Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
BusinessAnalyst
Debra Zabor

Debra Zabor

Greater Chicago Area,IL

Summary

Seasoned Principal Business Analyst with expertise in Project Management, underpinned by a strong foundation in Information Technology Services and 27 years of experience in IT in the non-profit sector. Proficient in bridging the divide between technical and non-technical teams, leading to enhanced collaboration and streamlined processes. Renowned for crafting client-centric solutions, skillfully addressing complex challenges, and refining operational methodologies. Holds a distinguished track record of guiding projects to completion, boosting team efficiency, and providing essential skills to team members for their professional development. Whether working in collaborative teams or independently, consistently delivers outstanding results. A seasoned professional with a keen ability to comprehend needs, fine-tune processes, and exceed expectations in team interactions. Meticulous in task prioritization, complemented by outstanding communication skills, and continually leveraging past insights to inform future strategic decisions.

Overview

27
27
years of professional experience

Work History

Principal Business Analyst | Project Manager

ISACA
01.2013 - Current
  • Identify business objectives, evaluating existing processes and proposing future state designs
  • Work with business areas to document current state, existing business processes and recommend business process improvements and technology solutions to streamline and digitize operational processes
  • Manage client projects; work within Development team on application development
  • Lead and mentor BA Team, provide support, training, and tools to help meet their needs to succeed
  • Create processes to bridge gaps between IT and Business
  • Created BRD template and repository for Business to begin pre-work for all projects
  • Created templates for Jira ticket submission
  • Lead BA on 2-year AMS system discovery and implementation for 350k + users
  • Act as Project owner and Project Manager as needed for Teams with low resources (Managed dev sprint backlog and priorities)
  • Manage projects, mentor, review, and prioritize workflow on all department projects, tasks, and requests
  • Business and process analysis, requirements gathering, documentation, and create/maintaining business and functional requirements
  • Write and manage user acceptance testing throughout development process to ensure successful outcome at completion of project
  • Identify gaps in BA process and set standards/guidelines/goals for BA team to improve team efficiency and pivot quickly to adapt new processes as needed
  • Outlined and documented new agile development flow
  • Created knowledge transfer process using Confluence, videos, and documentation
  • Document and train end users as needed on new system deployments or enhancements rolled
  • Acts as liaison between development team, vendors, support team, and business units to analyze, document, review, and secure agreement on business requirements
  • Consult and troubleshoot on applications and processes, create scripts stored procedures, create or update Sales force as needed to help meet demands of Stakeholders
  • Collaborated with stakeholders to define project objectives and criteria.
  • Performed gap analysis to identify areas of improvement.

Senior Manager, Membership Technology Services

SmithBucklin
01.2006 - 01.2013
  • Membership Technology Services and Training
  • Plan, organize, develop and implement membership applications for association backbone database system
  • Implementation, audits and documentation of technical analysis, standards, and procedures
  • Advise on system needs and opportunities to improve day to day processes
  • Define and solve user requirements and develop solutions
  • Manage client projects; work within Development team on application development
  • Manage Training department
  • Spearheaded company-wide standardization initiative of data processes, reporting, database set ups, and best practices to meet needs of all departments touching member data
  • Consult and support Client Managers, Project Managers, Developers, Business Analyst, Help desk and client teams on best practices, Membership application processes, and collaborating with on application development
  • Auditing and clean-up of databases, consulting, planning and providing clients with best practices and streamlining of processes
  • Project Management, Client Management, Business Analysis, Quality testing, and Queue Management

Director of Information Systems

The Sherwood Group, Inc
01.1999 - 01.2006
  • Plan, organize, develop, direct and implement application of information technology systems
  • Implementation and documentation of technical priorities, standards, and procedures and ensure sufficient systems capacity for organizational needs
  • Define and solve user requirements and develop solutions
  • Managed and mentored IT support team and network admin in daily functions, goals to meet company values, and career growth
  • Worked directly with Account Executives and Board to plan IT budget and projects
  • Strategically planned and managed standardization project of all association databases and reporting tools to meet needs of both clients and inter-office departments
  • Managed 2-year research of Association management software including creation of RFP, demonstrations, lead Decision Committee and cost analyses
  • Worked directly with CFO to create new Order Processing Department to meet growing demands of client daily needs
  • Spearheaded company-wide expansion, move and upgrade of data technologies
  • Implemented all upgrades with no loss of employee productivity
  • Implement all policies, practices, and procedures pertaining to technology usage and management
  • Developed and provided in-depth required training classes for all level of end-users on iMIS, report creation, Microsoft Office Applications, Magnet Mail, Great Plains Dynamics and adhoc reporting.

Consultant

Computer System Innovations, Inc
01.1997 - 01.1999
  • And Authorized Solution Provider of, Consultant for iMIS software, Crystal Reports and Microsoft Office Applications – consulted, trained, and implemented new processes to ensure needs of client were met
  • Directed Crystal report writing team for implementation of C/S iMIS upgrades
  • Reorganized internal operations, Managed office, accounts receivable and payable
  • Analyzed problematic areas to provide recommendations and solutions.
  • Delivered outstanding service to clients to maintain and extend relationship for future business opportunities.

Education

Science Associate -

College of DuPage
Glen Ellyn, IL

Bachelors - Applied Behavioral Science

National Louis University
Lisle, Chicago, IL

Master of Science - Information Technology Manageme

Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, UT
06.2024

Skills

Professional Skills

Project Management, Agile Methodologies & Business Analysis:

  • Proficient in Scrum methodologies and practices with hands-on experience leading cross-functional teams in Agile and Scrum environments
  • Proficient in Project Management techniques, focusing on timely delivery, stakeholder communication, and resource allocation
  • Excellent Business Analysis capabilities, adept at identifying business needs, and translating them into actionable project goals and requirements
  • Adept at using Jira/Confluence for sprint planning, backlog management, and documentation, ensuring seamless project execution
  • Comprehensive understanding of Product Development lifecycle, ensuring alignment with stakeholder needs, business requirements, and functional specifications

Technical Expertise:

  • Proficient in AMS applications, including Salesforce (Sales Service, eCommerce Clouds), Fonteva AMS, iMIS, Socious, and Your Membership
  • Expertise in Microsoft SQL Server, including Reporting Services, SQL Scripting, and Stored Procedures
  • Advanced user of all Microsoft Office applications, with a focus on project planning, reporting, and presentations

Documentation & Client Engagement:

  • Skilled in drafting Functional Requirements Specification (FRS) and Business Requirements, ensuring clear communication between stakeholders, developers, and project teams
  • Experience in Client Training Delivery, facilitating smooth product adoption and maximizing client satisfaction through effective training modules

Timeline

Principal Business Analyst | Project Manager

ISACA
01.2013 - Current

Senior Manager, Membership Technology Services

SmithBucklin
01.2006 - 01.2013

Director of Information Systems

The Sherwood Group, Inc
01.1999 - 01.2006

Consultant

Computer System Innovations, Inc
01.1997 - 01.1999

Science Associate -

College of DuPage

Bachelors - Applied Behavioral Science

National Louis University

Master of Science - Information Technology Manageme

Western Governors University

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Debra Zabor