PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

As an experienced Agile Transformation strategist, I have assisted companies in their transition to a more agile and lean way of conducting business. Provided transformation services ranging from planning to training and coaching. Most recently, held an agile transformation coach and trainer role. Earlier in my professional career (30+ years) I have managed Information Systems projects for a variety of industries including financial, healthcare, education, travel, car leasing, retail distribution, hospitality, automotive, manufacturing, petroleum, energy & utilities, depot maintenance, telecommunications, Federal Government and Department of Defense.

KEY SKILLS

Possess advanced training and coaching skills in Kanban, Scrum, SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) and LeSS (Large Scale Scrum). Also proficient in value stream mapping and business process improvement.

EDUCATION

Certified SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) Program Consultant (since 2019), Certified Professional Scrum Master (since 2018), Certified PMI Project Management Professional (since 2007)

PhD. Engineering Management, California Coast University, Santa Ana CA, 1994

M.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Dayton, Dayton OH, 1987

B.S. Computer Science, Wright State University, Fairborn OH, 1977

WORK HISTORY

kForce Technology Services: Tampa FL – Senior Lead Agile Coach: May, 2021 – May, 2023

As a contractor, I provided the following Agile coaching services to the Wells Fargo (WF) Cybersecurity Agile transformation office:

oPrepared and conducted weekly forum sessions addressing specific agile related topics of concern for WF Managers, Product and Development teams

oProvided comprehensive Agile training to Product managers/owners and Development teams (Scrum & Kanban). Training included the basic uses of the Jira issues tracking software tool

oAssisted the WF Cybersecurity organization in transitioning to a more customer centric “Product” structure with four hierarchical levels (L1, L2, L3 & L4)

oProvided individual coaching services to all WF Cybersecurity Product and Development teams

oDeveloped and conducted several audio podcasts on agile concepts for Agile Managers and Development Teams.

Black Knight Inc.: Jacksonville FL – Team and Program level Coach: April, 2018 – to May 2021

As a SAFe 5.0 Program Consultant (SPC) trainer, I:

oConducted certification training for the following SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) courses; Leading SAFe (SA), SAFe for Teams (SP), SAFe Product Owner / Product Manager (POPM), and SAFe Scrum Master (SSM)

oDelivered the following SAFe certification training sessions; Two SA sessions, six SP sessions, two POPM sessions and four SSM sessions. Some of these sessions were conducted virtually with other coaches

oConducted many Non-certification training sessions to include Introduction to SAFe, PI Planning and Execution Workshops, and Inspect and Adapt workshops.

As a SAFe 5.0 Program Consultant (SPC) I have coached teams at both the SAFe Team and Program Levels.

As an Agile coach and trainer I have:

oDelivered Agile and Scrum training to many Black Knight product development teams

oDelivered Professional Scrum Master (PSM) certification training to over 100 persons

oDelivered a variety of Agile/Scrum related workshops to include team backlogs, user stories, planning poker, self-organization, story points, retrospectives, etc.

AT&T/IBM: Jacksonville FL – Agile Coach and System Engineer (SE): July, 2016 – September 2017

Responsible for Coaching Agile and Hybrid Agile/Scrum teams to stay in compliance with the Agile Methods and tools defined for the project.

Responsible for identifying and coordinating the resolution of system requirement gaps during the analysis, design and development of new and modified AT&T Domain (Sales, Service Delivery, Service Assurance, and Billing) functionality (i.e., Business Voice over IP, IP Toll Free, IP Flex Reach).

Conducted Root Cause Analyses (RCA), developed traceability matrixes, developed context and system application flow diagrams and documented the interface interactions for / between the AT&T Domain applications/DBs involved in the above mentioned modified functionality.

IRS: Jacksonville FL – Linux Migration Technical Liaison Consultant: July, 2015 – July, 2016

Responsible for planning/coordinating the cradle to grave tasks necessary to migrate 97+ IRS applications/databases from Solaris/AIX Tier 2 hardware to x86 Tier 2 Linux and zVM zLinux Tier 1 hardware.

Assisted in facilitating Value Stream (LEAN) mapping sessions with various IRS support groups which resulted in a “Cross-Functional Playbook” used to help application owners efficiently progress through their Solaris to Linux migration tasks.

IBM / GBS: Jacksonville FL - Project Executive, Agile Transformation Strategist, IT Trainer: October, 2000 – February, 2015

Conceptualized, planned and established the beginnings of an Agile Center of Excellence office for American Express. Trained AMEX business and software development personnel in the use and benefits of Agile/Scrum Software Development methods. Subsequently coached these personnel (Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development) to successfully complete their first Agile/Scrum application. Also instructed AMEX IT Enterprise Support teams (Server, Telecommunications and Service Delivery/Management) on how they could become more agile using Kanban, Kaizen and LEAN techniques. Successfully managed multiple distributed Scrum teams, as a Scrum of Scrums to develop a new IT Service Management (ITSM) program called ServiceNow (includes change, knowledge, incident and problem applications).

Managed (from cradle to grave) the development, SIT, UAT, defect resolution and rollout of a complex Custom Cash Management and a Loan Data Change application for Fannie Mae. Business requirements identification and code development were accomplished using a hybrid-agile scrum technique called LOMBARDI BPM 7.5. Used LEAN (Value Stream Mapping) techniques to assist the development of some business processes. Testing was conducted using the traditional “WATERFALL” method.

Managed a 1 year B2B CRM infrastructure and application development project for IBM utilizing the Agile distributed Scrum development methodology. Developed a complete set of training materials (videos and manuals) for a B2B “Add-in” tool used by IBM’s worldwide CRM business partners. Used Camtasia Studio, MS Office, and Power Video Maker Professional software.

Developed a comprehensive Agile/Scrum Training course for Northwestern Mutual. This training also included information on DevOps Core Principles. Utilized Kanban, Kaizen and Lean (Value Stream) techniques to assist the client in their transition to a more agile and lean environment.

Managed the identification, analysis and documentation of a set of Global e-commerce requirements for the Treasury Wine Estates client. Conducted an extensive series of client interviews to understand their “As-Is” and “To-Be” business processes. Developed a Request-For-Proposal (RFP) for the development, testing and deployment of a worldwide e-commerce application encompassing Australian, US, Asian and European TWE regions. Responsible for managing all project financials.

Developed and conducted an extensive series of best practice training seminars in project management, PMO and IT management processes for Saks Fifth Avenue.

Managed the development, testing and rollout of an e-commerce Global catalogue application for BlueLinx Corporation using IBM's WebSphere Commerce Product. Development/test phases were accomplished using an Agile Scrum methodology utilizing product/sprint backlogs, daily Scrum meetings, periodic code demonstrations and team retrospectives.

Managed the development and component integration testing of a complex Order Modifications (OM) functionality within IBM’s Sterling Order Management solution for the Lowe’s Corporation. Code development/testing (19 user interfaces and 10 backend components) was completed using an Agile XP methodology. Introduced the benefits of adopting an enterprise wide DevOps culture within Lowes.

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