Publication
Streamline Jira Workflows With These Best Practices
https://www.toptal.com/project-managers/jira/jira-workflow-best-practices
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Kelly Provost
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Columbus, OH, United States
Toptal member since April 25, 2019
Expertise
Bio
Kelly's 20+ years of experience as a project manager, agile specialist, and business analyst allow her to balance project details with strategic direction. She can effectively work with all members of the functional and executive teams to maximize value. Kelly has participated in multiple Agile transformations across large enterprises and smaller companies and can help bridge the gap between traditional project expectations and Agile-delivered value.
Project Highlights
BMW Financials: Regional IT Alignment
Led multiple teams in a program to bring all North and South American countries onto one set of systems.
Ohio Department of Commerce: Licensing System
Led discovery, design, and development of a licensing system. Managed the Agile transformation for Dept. of Commerce.
IGS Energy: Offshore Contact Center Set-up
Managed local and remote teams in setting up the company's first offshore contact center.
Expertise
- Agile Coaching
- Agile Project Management
- Business Analysis
- Jira Administrator
- Remote Work Consulting
- Scrum Master
- Stakeholder Management
- Vendor Management
Work Experience
Project Manager | Agile Coach
2019 - PRESENT
Toptal Clients
- Functioned as a project manager, scrum master, agile coach, or other flexible roles as needed by clients.
- Managed projects and project prioritization with both internal teams and vendors, as needed by clients.
- Enabled client team members to function more effectively by increasing the effectiveness of the project pipeline.
- Provided recommendations for project process improvements.
- Advised on tools and administration to support new processes.
- Functioned as a Jira administrator managing workflows, integrations, automation, and reporting.
- Functioned as a liaison between globally dispersed teams and team members.
Project Manager | Scrum Master | Business Analyst
2018 - 2019
Ohio Department of Commerce
- Functioned as a PM, SM, and BA for a new liquor permitting system; ran sprint planning, retrospectives, daily stand-ups, and sprint to plan metrics to management.
- Managed all aspects of the project including requirements, development, testing, migration, training, and pilot roll-out.
- Led prioritization, sprint retrospectives, and process improvements.
- Provided dashboards and metrics on velocity and resource capacity.
- Created and led presentations on project direction and status to management.
- Used Jira and Confluence to feed a development process utilizing Azure DevOps.
- Led the client's Agile transformation, including training and coaching for all roles.
- Designed department-wide agile and documentation processes.
- Configured and administered Jira and Confluence for the department.
Project Manager | Scrum Master | Business Analyst
2015 - 2018
BMW Financial Services
- Functioned as PM, scrum master, and BA for a multi-million dollar international project for a large financial services organization.
- Performed project management duties, including reporting and administration, and wrote user stories, acceptance criteria, test cases, and user documentation and training for both new internally developed and customized, packaged applications.
- Facilitated the client shift from Waterfall to Agile methodology.
- Managed large-scale data migration to the new systems.
- Led prioritization, sprint retrospectives, and process improvements.
- Functioned as SME on integrations with other apps and agile teams.
- Provided dashboards and metrics on velocity and resource capacity.
- Created and led presentations on project direction and status to an international audience.
- Used Jira and Confluence to feed teams working on SAP, .NET, and Core.
- Used HP ALM for testing, test management, and tracking.
Business Analyst
2014 - 2015
Infor
- Functioned as a business analyst, QA, and pre-sales for a new cloud-based application for Contract Lifecycle Management that integrated with several other cloud applications.
- Managed prioritization of requirements in the backlog.
- Wrote user stories, acceptance criteria, test cases, end-user documentation, and end-user and internal training. Scripted demos for prospective customers.
- Functioned as SME on integrations with other cloud apps to be able to test end to end across implementations and make recommendations and best practices to customers.
- Guided requirements and UI flows to be responsive for desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Project Manager | Business Analyst
2012 - 2014
Thirty-One
- Functioned as a business analyst, project manager, program manager, and QA for the sales and events IT team.
- Managed IT priorities within each department and across departments.
- Led IT team on high profile projects including three annual sales conventions hosting over 20,000 sales consultants across two countries.
