From Software Development with Quality Assurance / Test Automation Experience over the Role of a Business Analyst and Product Owner to Product Management and Team Management: I've done plenty of work in different roles. This empowers me to speak the same language as any role within the Software Development Lifecycle.
New. Thriving. Declining. Product Development and the Lifecycle behind it is a science of its own.
Managing People, Budgets, Stakeholders and Partners is each a challenge. Doing so without organizational authority requires additional Soft Skills on top.
After plenty of internal and external projects this is a strong suit. From classic Software Development Projects to Process Optimization.
Manager Group Emulation TGW Logistics
Leading Software Development, Consulting & Support teams, two major focus points are Talent Development and Process Implementation & Optimization. With Cost Center Responsibility it is also about juggling between strategic and tactic development.
Business Lead Infoniqa
Adding to the former role as teamlead we re-structured for our whole product area to a shared leadership approach (Business Lead and Tech Lead). Profit and Loss Responsibility as well as product segmentation and packaging as well as pricing are tasks I fulfil since End of 2022.
Teamlead Product Management Infoniqa
Product Responsibility for one of three product areas. People Management, partly budget Responsibility, Strategy and optimizations (e.g. reduction of professional service efforts by more than 50%). Key role in process refinement/renewal/creation. Responsibility over the product and the software development Lifecycle.
Business Analyst & Product Owner Infoniqa
Business Analysis for the HCM product. Product Owner of a scrum team. Trainings, customer care and later a leading position for the product team and our UX Engineers
Software Engineer Sophos
Coming from test automation I worked on different product extensions. A major project I lead was the inclusion and the setup of an Analytics tool in our Android and iOS apps. The reporting setup was my largest touchpoint with product management at the time.
Quality Assurance Engineer Sophos
Starting during the last months of my master's degree, I started in Quality Assurance with the option of moving to a Developer role. With experience in manual testing and writing test plans I was set to lead projects in the area of test automation of a distributed solution with mobile apps.
MSc Digital Business Management
Johannes Kepler University Linz
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria - Steyr
Link to degree program description
Thesis: 'Classic vs agile software development process: review of empirical research results'
MSc Engineering (Mobile Computing)
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria - Hagenberg
Link to degree program description
Thesis: 'A Mobile Positioning System for Android based on Visual Markers'
+ Erasmus Semester at Kunas University of Technology (Informatics)
+ EILC at LCC International University Klaipėda
BSc Engineering (Mobile Computing)
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria - Hagenberg
Link to degree program description
Thesis: 'Comparison of the Security Policies regarding the USB Interface on the Operating Systems Windows, Mac OS and Linux'
School of Informatics and Business
Courses & Trainings
Years in the SDLC
Roles covered
The first time to lead a research project was in school. At the time I did most work myself as it was hard to convince others to do the work with the same quality as I was expecting of myself. Over the years in school and university that mindset taught me many lessons. Learning to prioritize, delegate and motivate (and not to enforce 'your way' when not necessary) was important. And it all started here.
Still in school i wrote a small windows program for a self-employed trainer to do some specific calculations and drawings. The young developer's nightmare (revisiting code you wrote half a hear ago) aside, I learned about customer feedback and what 'environment' means in Software Development. I remember one phone call as if it was yesterday: 'Mr Ecklbauer, it doesn't look right!'
Leading a team is not always an easy task. Being the one, who prepares the work packages for the team without any authority, is an additional challenge. From my experience as QA Engineer as well as from my career as a Developer I had the empathy how to deliver feedback. My personality helped pushing the whole team closer together, seeing the people who work on a project as one team no matther which organizational boundaries might exist.
Although I had experience developing small products on my own, there was no business plan or expectation behind it. Building on top of a monolithic legacy software I conceptualized, wrote epics and stories, motivated everyone from Development to Sales and was a trainer.
Informal leadership, trainings and a mentoring role aside, I just started having people Responsibility in 2021. With a team full of co-workers that worked with me on the same level, a very senior colleague included, I had a start that wasn't set to be an easy one. But with respect and a high amount of transparency, we had a smooth start for the renewed team.
Changing into the role of Business Lead, the first major milestone was the renewal and repositioning of a long-time product. From packaging for easier direct and partner sales over pricing structure and specification of services - previous experience helped, but still there was a new taste of work.
Joining The Blue Danube Speakers Linz (part of Toastmasters International) was one of the best decisions of my life. Being used to do presentations on a regular basis, there was still so much to learn, improve and focus on, that I'm always glad that I joined another club meeting and using the Leadership and Presentation educational material provided by the club.
After founding the Austrian Storyteller Club I hosted a few meetings with fascinating experiences. From Power Point Karaoke to a first-time playing Pen and Paper. From Book Recommendations to discussions regarding current movie releases: It was always a great mix of topics and acitivies, where everything was possible. For this is a club with no boundaries. We just like stories.
As an Alumni of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria I act as a mentor for students and soon-to-be alumni.
After participating in a joint master degree program at Johannes Kepler University Linz and FH Steyr while also pulling off my full time job, I was greatful for my fellow students. We stayed in contact and when the Digital Business Network was founded in 2023, it was an easy decision to join.
The parallels I drew from projects at work to my personal project of a lifetime have been fascinating. It was great that I was able to utilize my organizational skills from my work experience on the one hand, and my work experience from growing up on a farm on the other. Yet there was still much to learn for me from the house building experience.
Sports: Pure fascination of Body Control and the balance to the office work day makes bodybuilding my favorite sport. In addition I like running to improve my stamina and overall health.
Storytelling: Whether it's a presentation or a short story contest in writing: I love the thrill and the challenge of exciting others with my ideas and thoughts.
Formula One: Technology on the highest level and an incomparable atmosphere -- which I experienced on track -- make F1 my favorite sports to watch.
Reading: From reference books for further development of skills and personality to thrilling novels and comics: It all can be found in my bookshelf and on my e-Reader.
Movies: In the range from all-time classics to action blockbusters and dramas with deepness: Every movie gets its in-depth analysis.