Crystal Forbes

Crystal Forbes

Product Management, Development, & Experience

Dallas, TX
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Summary

Experience

2018 Jan - 2019 Mar
SENIOR DIRECTOR of MOBILE APPS & PRODUCT EXPERIENCE
BIOWORLD MERCHANDISING / IRVING, TX

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS & PRODUCT

Leads vision, strategy, and execution for all facets of application development at Bioworld, who provides product design services for licensed and branded products, with a focus on the One61 startup tech division. Recruited to build the application development organization within One61 from the ground up, assembling and managing a top team of four direct reports and six outsourced personnel focused on innovating mobile applications to pair with products.

Within one week in this role, accepted an expanded scope of responsibility that included oversight of Hardware, Firmware, and Software engineering.

Quickly achieved a reputation for bringing leadership and stability to underperforming projects, restoring progress against original timelines.

Credited with garnering significant improvements to the effectiveness and reliability of the company's FoundMi tracker and related application, sourcing new hardware components, restructuring operations, and improving the mobile app.

Championed the adoption of Agile Scrum methodologies while resolving issues with personnel, processes, and tools to improve the company's Smart Watch product; coaching the project manager to enhance performance.

Collaborates with key stakeholders in Sales and Marketing to identify opportunities to improve products and establish differentiation from competitors; provides guidance and direction on digital, software, and technology innovations.

Launched, managed, and maintained products that have delivered 3 new B2B consumer accounts purchasing over 60k devices for a total purchase price approximating $440k over 10 months and an additional $190k in revenue through newly established Ecommerce channels.

2017 Jan - 2018 Jan
SCRUM MASTER, DIGITAL AND TECHNOLOGY
CBRE / DALLAS, TX

Hired to facilitate the implementation of Agile practices throughout the organization on behalf of the world's leading commercial real estate services company, overseeing teams in the United States and EMEA. Fostered increased collaboration, cooperation, and communication between teams through improved role definition and insight.

Managed product development, project scope, resources, budgets, Scrum processes, issue resolution, and documentation, working with multiple global Scrum teams.

Served a key role as a mentor, trainer, and coach, accelerating the adoption of Agile best practices while working with corporate leaders and stakeholders in the Agile Center of Excellence.

2013 Jan - 2017 Jan
IT MANAGER, QUALITY ASSURANCE - SAFE CHANGE AGENT AND LEAN AGILE LEADER (CSM)
CHEAPCARIBBEAN.COM / ADDISON, TX

Built a strong foundation for the improvement of teams, tools, processes, and architecture for an e-Commerce provider of Caribbean vacations following its acquisition by Apple Leisure Group. Established an Agile framework to govern the delivery of projects that could scale following the integration of the business into the larger organization. Instrumental to each phase of the product life cycle, including specification reviews, design reviews, and user acceptance testing.

Continually accepted wider scopes of authority, culminating in the leadership of 10 global teams by the end of this role; managed budgets of as much as $3MM with approximately eight direct report employees and contractors, with matrixed authority over 15 developers, project managers, business analysts, and QA personnel.

Led the establishment and evolution of the team, strategies, methods, and framework for Quality Assurance, Automation, and Testing, including for mobile and web platforms for B2B and B2C models.

Innovated a test automation framework, including Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment; customized and aligned test strategies with the unique needs of each project.

Championed the early involvement of QA in the development process, preventing defects and accelerating the product development cycle; worked closely with members of Dev and Product.

As a SAFe Change Agent and Lean Agile Leader, led the implementation of enterprise-wide change, learning, growth, and rapid delivery processes for 10 Scrum team and 160 team members worldwide.

2005 Aug - 2013 Nov
SOFTWARE ENGINEER 2 - QA TEAM LEAD, PROGRAM LEAD, TEST PORTFOLIO MANAGER (2011 TO 2013)
JCPENNEY CORP / Plano, TX

A demonstrated record of success and achievement at this retail department store chain, marked by a series of promotions to positions of increased influence, authority, and accountability. Managed 25 direct reports and a $4MM budget.

As Team Lead, directed a team of associates and contractors, with accountability for project assignments, schedules, resource planning, budget, and forecasts. As Program Lead, developed and deployed a testing strategy for the department.

As Test Portfolio Manager, oversaw test team members engaged on multiple projects.

Early Career Software Engineer 1 QA Program Lead, Test Lead, JCPenney Corporation, Plano, TX Associate Software Engineer, QA Test Lead, JCPenney Corporation, Plano, TX Consultant, Software Quality Assurance Engineer, JCPenney Corporation, Plano, TX

Education

2002 - 2004
Westwood College of Technology
AAS / Computer Network Engineering

3.8 of 4.0 GPA, Dean's List, Executive Director's List

Skills