Dean Toukabri CSP-SM® A-CSM® CSM® SAFe® *
Scrum Master
Bethesda, MD 20817 https://www.linkedin.com/in/deantoukabri
Professional Summary
Experienced Scrum Master with a strong record of solving complex delivery challenges and enhancing organizational agility. Certified SAFe Agilist 6 and Lean Practitioner with over fifteen years of IT experience including six years in agile, leading cross-functional teams across healthcare and Government sectors. Able to drive business value by applying Agile principles, optimizing workflows, and fostering stakeholder collaboration. Proficient in Agile coaching, SAFe implementation, DevOps, and metrics-driven continuous improvement. Expert at Agile requirements management including analysis, feedback, Iterative improvement, story mapping, backlog refinement, and DOR / DOD.
Experience
Agile Cach / Scrum Master HCSC. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. Oct 2021 – May 2024
Resolved inconsistencies in delivery planning by implementing a prioritization and estimation framework. Used MoSCoW to prioritize Product Backlog Items (PBIs), mapped T-shirt sizing to Fibonacci scale to forecast initial, and projected velocity, enabling accurate Release Plans.
Solved transparency issues by implementing Kanban Boards that visualized Epic dependencies and scope projections, leading to clearer prioritization, reliable resource forecasting, and enhanced stakeholder confidence.
Improved Project monitoring progress by using JQL Queries for board filters creating real-time agile metrics (e.g., performance monitoring, feature request, technical debt, Release Readiness), which enhanced reporting and improved productivity.
Overcame remote collaboration challenges and unstructured Scrum events by organizing and facilitating effective virtual ceremonies using structured backlog refinement, encouraging active participation, and guided prioritization, resulting in a more collaborative and productive teams.
Mitigated quality risks by establishing clear DoR and DoD criteria within an incremental release strategy, resulting in high-quality backlog items.
Solved unclear requirements elicitation, by coaching teams on effective requirement discovery, collaborating with stakeholders to clarify product vision, problem scope, business needs, and constraints, which led to well-defined Epics and a shared understanding of both the problem and the solution.
Resolved cloud-related impediments quickly by applying my expertise in DevOps (Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD), and removing blockers to ensure continuous delivery.
Program Manager/ SAFe Scrum Master. MindFinders Baltimore. Dec 2020 – Oct 2021
Solved ART transparency issues such as alignment with strategic goals and visibility into dependencies, by creating a visual map of work items, ensuring they have estimated start and end dates, and visualizing dependencies.
Created and monitored lean budget guardrails, optimizing resource allocation, and maximizing program efficiency.
Assisted in setting PI Calendar by coordinating with the stakeholders, resulting in shared vision, alignment on dependencies, and predictable business value.
Resolved delivery challenges within the ART by ensuring adherence to PI commitments, leading to on-time feature completion, engaged stakeholders, and successful Inspect & Adapt (I&A).
Resolved impediments using different techniques such as 5 Whys, Fishbone Diagram, Value Stream Mapping, SWOT Analysis, and Pareto Analysis.
Project Manager/Scrum Master. TPGSI Rockville. Dec 2019 – Nov 2020
Resolved a critical payment delay by leading a team of six to perform a Root Cause Analysis, Identifying and eliminated process bottlenecks, and accelerating approval of a $1M payment.
Coached team how to track and interpret sprint progress charts including Velocity, WIP, and CFD, resulting in identifying process inefficiencies, and estimate task completion times.
Improved forecasting accuracy by addressing misuse of Agile metrics through coaching on Velocity, CFD, Burnup/ Burndown charts interpretation.
IV&V Project Manager. TPGSI Rockville. Nov 2018 – Nov 2019
Validated and verified governance gaps by directing an eight-member team to assess project governance and database efficiency, resulting in improved data accuracy and enhanced reporting
IV&V Project Manager / Scrum Master. TPGSI Rockville. Nov 2017 – Nov 2018
Solved gaps in verification and validation practices by managing a $4 million project and coaching a team of ten engineers on IV&V methodologies, resulting in increased organizational capability.
Improved financial visibility and accuracy by preparing and presenting monthly status reports and forecasts to the Program Director, leading to early identification of trends and issues, and better-informed decision-making.
Identified gaps in Agile maturity by assessing business agility, stakeholder involvement, feedback loops, and CSAT/NPS, enabling targeted improvements to team performance.
IV&V Project Manager. TPGSI Washington, DC. Oct 2016 – Oct 2017
Resolved communication gaps by conducting weekly status meetings with stakeholders, enabling proactive risk mitigation, schedule alignment, and early identification of project impacts.
Prepared and presented monthly status reports and financial forecast to program Director, resulting in timely identification of trends and issues, and informed strategic decisions.
Education
University of Maryland, College Park. Bachelor of Science, Information Systems.