Olga Smith

Business-side product lead for operational workflow transformation and automation. Partner to Product Owner, Engineering and Data/Analytics to improve performance, reduce risk and increase self-service across core operational workflows

Product & Workflow Leadership

• Embedded within operations and customer-facing teams to analyse real-world workflows, including informal steps, exception handling and control gaps.
• Acted as the authoritative source of business workflow intent, enabling Engineering and Data teams to design automation solutions grounded in operational reality.
• Prioritised and managed a transformation backlog, balancing enterprise value, feasibility, time-to-value and risk mitigation.

AI & Automation

• Explored AI-enabled automation (Copilot/OpenAI), defining use cases for agent-assisted task handling and workflow acceleration.
• Assessed governance, reliability and audit considerations before advancing automation initiatives to delivery.
• Identified opportunities for intelligent routing, automated provisioning and exception handling to reduce manual intervention.

Delivery & Adoption

• Defined MVP scope for workflow consolidation initiative, collaborating with Engineering to enhance front-end user flow and back-end processing efficiency.
• Redesigned account creation and RBAC operating model, improving traceability and reducing human error through automated provisioning.
• Supported Azure migration by identifying workflow bottlenecks and aligning technical improvements to measurable business outcomes.
• Drove rollout, training, hyper-care and stakeholder communication to embed new processes into everyday work.

Outcomes

• Reduced duplication across three workflows and improved operational clarity.
• Improved audit readiness and governance controls.
• Increased stakeholder trust and transparency through structured trade-off communication.
• Researched technology requirements for Alliance systems and potential integrations.

Led business-side product discovery and workflow optimisation initiatives across operational and CRM systems, bridging non-technical stakeholders with Engineering, Data and DevOps.

Discovery & Product Strategy

• Conducted embedded discovery through workshops, interviews and workflow observation to diagnose friction, inefficiencies and risk exposure.
• Translated workflow insights into prioritised product opportunities aligned to strategic and operational outcomes.
• Defined MVPs, acceptance criteria and measurable success metrics.

AI Transformation & CRM Optimisation

• Delivered legacy-to-AI migration and CRM optimisation initiative, achieving 80% adoption within two months through user-centric design and support.
• Reduced manual handling through workflow automation and improved reporting reliability.
• Introduced structured enablement approach (training, documentation, show-backs) to facilitate behavioural change and enhance user engagement.

Delivery Governance

• Enhanced delivery consistency by implementing reusable documentation templates, traceability standards, and refined change control in Azure DevOps.
• Maintained transparency with senior stakeholders through clear trade-off discussions and progress reporting.

• Facilitated workshops and stakeholder reviews, translating complex needs into clear, actionable backlog items that enhanced project clarity.
• Produced BDD scenarios and acceptance criteria to align deliverables with Agile methodologies and stakeholder expectations.
• Led end-to-end discovery, defining requirements and use cases while modelling BPMN processes and providing testing support to ensure project alignment.
• Used SQL/Python for data validation and insight generation.

• Developed workflow narratives, business rules, API specifications, and BDD test scenarios to guide project implementation.
• Ensured traceability from user story through UAT to release for enhanced project clarity.
• Monitored outcomes using SQL and structured logs to facilitate informed iterations.

• Diagnosed operational bottlenecks and redesigned workflows to improve throughput by approximately 50%.
• Led operational improvements in governance and throughput optimisation within a regulated environment.
• Developed structured SOPs, KPI tracking, and governance controls to ensure GDPR compliance and maintain audit trails.
• Delivered training and change support to ensure adoption of improved processes.
• Simplified communication of complex operational and compliance requirements for diverse audiences.