Robert Turrall

The client was building a new marketing website as a first stage of a major new health IT initiative and needed a scrum master to lead the project, which was staffed by Toptal Projects. My role was not limited to managing the daily running of the Toptal team, however, as various other organization-internal business units were involved in the provisioning of the overall environment and other aspects of the website's integration with other external systems - for example, SalesForce Marketing Cloud and Google Analytics. The project was short and finished on time and on budget - including fitting in some extra, initially-unplanned, work towards the end.

Provided both on-site and remote software architecture and agile project management consultancy for a cryptocurrency exchange based in Shanghai. During a stay in Shanghai, I was responsible for reviewing their platform architecture choices, team structure, and cementing their transition to the use of an Agile methodology (Scrum). I also provided both one-on-one coaching and group scrum master training for the product manager and development teams. Directly reporting to the CEO and working closely with the CTO and product manager, my contribution to the product's rebranding also extended to advising on support organization and resourcing.

Whilst working at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, I was responsible for leading a number of software/product evaluation projects. One such project involved the replacement of the entire software development and deployment infrastructure for the bank - moving away from a mainframe-based transactional computing infrastructure (CICS/MVS) and its associated toolset to a client/server model. The project encompassed the full range of tools and platforms required for the entire software development and deployment lifecycle, including design, development, project management, source control, support systems, and the server and database platforms required to redevelop the bank's systems. Over the course of just over a year, we evaluated and selected all products, culminating in a successful rollout of the new infrastructure and tools.

The client came to Toptal initially for a project manager to help pull together the efforts of an existing offshore development team. After a while, it became apparent that the platform needed not only a redesign but a completely new technical infrastructure - a full reengineering. In close collaboration with the client, I identified a suitable designer (Toptal) and then both front-end and back-end web developers to undertake the project. Working together with the original offshore team to ensure a smooth transition, I then led the project to completion of a full first prototype which allowed the client to proceed with funding efforts and user testing.

Also taking on the role of de facto product owner and ensuring that the company founders' vision was implemented through to marketing and business development, led a team of up to 15 Toptal and client staff to plan, design, and implement a new niche social media, publishing, and travel platform aimed at bringing together nomadic travel fans from over the world to learn, share experiences, and embark on once-in-a-lifetime journies. The Toptal Projects design and development team included a designer, 2 iSO developers, 3 web/back-end developers, a QA, and a finance specialist. Client team members included business development, marketing, research and content production, and client management. The project was delivered successfully and on time, seeing it rolled out on iOS first, then as a web platform. Subsequent updates after release required both product management (roadmap features prioritization and planning) and release coordination and risk management practices to ensure ongoing backward compatibility and a cross-platform level of support for new features. The project has currently been running for over 1.5 years.

Working closely with the client and ensuring that the Toptal Projects team working across several timezones worked at their most effective to produce and release a hybrid Android/iOS application and support platform, including product website and email marketing campaign setup, for an app aimed at supporting carers and family of Alzheimer's patients