Simon Connors

Experience

• 

  The Global Draw

  Jun 2007 - Oct 2008

  Test and Support Analyst

  Working as part of the Global Draw (now SG Gaming) Quality Assurance team my main responsibilities included testing content and system software for defects and to ensure legal compliance for market deployment, producing and maintaining detailed smoke, system and UAT test scripts & offering 1st line support for customer claims/enquires which often required game behavioural knowledge and analysis of game/system logs.

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  The Global Draw

  Mar 2009 - Nov 2012

  Testing Project Coordinator

  Working as part of the SG Gaming Quality Assurance team to coordinate all system and content testing for both the domestic and international markets. My primary responsibilities included:- Producing detailed test plans scheduling all testing activities based on business requirements and resources available.- Assessing and making decisions on testing priority, testing scope and acceptance criteria.- Working closely with the project management team to ensure all system and content testing is completed efficiently to meet business deadlines.- Managing each stage of the QA content testing lifecycle for a new HD cabinet type for Corals bookmakers, this cabinet is now used in every site in the Corals estate. This project involved working in Tallinn, Estonia for a period of 4 months (Feb 12 – May 12).For a period of 6 months (Jul 11 – Dec 11) I operated as the interim testing manager. Additional responsibilities in this role included:- Managing up to 14 internal and 5 external QA test engineers, including all administrative tasks such sick/maternity leave, holiday, overtime, etc.- Interviewing and recruiting new QA test engineers.- Responsibility for all QA approvals. Show less

• 

  SG Gaming

  Nov 2012 - Dec 2018

  Initially tasked with project managing the delivery & release of all gaming content onto a new cabinet type in the UK Betting Office estate. After the successful completion of this project, I was transitioned to managing the delivery of all content to SG Gaming’s customer base on the Videobet platform. My primary responsibilities include:- Managing all aspects of the delivery & software testing lifecycle of existing content through the development, integration, testing & approval phases of the new cabinet (Equinox) project. - Working alongside the content strategic manager to ensure the supply of new innovative gaming content to a diverse range of customers within the UK market (primarily Cat B1, B2, B3, B4 & C).- Control of the full UK content delivery roadmap, ensuring all significant milestones are met for successful delivery of new content on a monthly rollout basis.- Producing and distributing weekly content status reports for the key UK LBO content stake holders (both internal & external).- Creating and supplying intricate instructions for the integration of new content on the VB platform. - Managing the content mapping process with all internal & external database/yield teams.- Maintaining a strong working relationship with 3rd party content suppliers and internal QA teams in order to resolve any queries surrounding content and QA results in an efficient and effective manner.- Managing the submission/approval process of content through independent test houses (primarily GLI).- Producing detailed statistical analysis of content supplier quality/performance & using data to create process improvement plans with quantifiable improvement measures.- Key involvement in the planning, implementation & delivery of adapted content for the legislation change in FOBT content (max B2 stakes reduced to £2). Show less Managing the delivery and release of multiple software platforms for the UK Fixed Odds Betting Terminals to customers in the Licenced Betting Office, Casino, Arcade & Bingo market. My primary responsibilities include:- Managing a range of concurrent projects for multiple customer accounts.- Working closely with relevant stake holders to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the project(s).- Defining the scope of the project in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.- Managing day-to-day operational aspects of the project(s) including issue resolution, progress monitoring, stakeholder queries, supplier problems and third party interactions.- Managing project risks and issues and maintain relevant records for review with wider projects, delivery and account teams.- Conducting project status meetings to ensure accurate, timely and efficient resolution of project issues.- Coordinating and managing all communications across multiple departments (including the Account Management, Product Development, Customer Support and Technology teams) related to client projects.- Providing internal teams with written status updates, meeting minutes and other relevant project communications.- Carrying out project evaluation including ‘lessons learned’ reviews in order to improve future project delivery. Show less Working both domestically and onsite with SG Gaming’s system provider Videobet in Tallinn, Estonia to improve the delivery process and success rate of gaming content for the UK LBO market across multiple platform & cabinet types. My primary responsibilities included:- Communicating with all internal and third party content providers regarding new content delivery, games defects and eventual QA approval.- Restructuring the QA testing process and introducing new milestone dates in the software testing lifecycle which have improved both the efficiency and success rate of delivering new content on schedule.- Reviewing all new content to ensure it meets the business, customer and legal requirements.- Reporting directly into the UK LBO Commercial Operations Director.- Representing the content team in daily conference calls between Tallinn and London and scheduling/hosting a weekly content status review meeting.- Providing regular content progress updates to SG Gaming’s key customers - Ladbrokes and Corals.- Additional responsibilities also include prioritising new content for integration/testing, escalating field issues and delivering a fix in a timely fashion, answering all internal and external content queries and reviewing new content with the content strategic manager to asses if the delivery customer expectations are feasible. Show less

  • Content Delivery Manager

    Aug 2017 - Dec 2018

  • Project Manager

    Jan 2017 - Jul 2017

  • Content Process Manager

    Aug 2014 - Jan 2017

  • Content Process Improvement Lead

    Nov 2012 - Jul 2014
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  Instant Win Gaming

  Jan 2019 - now

  Content Delivery Manager

  Responsible for overseeing the efficient and timely delivery of projects through the studio. This primarily involves managing multiple projects from brief through to completion by liaising with the appropriate resource, generally design, development and QA. Primarily working with the delivery managers, Head of Product and relevant stakeholders.Responsibilities Include:- Review and sign off on all content briefs going into the studio. - Ensuring that each product brief going into the studio has adequate information for the tasks to be performed and that gaps in the brief are addressed.- Documenting any changes in the game through the project life cycle and ensure that there is a final, summary document to hand over to QA. - Assisting with scoping and timing of each project to enable the Head of Delivery to plan sprints accurately. - Working with department heads and the Head of Delivery to ensure that projects and tasks are assigned to the appropriate resource in the studio to ensure tasks are handled skillfully. - Prioritisation of tasks and projects as necessary. - Holding daily stand ups with teams to clear any blockers, track milestones and feedback on progress to the Head of Delivery. - Reviewing and understanding incoming integration briefs, ensuring that all requirements are captured fully and executed properly. - Encouraging good communication between teams and individuals & ensuring that project updates & changes are discussed, agreed and documented. - Introducing process or tooling updates that will improve the efficiency of the delivery process. - Monitoring issues raised in development and QA to help ensure that the process is not allowing repeat mistakes and that improvements are consistently made. - Helping build up a thorough resource of documentation detailing fully each game that is delivered as well as the specific functionality and requirements of all operators and platforms. Show less