Emma McCrostie
Christchurch,CAN
Summary
Seeking to leverage acquired project knowledge and work experience to effectively fill an exciting Senior Business Analyst position.
Results-driven management professional with the ability to achieve success. Strong focus on team collaboration, operational efficiency, and achieving measurable outcomes. Adept at strategic thinking, process improvement, business needs analysis and fostering culture of accountability and excellence. Known for adaptability and consistently meeting changing organisational needs.
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Business Analyst/Product Manager (eComm Value Stream)
Foodstuffs South Island
04.2023 - Current
- For just over a year, I have been part of the eCommerce program and have recently transitioned to the eCommerce value stream within the Retail Operations business unit
- My role has primarily focused on delivering in-flight initiatives while also analysing opportunities for improvement in the online fulfillment process
- Understanding the process end-to-end has been critical.
- Delivering the build of an operational dashboard to garner visibility of today was pivotal to understanding today to make informed decisions tomorrow.
- To further understand time allocation in our processes, I conducted a light time and motion study across ten stores, identifying how time was spent and whether activities were value-added.
- Leveraging international benchmarks, we can now quickly pinpoint areas for improvement
- My responsibilities also include performing gap analysis for features that do not meet customer needs due to insufficient requirements, as well as creating a data-driven suggested substitutions tool
- This tool simplifies decision-making for pickers, resulting in reduced costs to serve and enhanced customer satisfaction
- A key aspect of my role is effectively communicating and managing stakeholder expectations, ranging from shop floor teams to executives
- Foodstuffs operates under a unique cooperative model, which presents challenges in achieving standardisation, as each store is individually owned
- As a value stream, we are continuously developing our ways of working by incorporating principles of product management
- My experience is primarily rooted in Lean Six Sigma, I consistently draw upon the DMAIC framework to guide my facilitation and drive successful outcomes
- I predominantly use tools such as Miro, Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, and Microsoft Office to create key outputs, including requirements documents, conceptual diagrams, and options and recommendation papers
- In my role as a mentor, I provide guidance and support to a junior business analyst by sharing insights on best practices in business analysis methodologies, reviewing and giving constructive feedback on their work, and facilitating skill development through targeted training recommendations
- I encourage hands-on experience by allowing them to shadow me during key meetings and discussions, while delegating suitable objectives and tracking their progress
- I foster a culture of curiosity and initiative, promoting open communication and encouraging them to ask questions and propose ideas
- Additionally, I introduce them to key stakeholders to expand their network and provide emotional support to help build their confidence and navigate challenges in their role
- Departments, Finance and Commercial heads, Project Management Office, and the Grocery Commission
Senior Business Analyst
Heartland Bank
04.2022 - 04.2023
- At Heartland Bank, my role centred around overseeing the successful deployment of a specialized software solution tailored for managing Livestock Financing products
- Upon joining, the vendor had already been chosen, but the project had been inactive for several months
- My initial objective involved conducting a thorough analysis to bridge the gaps between the business requirements and the existing solution, ensuring its suitability for our needs
- Subsequently, I was tasked with initiating the project, entailing the creation of a comprehensive project scope, identification and engagement of key stakeholders, development of a project plan and timeline, management of project finances, process observations and mapping, and documenting requirements
- The spectrum of stakeholders under my management encompassed frontline staff, Operational Management, Risk and Compliance, Legal, Audit, IT, Finance, Project Management Office, and Executives
- The project adhered to a stringent waterfall methodology, employing stage gates and robust governance to guarantee high-quality outcomes for the business
- I held the responsibility of generating and presenting the pertinent artifacts for approval through these stage gates and associated entry/exit criteria
- These artifacts included the project brief, RASCI, High-Level Requirements, Context Diagram, Change Management Assessment, Risk Register, Detailed Level Requirements, Traceability Matrix, Project Plan, Detailed Process Design, Test Reports, and Go/No Go packs
- Throughout the project, a range of tools were employed, including Outlook, Teams, Azure DevOps, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project, Monday, and Lucid Chart
- The complexity of the migrated products necessitated a solution that was not initially tailored to fit, but the business acknowledged these limitations and proceeded with the chosen solution
