Erik Yeargan

Professional ScrumMaster & Product Owner

Software is NOT made from Legos

Years ago, as a Start-Up Coach, I saw first hand how even talented teams can get into trouble when

software projects mysteriously stall or spin out of control.

Later, as Co-Founder of XLane, I watched our consultants fail to deliver, time and again, until finally I

decided to hire my own people and become a Certified Product Owner and Professional ScrumMaster,

in sheer self-defense. That’s when I discovered something remarkable; software is NOT made from

Legos.

As a “client”, I imagined that software was somehow “assembled” by technicians from standard routines

and modules that fit together in predictable patterns, like Legos. I was astonished to discover that in fact

software is handcrafted by creative people who enjoy seeking elegant solutions to challenging problems.

That was my big breakthrough, when I finally understood how similar teams could perform so differently.

Creative collaboration isn’t an exact science, so delivering software requires more than just

development. It also requires guidance, structure, motivation and support.

As ScrumMaster, I don’t develop software, I help my teams to deliver it.

Throughout my career, it’s become clear that I’m a coach & communicator by nature, so it’s no surprise

that I thrive on providing guidance, structure, motivation and support to my teams. In addition, I’ve

found that my broad business background gives me a real-world perspective that is essential for working

with business leaders to manage expectations and keep projects flowing.

Skills & Expertise

● Requirements Gathering with clear & testable acceptance criteria

● Coaching & Mentoring on Agile practices & tools (e.g. JIRA expert)

● Leadership & Negotiation for self-organizing teams

● Collaboration & Communication for exploration, resolution and escalation

● Teaching & Presentation to small and large audiences

● Program & Project Planning at the Enterprise level

● Distributed Team Coordination across time-zones & cultures

● Project Management & Recovery on tight deadlines

● Agile Coaching for Enterprise Adoption

● Senior ScrumMaster for multiple Dev Teams & ScrumMasters

● iOS/Android UX Strategies including iOS Human Interface Guidelines

● Mobile Application Management in cloud-based, asynchronous, scalable environments

Erik Yeargan

Scrum Master & Product Owner acdtfc@r.postjobfree.com

Agile & Business Tools

● MS Project / JIRA Agile

● Excel / Numbers / Google Docs

● Powerpoint / Keynote / Prezi

● Visio / XMind

Key Roles & Activities

For Development Teams:

● Ensure the application of core Agile principles

● Organize & facilitate all Scrum events (planning, refinement, review, retrospective, etc.)

● Track & interpret velocity & other key metrics (e.g. Sutherland: http://bit.ly/1iGFE8J)

● Continuously monitor team morale & motivation

● Develop team-based focus & accountability

● Leverage & limit natural team “leaders” to promote team self-organization

● Establish & evolve best practices for identifying & eliminating impediments

For Product Owners:

● Help to create value-driven, user-oriented stories with sufficient clarity & acceptance criteria

● Organize & facilitate backlog maintenance, to assign story points and evaluate priorities

● Assist with velocity-based release/roadmap planning & projections

For Business Leaders:

● Manage processes to optimize performance & value over time

● Improve tools & techniques for delivering transparent & timely status information

● Select & configure tools for managing Agile processes (e.g. JIRA, Pivotal Tracker,etc.)

● Advise on the critical role of management in an Agile Enterprise

● Reveal & resolve process related issues, conflicts, etc.

● Act as Process “guru” and liaison for all departments

Professional Experience

Senior ScrumMaster

iWeb/Internap, Montreal Nov 2013 - Present

iWeb is the internet hosting infrastructure division of Internap, with 220+ employees and a capacity of

almost 35,000 dedicated servers. As Scrum Master, I directly coordinate Agile practices for multiple

product owners and development teams based in Montreal and New York.

Apart from the everyday obstacles associated with distributed teams developing complex integrated

systems, my most interesting challenges involve scaling Scrum to the Enterprise level and continuously

improving information flow, so that all stakeholders can make better decisions with greater

transparency.

This company had been “Agile” for a few years before my arrival, but only in part. After a period of

assessment, I initiated three projects to get things back on track:

Erik Yeargan

Scrum Master & Product Owner acdtfc@r.postjobfree.com

1. Redesign the JIRA structure to better reflect business realities and the need for transparency

from top to bottom.

2. Empower a team of technical leads to take responsibility for code quality at the integration &

release level, across an array of complex systems.

3. Coach management in understanding the nature and importance of their role in getting most out

of Agile practices and the limitations of expecting “Agile” results from developers, while

continuing to operate without regard for team velocity and estimations.

ScrumMaster & Product Owner

XLane Inc, Montreal Feb 2010 - Oct 2013

XLane is a complete mobile inspection platform for automotive dealers, combined with a B2B marketplace

for wholesale vehicles, and the ONLY mobile platform fully integrated with ADESA & OPENLANE, Canada's

largest wholesale automotive auctions.

As co-founder, I had a hand in all aspects of the business, but most of my time was dedicated to my role

as Scrum Master & Product Owner, leading a team of 4 developers and two freelance designers. Two of

my developers worked remotely in different time zones, but they were both extremely talented, which

more than made up for the increased management challenges.

Start-Up/Entrepreneur Coach

Private Practice Aug 2007 - Jan 2010

Leveraging my business, banking & legal background, I worked with start up founders and early stage

entrepreneurs, offering education, guidance, advice and mentorship.

Working with innovators is always exciting and this experience helped strengthen my natural teaching &

coaching talents. In addition, this experience gave me the opportunity to develop a wide range of skills

related to listening for both content & context in order to develop strategies for helping different types of

people, with different skillsets, work toward their professional goals.

All of these skills are crucial to my current role as ScrumMaster, because teams are composed of

individuals who often respond to very different approaches.

Banking & Law

Royal Bank, UBS, Lombard Odier, etc. Nov 1997 - Aug 2007

During the decade prior to moving into technology, I was both a banker and lawyer, working with clients

in the “knowledge-based” industries of technology & media.

For details, please visit my profile on Linkedin at ca.linkedin.com/in/eyeargan

Certification & Training

● Professional Scrum Master (PSM-I) March 2013, Scrum.org

● Certified Product Manager (PMC-II) April 2012, Pragmatic Marketing

Education

● J.D. Law (1996) Univ of Puget Sound

● B.A. Pol. Science (1988) Duke University

Erik Yeargan

Scrum Master & Product Owner acdtfc@r.postjobfree.com

Other Attributes

● English (native) / French (fluent) / Spanish (basic)

● U.S. & Canadian Citizenship

● Experience working abroad

Erik Yeargan

Scrum Master & Product Owner acdtfc@r.postjobfree.com

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