Job Category: Product Management

Requisition Number: PRODU017785

Schedule: Full Time

SoftWriters - HQ
Pittsburgh, PA 15237, USA

Overview:

We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Product Release Manager to join our team, overseeing the release management across our suite of products. The ideal candidate will lead project management for new and existing releases, manage Alpha/Beta/LPR processes, and ensure seamless coordination between product, marketing, sales, engineering, and operations teams. This role is crucial for ensuring timely and high-quality product launches, aligning with our overall business strategy and goals.

Responsibilities:

The essential functions include, but are not limited to, the following: 

Product Release Management

• Lead project management for product releases across the entire product suite, ensuring all products are on schedule and ready for delivery.

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive release schedule, coordinating with cross-functional teams to ensure timely and efficient product releases.

• Identify, assess, and manage risks to the release schedule, implementing mitigation strategies to address potential issues.

• Communicate regularly with stakeholders, providing updates on release progress, risks, and any changes to the schedule.

• Ensure all aspects of the release are prepared, including readiness reviews, milestone reviews, and business go/no-go reviews.

• Continuously improve release and deployment processes, ensuring best practices are followed and efficiency is maximized.

• Manage dependencies across Scrum teams and various components of the product suite, ensuring that interdependencies are identified, tracked, and resolved to avoid delays.

• Act as the main point of contact for stakeholders, including business leaders, development teams, sales, and marketing.

Tiger Team Formation and Coordination for Product Releases:

• Identify and assemble the right team members from the Executive Leadership Team, Product Owners, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Scrum Teams, or project managers based on the specific requirements of each product release.

• Facilitate collaboration and communication within the Tiger Teams to ensure alignment and effective execution of release tasks.

• Oversee and ensure the completion of additional activities related to new product launches, such as Go-To-Market plans, pricing, billing process changes, and sales initiatives, by coordinating with the Tiger Team and tracking their progress.

• Ensure that all release activities are aligned with the overall business strategy and goals.

• Act as the main point of contact for Tiger Teams, ensuring that all members are informed and engaged throughout the release process.

Development, Tracking, and Continuous Improvement of Release Metrics:

• Establish and maintain key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to track the success and efficiency of product releases.

• Continuously monitor and analyze release metrics to identify areas for improvement and implement changes to enhance the release process.

• Provide regular reports and updates to stakeholders on release performance, highlighting successes and areas for improvement.

Risk Management

• Identify, assess, and manage risks associated with product releases, implementing mitigation strategies to address potential issues.

• Communicate regularly with stakeholders to provide updates on release progress, risks, and any changes to the schedule.

Alpha/Beta/LPR Processes Management

• Plan and oversee User Alpha, Beta and Limited Production Releases (LPR) of the products.

• Ensure user testing plans are completed for delivery at the start of the user testing process.

• Develop strategies for collecting, analyzing, and incorporating user feedback from Alpha, Beta, and LPR.

• Work with the product team to provide recommendations to prioritize and implement improvements based on user/customer feedback.

• Ensure learnings from user testing are effectively communicated to all stakeholders and incorporated into the release roadmap.

Feedback Integration and Continuous Improvement

• Collect and analyze feedback from Alpha, Beta, LPR, and ongoing user interactions to inform product decisions.

• Create and maintain a feedback loop that ensures continuous product improvement based on real-world usage and business outcomes.

• Assist product owners in translating user feedback into actionable release backlog items and feature enhancements.

• Analyze end-user preferences and feedback to recommend refinements to the product and improve user satisfaction.

• Provide recommendations to Scrum Masters on agile methodologies based on results and client feedback to enhance the development process.

• Continuously review and refine release processes to address inefficiencies, adapt to new challenges, and incorporate feedback from stakeholders.

• Stay informed about the latest industry trends and best practices for providing engaging Alpha, Beta, and LPR experiences for customers, ensuring these processes are effective and user-friendly.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Proven experience as a Product Release Manager or similar role in product management, managing software releases, including planning, scheduling, and coordinating releases.

• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies and hands-on experience managing all stages of the product lifecycle.

• Effective time management skills to handle multiple projects and deadlines.

• Excellent communication and organizational skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams.

• BS in Computer Science, Engineering, Business or a related field; advanced degrees in healthcare or related fields are a plus.

• Certified Scrum Product Owner-(Scrum.org or Scrum Inc.); Scrum Master Certification

Preferred Qualifications:

• Looking for 5 years of experience in technical release management or a related role in a SaaS, Cloud, Hybrid service environment

• Azure DevOps experience (will consider strong Jira or TFS experience)

• Excellent understanding of software design patterns and architecture paradigms.

• Demonstrated experience in managing User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Alpha/Beta Testing, and Limited Production Release (LPR) processes.

• Experience in developing and implementing risk management strategies.

• Knowledge of pharmacy management or similar health care technology solutions.

• Knowledge of Aha! is helpful

• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and compliance in the healthcare industry.

Key Competencies:

• Project Management: Strong project management skills, including planning, scheduling, and tracking software releases. Proficiency in Agile and Scrum methodologies.

• Risk Management: Ability to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with software releases.

• Collaborator: Strong leadership skills to guide and motivate cross-functional teams. Ability to foster a collaborative environment and manage team dynamics effectively.

• Customer Representative: Ability to monitor customer feedback and track results of end user testing. Collaborate with QA teams to review user test scenarios and ensure awareness of any user reported issues.

• Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to address issues that arise during the release process.

• Influencer: Earn the respect and support of the organization to drive product release success.
  
  SoftWriters, Inc. is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard for race, color, religion, gender, national origin or citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status.

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The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c).

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