Tanya McFarlane | RemoteHub

Canada Life

Aug 2019 – Present

saskatchewan

Quality Assurance Analyst

Held responsibility for obtaining and reworking data pertaining to key trends to resolve technical production issues as needed. Created test plans and strategies for projects of varying sizes and scopes, as well as traceability matrices. Wrote ad-hoc reports, in addition to test plans and cases for subsequent execution. Eliminated bugs within systems for restoration via reverse-engineering. Translated specified business requirements into salient, yet customized technical solutions designed to address specific issues. Spearheaded intricate debugging initiatives to inform development for system incident solutions. Identify test requirements from specifications, map test case requirements. Partner with analysts, architects, developers and project managers to ensure requirements are documented, understood, testable and accurately tested. Investigating the causes of non-conforming software. Document issues found in a clear manner, according to established guidelines. Have a strong analytical skill set for reviewing requirements. • Successfully fixed production environment problems and garnered significant improvements for COBOL programming on the INGENIUM 7.7 system by determining why policies with a prorated mode premium changed on an off anniversary, and why it didn't recalculate the coverage premium. • Played integral role on a migration project involving extensive analysis on legacy system and new system workings, and completed extensive debugging to locate the root cause of various system issues

Equitable Life Canada

Aug 2017 – May 2018

Waterloo

COBOL Developer

Utilize in-depth knowledge in the areas of various life insurance products to establish specifications for company legacy system from JAD sessions. Revise relational database structure information with SQL statements, developing unique solutions. Report defects, reproduce problems, and verify defect fixes from development. • Resolved issues within the production environment leading to substantial improvements for COBOL programming on the INGENIUM 6.3 system suite by enhancing the system to allow the policy status to change to R upon user rejection during underwriting for specific and corresponding policies.

McFarland Consulting

Jan 2013 – Apr 2017

Project Manager

Partnered cross-functionally with clients to identify, review, and establish project guidelines including requirements, estimates, and costs, and to verify software products for cutting-edge instrumentation; maintained open lines of communication to obtain client input throughout project lifespan. Reviewed and verified software designs and user workflows to recommend software changes to improve overall quality and usability prior to execution. Identified viable routine tests and use cases for project usage. Developed and recommended suitable software automation solutions and processes for clients. Tracked artifact reviews, risks, quality control, project status, and deliverables to ensure all projects remained on time and within budgets. • Developed Underwriting Expert System Smart Life through expertise in project management, ensuring all projects met established deadlines, relationship and stakeholder management, designing risk mitigation plans, and collaboration with project sponsors, technical SMEs, and cross-functional teams to plan project scope, milestones, budgets, resource allocation, deliverables, and timing for new initiatives.

Aviva USA

Jul 2012 – Dec 2012

COBOL Developer

Leveraged in-depth expertise of company life insurance products to draft legacy system specifications based on JAD sessions. Located system anomalies, errors, and bugs for prompt restoration through reverse engineering; studied patterns and obtained data for transformation and entry to resolve technical production issues. Developed ad-hoc reports, as well as user acceptance test plans and cases for rollout. Created custom technical solutions in support of a project pertaining to medical disabilities claims by translating specified functional and business requirements. • Garnered significant improvements in production environment problems on the INGENIUM 6.7 system suite's COBOL programs by resolving the abend problem of Universal Life policies with a shortage situation and an overloan amount, in addition to a deadlock issue in the production environment.

Canada Revenue Agency

May 2011 – May 2012

Infrastructure Analyst

Served as help desk support and analyst, as well as a subject-matter expert (SME) in technical support to troubleshoot network and system issues. Maintained end-users' accounts, access rights, and permissions as system administrator. Enabled job tracking, prioritization, and benchmarking by setting up Remedy help desk database queries for implementation. Resolved issues impacting architectural integrity through end-of-life computer, exchange-replacement, hardware, and software projects. • Instrumental in the development, configuration, and launch for improvements on existing business applications, as well as new business applications unique to the company. • Established protocols, encryption credentials management, authentication for the technical mobile analyst Blackberry.

Transamerica Life Canada

Jul 2009 – Sep 2010

Senior Business Systems Analyst

Mapped out, directed, reviewed, and documented all requirements through data analysis. Generated data flow charts to foster system interface and interaction understanding, and locate interdependencies. Proposed workflows depicting alternate solutions revealing efficacy for taxation and UL shortage solution business and system requirements. Established requirements, specifications, ideas, and comprehensive descriptions for business flows designed to integrate CAPS-IL 5.0 application to LifeSpeed application per ACORD file data guidelines. Managed all stakeholder requirements throughout the project lifespan by identifying, reporting, and relaying project issues and risks; teamed up with stakeholders to prepare uniquely innovative solutions. Interfaced with multifaceted technical team members to guarantee full alignment with stakeholder and client specifications in all project deliverables within deadlines. Drafted test plans and case documentation to assist in user acceptances for legacy system interfaces. • Successfully developed a usable interface from the legacy INGENIUM to an Electronic Application system. • Utilized expertise in project management and team leadership to successfully complete a project enhancing non-residential taxation involving tax and tax receipt withholdings.