Project Manager Quality Assurance

SAWDA RAUF

Email: *****.**@*****.*** Cell: 1-917-***-**** Location: Brooklyn, New York, 11208

SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE

I am a passionate and proactive Scrum Master and Agile Project Manager with over eight years of professional experience in the education domain. I am highly proficient in agile frameworks such as Scrum, Lean, Kanban, XP, SAFe, and Scrum at Scale. I have successfully adopted these frameworks in completing different projects, including the development and management of web-based result computation software and the optimization of academic quality assurance processes.

I exhibit emotional intelligence, kaizen, and resilience within and across teams and champion business agility through adaptive planning and early and continuous value delivery. I am highly proficient in facilitation, servant leadership, stakeholder and C-suite management, risk management, research, and coaching, with a passion for continuous learning. By introducing interrupt buffer and swarming techniques, I have helped my team accommodate changes better and faster, meeting stakeholders' expectations and earning positive feedback, which increased by 62% on average over four sprints. Swarming also accelerated delivery by 41% in four sprints.

SKILLS

Communication: Written, Verbal, and Presentation

Research: Qualitative and Quantitative

Collaboration and Team Building

Thought and Servant Leadership

Change and Risk Management

Creative, Design, System, and Strategic Thinking

Product, Process, and Project Management

Conflict, Problem, and Issue Management

Testing: Unit and Functional

Stakeholder and C-Suite Management

Documentation: SOW, SOP, Project Charter, Report Dashboard

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Role: Agile Project Manager (September 2021 - Present)

Project: Academic Quality Assurance Process Optimization

I drove the quality assurance process optimization for various academic syllabi development, teaching delivery, instructor assessment, student performance analysis, and examination grading system.

I functioned within a team of Data Analyst, Research Analyst, Value Engineer, Process Engineer, Education Consultant, and Auditors.

I collaborated with both internal and external stakeholders to understand their time, value, and quality expectations.

I participated in intake where initiatives are reviewed, epics created, and funneled down to team levels.

I planned team capacity and ensured it influenced the sprint load to prevent over-commitment.

I facilitated the sprint planning meeting, daily scrum, sprint review, and sprint retrospectives to drive the iterative and incremental delivery of value.

I assisted the team in defining working agreements to promote a healthy team and collaboration.

I organized Jira in a functional way that aligns with the team and project vision.

I promoted adherence to the team charter to prevent and resolve conflicts.

I collaborated with the team to remove blockers and promote self-assignment of impediment removal.

I clearly communicated insights and findings using visualizations and dashboards to diverse stakeholders.

I tracked, analyzed, and influenced team and project decisions using the velocity chart, burnup chart, and burndown chart.

I assisted the team in the Definition of Ready (DoR) to keep the backlog healthy and ordered.

I defined and agreed with stakeholders on work priorities based on value expectations, deadlines, and dependencies.

I conducted training and lunch & learn sessions to promote continuous learning.

I facilitated effective communications across and within the team to support timely value delivery.

Darul Uloom, New York

A private school that empowers students by providing academic and learning opportunities.

Role: Scrum Master (September 2017-2020)

Project: Development and Management of Web-based Result Computation Software

I supported the development of web-based software covering security, admin and student authentication, audit trail documentation, data entry, result computation, result analysis, and result visualization.

I supported an Agile team including a Product Owner, Business Analyst, Full Stack Developer, Database Administrator, UI/UX Designer, Faculty Dean, HODs, Quality Analyst, Security Engineer, and Software Developer.

I empowered the team to self-organize and innovate to increase agility.

I collaborated with the QA/Tester to conduct user acceptance testing and unit testing.

I facilitated all Scrum Events (Planning, Daily Scrum, Review, and Retrospective) and ensured correct adoption.

I shielded the team from external interruptions to help them focus and deliver on time.

I organized Jira in a functional way that aligns with the team and project vision.

I promoted team collaboration, shared learning, emotional intelligence, and diversity awareness to manage conflicts.

I engaged stakeholders by understanding their needs and striving to achieve them in alignment with project scope.

I gathered velocity, epic/sprint burnup, and burndown charts and analyzed them to aid planning and decision-making.

I identified and removed blockers, activated risk mitigation plans, and utilized daily scrums to continuously de-risk.

I organized Lunch and Learn workshops and training to promote knowledge within the team.

I planned the team’s work commitment, availability, and time-offs in alignment with sprint commitments.

I collaborated with the Agile team to prioritize following the MoSCoW technique.

I assisted in creating project documents and organizing them in SharePoint.

I actively promoted a safe environment for the team to contribute, innovate, disagree, self-organize, and fail fast and cheap.

I supported the team in Jira administration such as education, troubleshooting, and daily usage.

I combined different scrum patterns such as stable team, interrupt buffer, swarming, and WIP limit to accelerate delivery.

I defined and agreed on "done" with the team to validate increment completeness, functionality, and quality expectations.

Ummah Academy, New York

A private institution that provides high-quality education in a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment that builds a foundation for lifelong learning.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts (B.A): Mathematics & Applied Mathematics, Queens College, New York, USA

Continuing Education Program (BA): Secondary Education, Queens College, New York, USA

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS

Registered Scrum Master (RSM) Scrum Inc

Registered Product Owner (RPO) Scrum Inc

Certified SAFe 6.0 Agilist (Leading SAFe) Scaled Agile Inc

TOOLS

Collaborative Tools: Cisco Webex, Google Meet, Zoom, MS Teams, Slack

Microsoft: Word, Excel, Outlook, Visio, SharePoint, PowerPoint, Teams, Planner

Agile/Work Management Tools: Jira, Azure DevOps (ADO), Confluence, Mural, Miro, Google Jamboard

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