- I take pride in the sustained engagement and commitment demonstrated by all stakeholders, which has been instrumental in maintaining project momentum and delivering a solution that precisely aligns with their operational business needs
- This success is attributed to consistent engagement through regular meetings and effective communication
- Despite the numerous challenges encountered during the project, we successfully delivered a solution that exceeded initial expectations, providing a unique offering that other banks can't readily leverage
Business Improvement Lead
ANZCO Foods
03.2020 - 04.2022
- In my role at ANZCO Foods, encompassing Business Analysis, Project Management, and Business Improvement, I had a significant breadth and depth of responsibilities
- In my capacity as a Business Analyst, I took charge of delivering a software solution and refining customer processes for a regulatory remediation project
- This entailed understanding the business problem, engaging with stakeholders, eliciting requirements, managing vendors, creating reports for executive review, and ultimately overseeing the implementation
- Switching into the Project Manager role, I led the implementation of Standard Cost within the company's ERP system
- Key tasks involved defining the project scope, identifying stakeholders, devising project plans, providing regular status updates, and conducting Steering Committee meetings with the executive team
- Upon transitioning to the Business Improvement Lead, I leveraged my expertise in Lean methodology to conduct a thorough diagnostic of ANZCO's loadout processes
- This included on-site visits to plants for process observation, engaging with stakeholders, identifying and analysing process pain points, pinpointing root causes, and presenting recommendations for process enhancements
Lean Business Analyst
Assurity Consulting
07.2019 - 03.2020
- During my consultancy tenure, I served as an advisor, focusing on encouraging adherence to best practices and offering recommendations in situations where clients were uncertain
- Despite the brevity of my consultancy period, I provided crucial business analysis services to the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) across two significant projects
- These projects encompassed the creation of a comprehensive Requirements Document for an Anaesthetic Information Management System and overseeing a system merge/consolidation for an elderly assessment tool
- Notably, this assessment tool is utilized on a national scale by District Health Boards (DHBs) and Community Service Providers
Business Analyst
SBS Bank
07.2015 - 07.2019
- In my capacity as an in-house Business Analyst, I collaborated closely with vital business stakeholders to execute strategic projects
- My responsibilities encompassed establishing robust relationships with these stakeholders, comprehending, and documenting a spectrum of requirements (including business, stakeholder, functional, and non-functional), and extending support to development, testing, and training initiatives
- During periods when I wasn't engaged in strategic projects, I dedicated my time to simplifying banking processes for both team members and customers using a Lean Six Sigma approach
- A notable achievement was being the Business Analyst for a high-performing project team that effectively redesigned and implemented system functionality, enabling seamless transactions multiple times a day
- Although not a ground-breaking concept in the banking realm, this project was intricate due to the complex structure of the bank from a payments and settlement perspective
- The project team collaborated with a reputable vendor to construct a payments gateway via API integration
- My role involved comprehending, documenting, and validating the detailed flow and timing of transactions, along with all the interrelated processes and systems
- I also played a significant part in devising the testing strategy and planning phases, ensuring the project was delivered punctually and within budget
- Another significant accomplishment was the successful implementation of a powerful knowledge tool
- This involved crafting a compelling business case for procuring a knowledge base system, outlining detailed business requirements for the business case, actively participating in vendor demonstrations and selection, and establishing governance for knowledge management within the bank
- This governance structure ensured regular review of information, clear business ownership, and accurate content for team members' users
Education
Commerce - Accounting
University of Otago
Dunedin, NZSkills
- Verbal and written communication
- Documentation and reporting
- Relationship building
- Project management
- Project planning
- Process mapping
- Stakeholder management
- Gap analysis
- Team collaboration
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Process optimisation
- Problem-solving
- Clear communication
- Strategic thinking
- Change management
Training
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
- Agile Facilitation
- Business Analysis with Business Rules
- BRSolutions Professional Training Suite
Timeline
Senior Business Analyst/Product Manager (eComm Value Stream)
Foodstuffs South Island
04.2023 - Current
Senior Business Analyst
Heartland Bank
04.2022 - 04.2023
Business Improvement Lead
ANZCO Foods
03.2020 - 04.2022
Lean Business Analyst
Assurity Consulting
07.2019 - 03.2020
Business Analyst
SBS Bank
07.2015 - 07.2019
Commerce - Accounting
University of Otago
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