- Wrote user stories, acceptance criteria, test cases, end-user documentation, and communications to the business on changes including impacts, timing, and associated process changes.
- Functioned as IT liaison for the business owners within sales, marketing, operations, and the contact center, handling application development, infrastructure, and vendor projects as well as internal business process improvement.
- Managed velocity, iteration, and resources planning for all efforts including large projects, enhancements, and production support.
- Used TFS for requirements tracking and traceability.
Project Manager | Business Analyst
2007 - 2012
IGS Energy
- Functioned as a scrum master, business analyst, and team lead, managing IT priorities within and across multiple departments including high-profile projects such as setting up a contact center in Manila, Philippines.
- Wrote user stories, acceptance criteria, and test cases for a team of up to 15 developers and five QA.
- Wrote end-user documentation and communications to the business on changes including impacts, timing, and associated process changes.
- Functioned as IT liaison for the contact center, handling application development, infrastructure, and vendor projects as well as internal business process improvement.
- Managed velocity, iteration planning, and sprint burndown for each iteration including large projects, enhancements, and production support.
- Used TFS for requirements, traceability, and bug tracking.
Business Analyst
2006 - 2007
Sterling Commerce (now IBM)
- Represented business user interests in the enterprise data warehouse, analyzing and testing requirement.
- Managed team priorities, by function, around projects, enhancements and bug fixes.
- Led end-user training efforts on both new users and upgrades and enhancements to the data warehouse and its tools; created appropriate documentation.
- Identified, assessed, and documented business requirements, recommending business priorities, and advising the business on options, risks, and costs.
- Analyzed impact of proposed solutions across the business and contribute a business or process perspective during design reviews.
- Developed a data warehouse-specific testing process with appropriate documentation and ensure its application throughout all projects, enhancements and bug fixes.
Project Manager | Business Analyst
2003 - 2006
J.P. Morgan Chase
- Served as liaison between IT and business.
- Conducted business process modeling and locate process improvements.
- Identified, assessed, and documented business requirements, recommending business priorities, and advised business on options, risks, and costs.
- Analyzed impact of proposed solution across the business, develop use cases to explain/demonstrate business requirements/specifications to IT team and contribute a business or process perspective during design reviews.
- Facilitated implementation of new functionality through training sessions, demos, and the development of appropriate documentation.
Business Analyst
2002 - 2003
Paros Business Partners
- Served as liaison between IT and business, analyzing and communicating requirements.
- Conducted business process modeling. Identified, assessed, and documented requirements, recommended priorities, and advised on options, risks, and costs.
- Analyzed impact of proposed solution across the business, develop use cases to explain/demonstrate business requirements/specifications to IT team and contribute a business or process perspective during design reviews.
- Developed and executed test plans, test scenarios, system integration test scripts, and ensure testing results correspond to the business expectations.
Project History
BMW Financials: Regional IT Alignment
Led multiple teams in a program to bring all North and South American countries onto one set of systems.
Discovery:
Performed analysis of the systems used within the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. Made recommendations on a regional alignment approach.
RFP Process:
Worked through the proposal process and vendor selection. Settled on a split approach for in house development of a CRM and a packages solution using SAP for accounting.
Project:
I functioned as project manager for CRM and data migration projects as well as the scrum master and business analyst for several agile teams building the CRM and customizing SAP.
Project Administration:
Set up Jira and Confluence for program documentation and processes. Set recommendations and standards for the organization of Confluence and workflow of cards through Jira.
Project Rescue:
A development team on a parallel project was behind. I worked on the analysis of situation and end goals and created a plan to get functions released to production as quickly as possible with minimal churn to the customer.
Ohio Department of Commerce: Licensing System
Led discovery, design, and development of a licensing system. Managed the Agile transformation for Dept. of Commerce.
This project created a new cloud-based licensing system including notifications, workflow, and internal and external portals. It also included a data migration from a mainframe. Many manual processes were eliminated internally and we addressed concerns from external customers who did not previously have visibility into the permit approval process and renewals. This project also included integrations with several other government agencies.
This project introduced Agile to the department. I set up Jira and Confluence, designed standards, and documented best practices for using them. I trained the project management office, product owners, and developers on Agile and coached them through the process using the project as an example.
