Scrum Master Software Development

Mark Metze Scrum Master

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Scrum Master with 10+ years of experience in software development and team leadership, specializing in transforming groups into cohesive, high-performing teams that consistently deliver value. I've had the privilege of driving Agile transformations, speaking at industry conferences, and hosting a podcast where I explore the intersection of Agile and human values. My passion lies in empowering teams, fostering collaboration, and continually learning to stay ahead of industry trends. With a deep empathy for developers and a love for connecting people, I bring energy and innovation to every engagement I lead.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Only recent and relevant work experience is displayed. A full history is available on LinkedIn.

The Agile Within - Podcast Host Jan 2023 - Current

Lead insightful conversations on the intersection of Agile principles and human values, fostering genuine connections and personal growth. Responsible for interviewing industry experts, crafting engaging content, and building a community centered on continuous learning and the human side of Agile.

Producer, editor, scheduler, marketer, and host of The Agile Within podcast, which has achieved ~5,000 downloads across 33 episodes in 2024, and resonates with a global audience from 102 different countries.

Engaged over 50 industry experts and agilists by discussing diverse topics such as Agile methodologies, human values, and behavior-driven insights.

Rent. - Scrum Master Nov 2021 - Current

Spearheaded the rewrite of a major PropTech website, utilizing Scrum techniques such as iterative development and continuous feedback to achieve the fastest performance in its category. Fostered cross-functional collaboration resulting in a seamless and fluid user experience.

Led team to deliver strategic, time-critical features presented at the nation’s largest apartment association conference (Apartmentalize by NAA), prioritizing high-impact items and successfully leading a web application rebranding effort.

Improved team performance by first identifying a lack of clear and effective sprint goals, followed by increasing sprint goal success. Mentored team to establish clear, achievable goals and implemented metrics to ensure focused progress and consistent delivery.

Addressed delayed market releases by reducing cycle time from 7 days to under 4, which resulted in capturing missed business opportunities through faster delivery.

Tackled a systemic issue by convincing executive leadership to reduce the number of concurrent initiatives using quantitative metrics that clearly and powerfully demonstrated the power of focus.

Softdocs, Inc. Jul 2011 - Nov 2021

Scrum Master Aug 2020 - Nov 2021

Pivoted from Development Manager to become the company’s first Scrum Master after successfully pitching the value of the role. Spearheaded the implementation of Scrum by driving team productivity and establishing a culture of continuous improvement.

Onboarded, coached, and mentored near-shore developers to become self-managing teams by identifying and removing their own impediments which resulted in decreased cycle time.

Developed team dashboards in Azure DevOps to track key metrics such as cycle time, cumulative flow, sprint goal success, stalled tasks and days since work items done.

Development Manager Jul 2011 - Aug 2020

Led a cross-functional team of 20, including Product Owners, Architects, Release Engineers, Developers, and Testers, driving the company's Agile transformation with an emphasis on accountability and user-centric design.

Spearheaded the replacement of legacy EdTech systems, improving efficiency and user satisfaction. Concurrently formalized a process for monthly roadmap reviews and securing stakeholder buy-in through direct customer feedback.

Enhanced enterprise prioritization by centralizing customer feedback through a new portal, replacing outdated email and phone tracking by enabling customers to create and vote on ideas. This improved transparency and the collaboration between customers allowed for more informed decision making on prioritization.

Improved competitive advantage by creating and leading a customer advisory board. This was composed of 8-12 strategic customer representatives who provided direct feedback on the direction of the roadmap by sharing the needs of their institution.

General Information Services, Inc. - Senior Software Developer Aug 2010 - Jul 2011

Prevented lawsuits with a new application to correct individuals that were improperly associated with criminal background records.

●Developed services (C#/WCF/nUnit), designed database (SQL Server) and data access (Fluent nHibernate)

●Created build scripts (Ruby)

OTHER EXPERIENCE

●Designed a .Net web application that brought the company to full compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Privacy Act at TD Bank in 2009.

●Developed an app to import images and metadata into the company’s CMS as a Web Developer at

LEAF Specialty Finance in 2008.

●Led a project to consolidate duplicate collateral items across multiple databases and systems, improving data accuracy and system efficiency as a Lead Developer at AgFirst Farm Credit Bank in 2006.

RECOMMENDATION

Over 30 additional recommendations are available on LinkedIn.

“Mark is a practitioner who understands the essence of Scrum in truly embracing the spirit of Agile, thereby going beyond the mechanics to focus on what really matters—people, collaboration, and continuous improvement. He doesn’t just understand and apply Scrum: he knows how to invoke its deeper impact in helping teams and organizations thrive.”

—Gunther Verheyen, Author and Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) @ Scrum.org

CONTINUED EDUCATION AND SERVICE

The Agile Within Podcast (Host) Jan 2023-Present

Professional Kanban I Issued by ProKanban.org, Dec 2024

Badass Agile Coaching Masterclass Issued by Agile Moose, Jul 2024

Certified OKR Foundation Issued by OKR Institute, Mar 2024

Dysfunction Mapping Practitioner Issued by Honest Agile, Nov 2023

Professional Scrum with Kanban (PSK I) Issued by Scrum.org, Sep, 2023

Training from the Back of the Room-Virtual Edition Issued by Agresto Coaching and Training, Jun 2023

ICAgile Agile Team Facilitation (ICP-ATF) Issued by ICAgile, May 2023

ICAgile Agile Coaching (ICP-ACC) Issued by ICAgile, May 2023

Road to Mastery Issued by Serious Scrum, Sep 2022

Professional Agile Leadership - EBM (PAL-EBM) Issued by Scrum.org, Oct, 2022

Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills (PSFS) Issued by Scrum.org, Sep, 2022

Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO I) Issued by Scrum.org, Feb, 2022

Professional Scrum Master II (PSM II) Issued by Scrum.org, May 2021

Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) Issued by Scrum.org, May 2020

Certified Scrum Master (CSM I) Issued by Scrum Alliance, Feb 2021

Certified SAFe 5 Scrum Master (SSM) Issued by Scaled Agile Inc, Aug 2021

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Project Perks with Harkiran Kaur (Jun 2024)

Software Process and Measurement Podcast (Apr 2024)

Scrum Masters of the Universe (Mar 2024)

Agile Coaching Round Table (Jul 2023)

Scrum Power Hour (Jan 2023)

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast (Aug 2021)

Scrum Master Summit (May 2021) - behind paywall

Agile Online Summit (Oct 2021 and Oct 2023) - behind paywall

EDUCATION

Clemson University - Bachelor of Science: Computer Science

PROFICIENCIES

Scrum • Kanban • Scrumban • Product Management • Product Operating Model • Liberating Structures •

User Story Mapping • Dysfunction Mapping • Working Agreements • Delegation Poker • OKRs

TOOLS

Jira • Confluence • Azure DevOps • Slack • Microsoft Teams • Sharepoint • Discord • MURAL • Miro • LucidSpark •

Lean Coffee Table • EasyRetro

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