Muhammad Shoayb Peerbocus

The Alalila taxi booking platform is a digital online channel for users to book taxis online instead of offline reservations (via email and phone). I worked with drivers, users, and operations to gain insight into the required functionality through design-thinking sessions and competitive audits (taxi booking in other countries).

The deployment roadmap was agreed upon based on market insight and fast business value delivery. I recommended an agile approach to vendor selection (agile RFP) and delivery. We initially kept two suppliers from the initial screening process with an agreed three-month trial period, after which we evaluated and kept the vendor with whom we found better synergies. During the trial period, the two teams worked on two different sets of functionalities that our internal IT team evaluated as being of similar size. The incremental approach to delivery greatly helped us with market adoption and aligned with user expectations.

I screened and gathered a cross-functional team of SMEs, a business analyst, and a software architect to map out the requirements for the next generation. It is meant to be an ERP to transform the business operation and pave the wave for the organization to be a market leader. I oversaw the RFP exercise and vendor selection, collaborated with the vendor team to develop an agile approach to the project delivery, and secured stakeholders’ approval of the roadmap and release plan. I served as an agile project manager and product owner while acting as the key interface between the vendor and in-house customer. I also prioritized and clarified requirements on an ongoing basis, negotiated work to be completed by the vendor for each iteration, coordinated UAT testing and deployment, and collaborated with the operation team to accompany them through the change management.

The incremental approach helped elicit the correct requirements and excellent buy-in across the board—regular feedback taken—and speed up the go-to-market of the new ERP.

Our aviation and travel agencies business was struggling to hire and retain talent. The competition was so fierce. I worked with the executive to turn around the situation. The idea of the training school was to train students and hire them for our own needs, and enable ‘excess’ students to become available in the market. I worked with various SMEs and experts in the field to shape the project and ran a marketing research study, followed by a full-fledged feasibility study. The facts backed up a well-articulated value proposition that enabled me to secure project approval and budget. I followed through with the project’s planning and execution phase, ensuring its successful delivery. I worked with people from different professions (pedagogy, aviation, business, etc.) to bring the project to life. The project was directed to ensure a clear line of communication with all the stakeholders and allow true collaboration. The end product was an exceptional offer on the market that delighted students and delivered well above expected results.

I collaborated with users to understand their needs and pain points. I drafted the requirement specification and sought validation from management. I also worked through the design and discussed it with stakeholders for final approval. Furthermore, I was engaged in the solution’s actual development: coding, designing, and implementing interfaces and databases. Testing and UAT of the solution followed this. Finally, I worked with the infrastructure team, deployed the solution, and carried out user training at the UAT stage and after deployment.

Project managed the first web application that allows premium customers from one of the world’s largest banks to effect online, real-time transfers of money from their account in one country to another. My role started by developing the concept, bringing various SMEs from various fields together to build the POC. Subsequently, I work with multiple domain leaders to assemble the team. I established a governance structure to monitor and control the project’s progress. I engaged with key stakeholders to ensure fluid communication and support. I set up and ran the project steering committee and various sub-committees to ensure we were moving steadily and, where applicable, acted to remove roadblocks. I established a close working relationship with the technical team to ensure risks were properly managed. I reached out to bank country leaders to understand the guidelines and compliance requirements for in-country deployment and ensure these constraints are translated into the technical solution.

The concept of the marketplace was to replicate Amazon eCommerce in the local market. My task was to rework the idea in the local context, put in place the solution, and get the business operation going. I gathered a team of SMEs from different functions to shape and validate the concept through a design thinking approach with potential users. I presented, defended, negotiated, and got the board’s approval for implementing the project and resources. I also screened for a project manager and oversaw the set up of the team to translate the concept into the final product. I was the senior manager on the project and delivered the right governance structure. Whenever I judged it necessary to dive into the details to help resolve something, I was always there. My role included extensive communication on the project, which was strategically important to the board and various stakeholders. I was also heavily involved with the go-to-market strategy, negotiating and getting onboard businesses that would sell their products. My role encompassed accountability for the project’s operational, marketing, and financial success. I also put in place the structure or framework for the operation.

Acted as program manager to head the outsourcing center for an HCM global leader company, executing the roadmap for the development and evolution of the software platform.

Collaborated with the program manager to create the go-live plan for the bank’s operation in six EEC countries. The key tasks assigned to the team I led focused on validating the core banking platform set up to meet all in-country requirements. The major challenge was to be pedantic and resolve prompt non-conclusive tests. Detailed upfront planning and analysis were key to the success of the assignment. The project embodied all the competencies required. The result was awesome. We met the local regulators’ requirements without issues, and the bank was opened on time.

The enterprise architecture working group was set up to service the group to align software development. I had a dual role in the working group: I was accountable for delivering guidelines for business analysis (and capturing user requirements). Second, I contributed to the larger group working on the software development guidelines. I also analyzed past projects to extract best practices and map them against current industry practices. I tested new proposed practices to support software development for the group.

Led negotiations with a European logistics company to outsource its back-office operation to lower-cost operating geographies. I led the team by designing and running a POC to showcase the value proposition to the stakeholders. Followed by detailed process mapping and re-engineering of the process so that it could be replicated more efficiently. The result was amazing; the operation ran at a lower cost base and provided better service to the end clients’ customers. On the other hand, the outsourced operation generated a very good profit margin boosting the overall bottom line of the company

The company was acquired by a new group, and we had to align the brand and visual identity with the new one. A thorough analysis was conducted across all screens, reports, and online web pages. I performed a risk analysis, gathering the maximum number of stakeholders around the table to ensure that we optimized the coverage of a potential failure in a particular area. Based on the risk score, the level of analysis was adjusted as it was impossible to be 100% thorough. We also ran deep data and text analysis on the code and data stored in the database to ensure maximum coverage of all updates. Despite this meticulous planning, we also faced a new situation of logo sizing for the specific interface where we had to keep a UX person always in the team. After the update, we ran a complete regression testing to ensure that visuals were updated and everything worked fine, as that rebranding was quite broad.

I discussed, planned, and wrote an RFP document for replacing financial ERP. The first step involved setting up a cross-functional team, undertaking requirement-gathering workshops, and developing and streamlining the workflow processes. Eventually, the RFP was sent out, and I interviewed vendors, performed vendor selection, allocated contracts, and put together the implementation team. I put in place the governance structure to manage the implementation of the project. I also worked closely with key stakeholders to manage risks and ensure that our best practices were correctly implemented. I developed a comprehensive test strategy and ran the testing and validation exercise. At the same time, I carried out change management and user training. I worked with the IT infrastructure team to put the proper IT security implementation in place, also managing parallel runs after go-live to mitigate any risks.