Thirty-one Gifts: Annual Conventions
Directed the IT events team in support of large sales convention.
Managed an IT team on high profile events projects including three annual sales conventions hosting over 20,000 sales consultants across two countries in two weeks.
We designed and built functionality including:
- Registration: to register users, charge for the events, apply rewards, and let them select specific classes to attend.
- Welcome package build: to assign items to an attendee based on the previous year’s performance, provide totals for purchase, organize data, and create pick lists for warehouse fulfillment.
- Badge creation: to assign attendees a barcode and print badges.
- On-site check-in: to check in an attendee, retrieve their welcome packet, and track their check-in for future giveaways.
- Class attendance: to scan badges upon entry for attendance.
- Awards presentation: to use the attendee and attendance data, as well as pre-supplied award data, to generate targeted audience content at awards banquets.
IGS Energy: Offshore Contact Center Set-up
Managed local and remote teams in setting up the company's first offshore contact center.
Managed team members across multiple departments on a project to set up a contact center in Manila, Philippines.
The project included:
- Analysis of current processes to determine the best scope of the remote call center
- Analysis of current systems for the technical feasibility of use overseas
- Creation of to be processes detailed the split and interaction between contact centers
- Creation of new call routing to support multiple call centers
- Creation of documentation related to the split and also specifically for the new call center
- Coordination with new call center vendor to train staff
- Managing the initial cut-over
Other Experience
Education
2022 - 2025
Doctorate of Business Administration in Business Administration
Capella University - Minneapolis, MN, USA
1997 - 1998
Master's Degree in Environmental Management
The University of Findlay - Findlay, OH
1993 - 1996
Bachelor's Degree in English
The Ohio State University - Columbus, OH
Certifications
OCTOBER 2022 - PRESENT
Managing Jira Projects for Cloud
Atlassian
AUGUST 2018 - PRESENT
Professional Scrum Master Level I (PSM I)
Scrum.org
Skills
Tools
Google Docs, Jira, Visio, Confluence, Atlassian, TFS, Trello, Slack, Skype, SQL
Paradigms
Change Management, Requirements Analysis, Scrum, Agile, Waterfall Delivery, Agile Project Management, Kanban, Lean Project Management, Azure DevOps
Industry Expertise
Software, Insurance, Banking & Finance, Call Centers, Financial Services, Healthcare, Energy, Retail & Wholesale
Platforms
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), SharePoint, WordPress, Monday.com
Other
Consulting, Story Mapping, User Stories, Portfolio Management, Project Discovery, Agile Sprints, Remote Work, Risk Management, Communication, Compliance, Governance, Delivery Management, Project Scoping, Project Timelines, Websites, CRM Systems, Client Relations, Cross-functional Collaboration, Training & Training Content Development, IT Project Management, Software Integration, System Integration, Planning, Time Management, Hybrid Project Management, Software Project Management, Microsoft 365, PSM-1, Agile Coaching, Project Planning, Project Management, Business Analysis, Process Mapping, Project Tracking, Budgeting, Training, Documentation, GAP Analysis, Risk Assessment, Scrum Master, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), IT, Discovery Management, Scope Management, Technical Project Management, Team Management, Stakeholder Management, Technical Business Analysis, Agile Transformation, Customer Service Management (CSM), Process Flows, Process Improvement, Waterfall Methodology, Process Modeling, Business Process Modeling, Software Development Management, Project Coordination, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Project Closure, Jira Administrator, Quality Assurance (QA), Mobile, Mobile Apps, Technical Documentation, Vendor Selection, Project Management Operations, eCommerce, Remote Work Consulting, Scope of Work (SOW), Discovery Workshops, Distributed Team Management, Data Analytics, Workshop Facilitation, Workforce Management (WFM), Software as a Service (SaaS), Data Analysis, Events, Web Applications, Project Rescue, Engineering Best Practices, Vendor Management, Remote Team Leadership, Program Management, Workflow, Estimation & Planning, Business Process Improvement (BPI), Request for Proposal (RFP), Agile Program Management, Migration, Data Migration, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), Microsoft, Custom APIs, SAP, Financial Software, Innovation, Strategy
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