Scrum Master Product Owner

Palvi Mahajan

Clinton, NJ LinkedIn: Palvi Mahajan

215-***-**** **************@*****.***

INTRODUCTION

With over 18 years of experience in Information Technology, I have worked in US Insurance and pharmaceutical industries, focusing on Health Insurance and Life Sciences. Dedicated to fostering self-organizing teams and promoting a culture of empathy and collaboration. I am committed to creating an environment where every team member feels valued and supported. Proficient in promoting diversity and inclusivity within teams and organizations, leveraging empathetic leadership to inspire innovation and high performance. SUMMARY

● Experienced Agile Scrum Master handling multiple teams with a proven record of delivering high quality software on time.

● Proficient Facilitator and organizer of Agile ceremonies, and stakeholder meetings.

● Collaborated closely with the Product Owner to manage and prioritize backlogs, ensuring alignment with the project vision and roadmap.

● Collaborated with multiple teams across various domains to effectively address interdependencies.

● Demonstrated ability to motivate, organize, lead and coach scrum teams on SAFE Agile / SCRUM principles.

● Expert at driving the adoption and enforcement of Scrum rules, removing impediments, and fostering self- management.

● Facilitated the project transition from waterfall to Agile in current role.

● Possess an excellent domain knowledge in Healthcare, Insurance & Pharmaceutical industry.

● Worked in various other roles such as Senior Business Analyst, Validation Lead, Process Analyst, Onsite coordinator, Change Management Lead, Change Manager, Release Manager, Test Lead and Quality Assurance Lead.

● Exceptional problem solving and analytical skills and sound decision-making capabilities, coupled with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

● Worked with multiple teams across various domains to ensure the interdependencies are addressed effectively SKILLS

● Process Expertise:

o Agile - SCRUM, SAFE

o Waterfall SDLC

● Tools Expertise:

o RTC (Rational Team Concert)

o RRC (Rational Requirements Composer)

o JIRA

o Clear Quest, Quality Center

o Req Pro

o HP Service Center

o VSS, Clear Case

o QuickBase,

o Plan View, Clarity

CERTIFICATIONS

● Safe Product Owner/ Product Manager -POPM v 6.0

● Safe Scrum Master SSM v 6.0

● Safe Agilist (SAFE v4.5)

● Certified Scrum Master by Scrum Alliance (CSM)

● Certified Product Owner by Scrum Alliance (CSPO)

● AHM 250

● INS 21, INS 22

● ITIL V3

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Employer: Cognizant Technology Solutions

Client: AETNA, Hartford, CT

Senior Scrum Master

July 2016 – Present

● Led 3 teams as Scrum Master, overseeing release and sprint planning, daily scrums, grooming, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.

● Proactively managed external distractions, impediments, and team conflicts to ensure focus on the product backlog and project timeline.

● Collaborated closely with Product Owners to maintain a relevant and prioritized backlog through effective grooming sessions.

● Ensured agreement on acceptance criteria and prepared stories for accurate sizing and estimation.

● Worked collaboratively with Development and QA teams to determine estimates for project deliverables.

● Committed to creating an environment where every team member feels valued and empowered.

● Coordinated across multiple departments to allocate resources effectively.

● Tracked the team progress meticulously using burn down charts and velocity measurements.

● Coordinated with other Scrum Masters to align planning efforts and enhance cross-team collaboration.

● Skilled in removing impediments and driving continuous improvement.

● Educated and reinforced Scrum methodology and Agile frameworks to team members and key stakeholders, promoting continuous improvement and productivity.

● Directed and led the Scrum team throughout project delivery, identifying and advocating for automation opportunities.

● Worked in migrating a standalone desktop application to a web-based platform.

● Contributed to Project Assessment, Team Management, and Project Close-Out.

● Fostered a problem-solving environment that encouraged creativity and analytical thinking.

● Mentored new team members in Agile practices and provided guidance on domain-specific knowledge.

Client: AETNA, Hartford, CT

Senior Business Analyst/ Scrum Master

April 2012 – June 2015

● Facilitated requirements gathering sessions with stakeholders.

● Collaborated with Product Owner and Scrum Master on backlog grooming for relevance and priority.

● Engaged with Managers, Business, End users, and stakeholders to resolve issues and dependencies.

● Ensured agreement on acceptance criteria and prepared stories accurately.

● Owned and maintained business requirements and the Requirement Traceability Matrix.

● Supported System Regression Testing and User Acceptance Testing.

● Provided end-user training as required.

Employer: Infosys Limited

Client: Pfizer, New York City, NY

Business Analyst and Validation Lead (March 2011 - March 2012)

● Led the management of Pfizer's Public Affairs business requirements, encompassing the creation of wireframes, business process flow charts, and design specifications.

● Conducted requirements decomposition to transform business needs into testable scenarios, Test Conditions, and Test Cases.

● Developed comprehensive Test Strategy/Plan documents and facilitated walkthrough sessions with project teams.

● Oversaw project execution according to established plans, coordinating testing activities across System, UAT, Model Office, and Production environments.

● Generated Weekly Status Reports and Project Metrics to monitor progress and ensure adherence to testing processes.

● Directed an offshore-onsite team in navigating complex business logic testing and coordination, while strategizing various validation approaches for testing migrated content and maintaining extensive communication with Business, project, and migration teams. Client: Pfizer, Hyderabad, India

Associate Business Analyst and Change Management Lead (April 2007 - February 2011)

● Conducted software deployment analysis and engaged technical teams for shared IT environments.

● Managed overall change schedule and represented Application Change Management in SOX audits.

● Coordinated extensively with clients, engineering, configuration, PMO teams, ensuring SLA compliance for incident resolution.

● Produced and presented weekly/monthly project metric reports, leading cross-functional teams in issue resolution and Change Request management.

● Monitored project economics, including costs, budgets, staffing, and resources, handling invoicing and timesheet approvals.

● Defined Change Implementation with System, Application, DBA, and engineering teams, overseeing audit schedules and service harmonization.

● Presented metrics to Senior Management, managed Pfizer-Europe application transitions, and participated in Exception or Emergency CAB meetings.

● Conducted Post-Implementation Reviews (PIR/A) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for change failures, led design reviews, and collaborated with offshore teams.

● Mentored new team members in Change, Incident, and Problem Management processes. Client: WellPoint, Inc., Hyderabad, India

Test Engineer (December 2005 - March 2007)

● Managed the testing of claims across both Inpatient and Outpatient systems at WellPoint, involving 28 distinct screens.

● Developed and finalized test cases with client approval prior to implementation, focusing on functionalities such as Claims reopen, new claim processing, manager’s override, and correction screens for both Inpatient and Outpatient details. EDUCATION

Bachelor of Engineering: Electrical Engineering from Utkal University, Odisha, India.

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