ali choukri

Leading product vision, agile transformation, release management, and business analysis for nationwide e-commerce platform redesign serving millions of French consumers across 10 cross-functional squads.

PRODUCT OWNERSHIP & BUSINESS ANALYSIS:
- Defined product vision and 18-month strategic roadmap aligned with e-commerce business objectives
- Managed product backlog and feature prioritization ensuring maximum business value delivery
- Conducted stakeholder workshops to gather requirements, validate priorities, and align product vision with business objectives
- Wrote and refined 200+ user stories with clear acceptance criteria using INVEST principles
- Performed gap analysis between current state and future vision identifying optimization opportunities
- Collaborated with UX designers to create user-centric interfaces driving customer adoption and satisfaction
- Coordinated quarterly release planning to deliver features aligned with e-commerce seasonal peaks and business milestones

SCRUM MASTER & AGILE COACHING:
- Facilitated all Scrum ceremonies (sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, retrospectives) for 10 cross-functional squads
- Coached development teams on self-organization, collaboration, and Agile principles to foster high-performing team dynamics
- Removed impediments and resolved blockers proactively enabling teams to maintain velocity and meet sprint commitments
- Drove continuous improvement initiatives through data-driven retrospectives implementing process changes
- Fostered psychological safety and transparency creating environment where teams could experiment, learn, and innovate
- Achieved 40% velocity improvement and increased team satisfaction score from 6.5 to 8.7/10

RELEASE MANAGEMENT & DEPLOYMENT:
- Orchestrated end-to-end release lifecycle coordinating Development, QA, DevOps, and Product Owner teams
- Established release governance framework including Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings, release notes, rollback procedures, and risk mitigation
- Implemented comprehensive dashboards tracking deployment readiness, code quality metrics, test coverage, and production health indicators
- Coordinated release dependencies, managed blocking issues, and maintained critical path analysis to ensure on-schedule deliveries
- Facilitated release retrospectives and stakeholder communications ensuring transparency and continuous improvement across organization
- Reduced release incidents by 25% and doubled deployment frequency (monthly to bi-weekly)
- Achieved 99.8% deployment success rate with zero-downtime for business-critical systems

PMO & PORTFOLIO OVERSIGHT:
- Established portfolio management framework providing executive visibility into program health, risks, and dependencies
- Implemented program dashboards and KPIs tracking progress, resource utilization, budget consumption, and quality metrics
- Facilitated program governance through Change Advisory Board ensuring alignment and controlled change management
- Managed resource allocation and capacity planning across squads optimizing utilization and preventing bottlenecks
- Provided executive reporting on program status escalating risks and recommending corrective actions to leadership

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
✓ Delivered 20+ major features with 95% stakeholder satisfaction
✓ Reduced time-to-market by 40% through streamlined processes and agile practices
✓ Coordinated successful releases during peak e-commerce periods (Black Friday, Christmas season)
✓ 100% executive visibility into program health and delivery status through comprehensive dashboards

Managed €700K portfolio of 6 business-critical finance applications during Essilor-Luxottica merger integration, coordinating delivery across France and India serving 300+ global users.

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT:
- Owned product vision for €700K portfolio of finance platforms (SAP BPC, IBM TM1, Qlik) serving Finance, IT, and Business stakeholders
- Defined 18-month product roadmaps aligning technology investments with merger integration strategy and business needs
- Prioritized feature backlogs based on ROI analysis, user impact, and strategic value to the organization
- Conducted user research and stakeholder interviews to deeply understand pain points and validate solution approaches
- Managed product lifecycle from ideation through delivery ensuring solutions met both functional and business requirements

BUSINESS ANALYSIS & REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING:
- Gathered and analyzed requirements from Finance, IT, and Business stakeholders across multiple countries and business units
- Conducted comprehensive gap analysis between existing systems and merger integration needs documenting consolidation requirements
- Facilitated requirements workshops bringing together diverse stakeholders to align on priorities and solution approach
- Created comprehensive Business Requirement Documents (BRD), functional specifications, and process maps for 6 finance platforms
- Managed requirements traceability ensuring all business needs were addressed through solution delivery
- Performed vendor evaluation and RFP development analyzing solutions against business criteria
- Validated solutions through UAT coordination ensuring deliverables met business expectations

PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PMO:
- Managed €700K annual budget and coordinated resource allocation across France and India teams
- Implemented executive dashboards providing real-time visibility into portfolio health, risks, and dependencies
- Coordinated with infrastructure, security, and operations teams ensuring deployment readiness and compliance
- Developed business cases and ROI analysis for portfolio investments aligned with integration strategy
- Managed vendor contracts, SLA negotiations, and ongoing relationships for strategic platforms
- Established portfolio governance frameworks for change management, incident resolution, and continuous improvement

AGILE DELIVERY & SCRUM PRACTICES:
- Deployed Scrum methodologies across international teams spanning France and India during complex merger integration
- Trained team members on Agile principles and established consistent ceremonies across time zones
- Facilitated Scrum ceremonies across multiple time zones ensuring alignment and synchronization despite geographical distribution
- Mentored Product Owners and stakeholders on their roles in Agile framework fostering shared understanding of responsibilities
- Identified and resolved organizational impediments hindering Agile adoption during merger transformation

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
✓ Delivered €50M cost synergies through strategic system consolidation enabling merger integration success
✓ 98% on-time delivery across 24-month complex merger integration despite organizational challenges
✓ 98% stakeholder agreement on solution scope navigating competing priorities across merged organization
✓ 99.5% system uptime during critical financial closing periods ensuring business continuity
✓ 98% feature adoption rate validating solution-market fit and user satisfaction
✓ Successfully transitioned 8 teams to Scrum practices improving delivery predictability

Owned merchandise planning product from vision through delivery, transforming retail operations for France's largest retail cooperative serving 3, 000+ stores nationwide.

PRODUCT OWNERSHIP & STRATEGIC PLANNING:
- Defined comprehensive product vision and 18-month strategic roadmap aligned with retail business objectives and market seasonality
- Wrote and prioritized 200+ epics and user stories with clear acceptance criteria using INVEST principles
- Managed product backlog ensuring continuous delivery of highest-value features based on business impact and user needs
- Served as product evangelist communicating vision and progress to executive stakeholders and securing ongoing buy-in
- Collaborated with UX team to design intuitive interfaces for non-technical retail buyers ensuring high adoption rates

BUSINESS ANALYSIS & USER RESEARCH:
- Conducted extensive user research including store visits, buyer interviews, and workflow observations to validate product-market fit
- Documented current-state processes identifying gaps, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities in merchandise planning
- Facilitated requirements elicitation workshops with Merchandising, Supply Chain, and Store Operations stakeholders
- Created detailed user personas, journey maps, and requirement specifications ensuring solutions addressed real user needs
- Translated complex business requirements into clear user stories and acceptance criteria for development teams
- Validated solutions through UAT sessions with pilot stores gathering feedback and iterating based on real-world usage

SCRUM MASTER & AGILE TRANSFORMATION:
- Facilitated comprehensive Agile ceremonies: story mapping workshops, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, retrospectives
- Coached team members on Agile mindset, self-organization, and continuous improvement enabling cultural transformation
- Implemented servant leadership approach focusing on removing impediments and enabling team success rather than command-control
- Drove sprint retrospectives that generated actionable improvements resulting in sustained velocity gains over 12 months
- Created psychologically safe environment where team could experiment, fail fast, and continuously learn and improve
- Reduced sprint spillover from 30% to 5% through improved planning and team capability development

STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT & DELIVERY:
- Managed relationships with executive stakeholders across Merchandising, IT, and Operations departments
- Coordinated with IT operations teams ensuring smooth releases during critical retail periods (seasonal peaks, promotional events)
- Provided regular status updates to leadership on product progress, risks, and business impact
- Negotiated priorities and managed expectations across competing stakeholder demands

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
✓ 35% team velocity increase within 12 months through agile transformation and continuous improvement
✓ 22% inventory forecast accuracy improvement delivering significant business value to retail operations
✓ 95% user satisfaction score validating product-market fit and solution effectiveness
✓ 40% cycle time reduction from requirements to production deployment
✓ Successful nationwide rollout to 3, 000+ retail stores with zero critical incidents
✓ Seamless deployments during seasonal peak periods (Christmas, Back-to-School) ensuring business continuity