Logius

  • At Logius I worked as a SAFe Product manager within the SAFe Portfolio Model. In this role I was responsible for ten solutions, some of which are vital government services. Most. Solutions lie within the data domain dealing with the large-scale exchange of data within the government ecosystem. As the product manager in this domain I was responsible for over ten scrum teams and Product Owners.

    My role demanded not only to focus on the tech of a multitude of solutions, it also requires the navigation of a large and complex field of Stakeholders. Several large Vendors are working on developing and managing the solutions, these needed my attention as well. Subsequently this meant I had a major role in putting forth the European Tenders to contract these Vendors, taking into account both legal requirements and life-cycle questions surrounding the existing tech.

    Logius has undergone a large transition in 2018-2019. During this period they transitioned from a more classical project organisation to an organisation following the more value-based SAFe model. Due to my experience as a Product Manager and Director I was asked to take on the role of leading one of the newly formed Agile Release Trains (ART).

    A large scale transition like this is, like Rome, not built in a day. Using my experience I have been able to empower the organisation and my ART to grow a higher level of maturity. To achieve this I worked together with the Release Train Engineer to optimise the ART based on well defined Value Streams, or with the Portfolio Manager regarding the Portfolio Funnel and Strategy.

  • My responsibilities were, amongst others;

    • Developing a product vision and strategy for several solutions and application on the SAFe-program level.

    • Developing and maintaining the different program backlogs for the solutions, based on the prioritised portfolio backlog and the input of the teams in the department.

    • Continuous improvement of the value propositions based on market analysis and research.

    • Managing a vast and complex field of stakeholders of the several solutions and value streams and adapting vision and strategy accordingly.

    • Lead the department in the continuous transition towards the SAFe model and agile mindset, for example by;

      • implementing and maintaining SAFe best practices and ceremonies like the PI-event, Inspect & Adapt, and demo’s.

      • facilitating the product team and empowering them to move away from old habits and protocols.

    • Creating and keeping the budgets for the department, keeping the available resources in mind.

    • Owning all solutions and application, not only functionally, but also on performance, availability, accessibility, compliance and security.

    • Completing European Tenders that comply with European Law, provide for great bids by potential Vendors, and match with the SAFe model and agile mindset of the organisation.

  • Tech I worked with (Confidential);

    • Orchestration software

    • Interface technologies

    • API-management

    >> awaiting permission to share more

    Tools I used;

    • Atlassian (Jira/Confluence)

    • Miro

    • Office

    • Cisco Webex, Skype

Testimonial

Rik kan als product manager ook uitzoomen om te kijken naar de agile transformatie. Dan schroomt hij niet om tegengas te geven aan bestaande structuren en dynamieken in organisaties! Om te ontwikkelen en veranderen als organisatie heb je dit lef nodig. Daarnaast is Rik een kwetsbare manager, waar ik mee bedoel dat hij gewoon om hulp vraagt als dat nodig is. En die eigenschap heb ik niet heel vaak gezien bij managers. Samen bereik je meer! Ik heb het afgelopen jaar heel prettig met Rik samengewerkt. Er was veiligheid om feedback te geven, om een goeie discussie te voeren en samen hebben we mooie verbeterstappen gezet!

— Vincent Wensink, Scrum master