadata management, and processes implemented in the PMO.
- Advised, together with third-party vendors, on the sizing of domain controllers.
- Launched the production environment for Microsoft Project Server, including migration efforts and data transfers.
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Consultant
2013 - 2013
Keytrade Bank
- Set up a complete Project Server 2013 environment.
- Configured and developed the complete PPM 2013 platform across the entire organization.
- Translated the functional specs into the technical architecture and design.
- Set up, configured, and developed all Microsoft Server portfolio management features.
.NET Application Engineer
2012 - 2013
Infrabel
- Delivered an automation project for improved planning of railway and train station maintenance.
- Contributed to the .NET development of several components in the existing application environment.
- Created the back-end logic for InfoPath forms to apply business rules to the creation and management of maintenance requests.
Project History
Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Rollout for 30,000+ End Users
Managed the rollout of Microsoft’s digital workplace offering for 30,000+ users, including identity and access management, exchange migration, migrations to SharePoint as well as custom development on Azure for a pan-European banking group.
Using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®), I managed multiple simultaneous initiatives and prioritized program and team backlogs while working mainly with distributed, virtual teams in Prague and Pardubice (CZ), Sofia (BG), Budapest (HU), and Leuven and Mechelen (BE) to deliver benefits end-to-end, together with nearshoring and offshoring partners.
Software Development Team Move from the US to India (IN)
Successfully transitioned development of a live application from a team in the US and Belarus to a new team in Pune, India.
From a resourcing perspective, I was tasked with optimizing the delivery processes of a development team spread across Mechelen (BE), Minsk (BY), Philadelphia (US), Pune (IN), and Alphen a/d Rijn (NL). The key activity was a knowledge-transfer and setting up new and additional agreements with the current internal and external stakeholders delivering us the necessary resources, including cost management.
Software-wise, we had to ensure code repositories were split off from an existing product base, including rebuilding our CI/CD pipelines.
Infrastructure-wise, the operation included the migration of the infrastructure from Azure to Amazon AWS, relicensing IBM Cognos environments, and optimizing environment sizing to reduce costs.
Software-wise, we had to ensure code repositories were split off from an existing product base, including rebuilding our CI/CD pipelines.
Infrastructure-wise, the operation included the migration of the infrastructure from Azure to Amazon AWS, relicensing IBM Cognos environments, and optimizing environment sizing to reduce costs.
Integration and Automation Built on Azure Services
Built an integration between legacy, on-premises software systems at a major bank with new, cloud-based automation in Azure and content stored in SharePoint Online.
Several major projects were delivered, mostly using a basis of web services in combination with SharePoint Online when working with cloud-hosted content, but also several Azure web services for translating and routing traditional on-premises system calls to new cloud infrastructure. We also integrated Adobe LiveCycle for the generation of forms with entity or requestor's data based on SharePoint and Adobe LiveCycle.
Applying the Scrum framework, we managed the projects in 2-week sprints.
Applying the Scrum framework, we managed the projects in 2-week sprints.
Education
2020 - 2022
Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA)
Vlerick Business School - Brussels, Belgium
2015 - 2019
Master's Degree in Management
Open Universiteit Nederland - Heerlen, The Netherlands
2007 - 2012
Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology
Leuven University College - Leuven, Belgium
Certifications
DECEMBER 2020 - PRESENT
Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) 5th Edition Foundation
Axelos
APRIL 2019 - PRESENT
Certified SAFe 5.0 Program Consultant (SPC)
Scaled Agile, Inc.
FEBRUARY 2019 - PRESENT
Professional Scrum Master Level I (PSM I)
Scrum.org
AUGUST 2018 - AUGUST 2021
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
AUGUST 2015 - PRESENT
PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification
APMG International
APRIL 2014 - PRESENT
ITIL Foundation Certification
Axelos
MARCH 2014 - PRESENT
BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis
BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT
NOVEMBER 2013 - PRESENT
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
OCTOBER 2013 - PRESENT
Microsoft Specialist: Managing Projects with Microsoft Project 2013 (74-343)
Microsoft
OCTOBER 2013 - PRESENT
Microsoft Specialist: Managing Programs and Projects with Project Server 2013 (74-344)
Microsoft
MAY 2013 - PRESENT
Microsoft Specialist — Core Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 (70-331)
Microsoft
MAY 2013 - PRESENT
Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 (70-410)
Microsoft
FEBRUARY 2013 - PRESENT
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist — Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 (70-480)
Microsoft
JANUARY 2013 - PRESENT
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist — Microsoft Project Server 2010, Configuring (70-177)
Microsoft
JANUARY 2013 - PRESENT
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist — Microsoft Project 2010, Managing Projects (70-178)
Microsoft
DECEMBER 2012 - PRESENT
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist — Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Configuring (70-667)
Microsoft
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