James E. Neal, CSM

Irving, TX ***** 512-***-**** ad4fuq@r.postjobfree.com LinkedIn

Technical Product Owner

Strategic Vision—Prioritization—Product Development

Dynamic and collaborative Product Owner with extensive expertise managing large, complex digital projects, blending over a decade of experience in digital transformation and Agile project management. Skilled in developing customer-centric digital solutions and leading complex projects from concept to completion while aligning with strategic objectives. Proficient in digital planning, product, and program management, with a demonstrated ability to navigate to deliver innovative solutions. Combines meticulous attention to detail with creative thinking and effective interpersonal communication, underpinned by strong leadership in dynamic cross-functional team environments. Distinguished for adept problem-solving and consensus-building, committed to advancing digital initiatives. Able to work remotely and travel up to 25%

Key Competencies & Skills

Project Management • Attention to Detail • Product Development Lifecycle • Risk Analysis & Management • Content Marketing • Relationship & Stakeholder Management • Conflict Management • User Stories • Reporting • Product Documentation • Problem Solving • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion • UX/UI • Operations • Leadership • Collaboration • B2B Content Strategy • SEO • Analytics • Relationship Building • Content Management Systems • Product Vision • Content Migration • SAFe • Quality Assurance (QA) • Process Modeling • Product Marketing

MS Office (Excel, Word, Outlook & PowerPoint) • UAT • Front End Development (HTML 5, CSS3, jQuery) • Jira • Scrum • Kanban • Adobe (Photoshop, Acrobat & Illustrator) • Figma • BrowserStack • BugHerd • API Integration • Salesforce CRM • Confluence • Workfront • Agile Methodologies • Acceptance Criteria • Taxonomy Development • Test Plans • CMS (Drupal, Wordpress, Adobe Experience Manager)

Professional Experience

Ansira, Dallas, TX 04/2023 – 11/2023

AEM Product Owner, Contract: Managed the product backlog for four simultaneous epics and collaborated closely with client stakeholders, the Executive Product Manager, the Agile Project Manager, and the Development Team to decompose feature requirements into actionable user stories. Led the Arabic localization of client’s international franchise landing page. Planned and executed User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for customer-focused feature releases, analyzed results and reported findings.

Key Competencies: Collaboration, User Stories, Leadership, API Integration, Product Development, Customer-Facing, Product Development, Organization, Localization

Generated an 80% product acceptance rate from the AEM development team for an online booking customer experience with actionable user stories

•Collaborated with stakeholders to transform component API functional requirements into user stories

•Focused requirements into granular, specific tasks to ensure user stories represented distinct functionalities

•Embraced iterative refinement process to enhance clarity and feasibility

Highmark Health, Pittsburgh, PA 10/2022 – 04/2023

Associate Digital Product Operations Manager, Contract: Led cross-functional Agile team through the construction and maintenance of Highmark Healthcare's primary customer-focused website. Served as the pivotal point of contact between project sponsors, internal stakeholders, and the Publishing team. Orchestrated management of 200+ project lifecycles. Rallying with Product and Marketing teams to identify key KPIs and prioritize product initiatives using Scrum format.

Key Competencies: Agile, Product Management, Leadership, Initiative, Adobe Experience Manager, Time Management

Improved project turnaround time by 20% on key metrics with the implementation of Agile concepts

•Assessed website maintenance processes and project workflows to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies

•Introduced Agile concepts to the Web Publishing team to influence collaboration and adaptability

•Implemented robust scoping and prioritization mechanism vetting tasks by business impact and urgency

Key Competencies: Continuous Improvement, Lean, Agile, Problem Solving, Project Management, Customer Experience

Delivered 90% on-time delivery of continuous flow project increments with the transition from Kanban to Scrumban

•Provided training for the project team to ensure understanding of key concepts, roles, ceremonies, and artifacts

•Tailored Scrumban transition to suit team members’ specific needs and dynamics of the team’s work product

•Led and coordinated sprint planning sessions to define and commit to iterations and allocate resources efficiently

RAPP, Dallas, TX 12/2020 – 10/2022

Business Analyst, Contract: Authored functional requirements for 100 distinct email programs to capture nuanced business logic for each program. Articulated the optimization framework for a national financial services firm's daily dashboard initiative, ensuring comprehensive documentation of the project's intricacies and technical requirements. Administered management and refreshment of Jira user accounts.

Key Competencies: Efficiency, Data Analysis, Jira, Cost Management, Attention to Detail, Verbal Communication, Business Requirements

Lowered licensing costs by 25% with the reorganization of Jira user access accounts

•Communicated with stakeholders to verify user roles and access requirements

•Cross-referenced employee list with Jira user list to identify discrepancies, inactive users, and duplicates

•Analyzed current utilization of Jira licenses to remove redundant or unnecessary access levels

Alcon, Fort Worth, TX 03/2019 – 09/2019

Digital Project Manager, Contract: Orchestrated website development management and advanced technology implementation for crucial product launches within a multi-national pharmaceutical corporation. Led a cross-functional team of technical developers, brand executives, and vendor agencies to successfully launch a Drupal-based product website aligned with an innovative consumer product initiative.

Key Competencies: UX, Collaboration, Problem Solving, Creativity, Adaptability, Risk Management, Program Management, Project Plans, Team Coordination

Reduced costs by 20% with the introduction of interactive experiential software products for product consumer education

•Conducted thorough needs assessment to understand objectives and desired outcomes

•Performed comprehensive cost-benefit analysis to identify cost savings and estimate impact on project budget

•Worked with UX designers to create an engaging and seamless user experience for interactive technology

Other Relevant Experience

TrendMicro, Dallas, TX AEM Business Analyst/Product Owner 2020

CauseLabs, Fort Worth, TX Technical Project Manager 2020

Runner Agency, Dallas, TX Digital Project Manager - healthcare 2018 - 2019

Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX MarCom Project Manager 2015 - 2017

Catalyst, Austin, TX Interactive WordPress Developer 2014 - 2015

Kerbob Interactive Web Solutions, Austin, TX Contract Lead Creative 2013 - 2014

T3, Austin, TX Creative Web Development Intern 2012

Education, Certificates & Courses

Art Institute of Austin, Austin, TX

Associate of Applied Science – Web Design & Interactive Media

Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

Adobe Experience Manager Business Practitioner

Eliassen Group – Design Thinking Fundamentals

Vanderbilt University (Coursera) – Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT

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