Scrum Master Continuous Improvement

JOSEPH M.

302-***-**** ************@*****.*** Irving, Texas Joseph M. LinkedIn

Sr. Scrum Master Agile Coach RTE Project Analyst

Key Qualifications

Certified Sr. Scrum Master with 7+ years of experience optimizing flow of value from idea to release while leading Agile teams through Scrum and scaled Agile practices. Skilled in coaching teams on Professional Scrum, empirical product planning, and backlog refinement to accelerate delivery and improve predictability.

Recognized for building high-performing, self-organizing teams by promoting transparency, servant leadership, and a culture of continuous learning and experimentation. Adept at facilitating Scrum events, removing impediments, reducing rework and waste and coaching Product Owners and stakeholders to align strategy with execution.

Expert in Agile metrics (velocity, cycle time, burndown), Jira, Azure DevOps, and Confluence, with strong ability to build transparency and accountability across distributed teams. Adept at risk/impediment management, continuous improvement, and scaling Agile practices for enterprise delivery

Known for conflict resolution, empowerment, and fostering collaboration between business and technology to deliver reliable, customer-focused solutions. Passionate about enabling agility at scale and advancing organizational goals through continuous improvement.

Certifications

Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)

ICAgile Certified Professional – Agile Coaching (ICP-ACC)

Certified SAFe® 6 Release Train Engineer (RTE)

Certified SAFe® 6 Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM)

Certified SAFe® 5 Scrum Master (SSM)

Certified SAFe® 6 Scrum Master (SSM)

Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

Certified Kanban System Design (KSD)

Applied Scrum for Agile Management Project

Technical Skills and Expertise

Methodologies: Agile (Scrum, SAFe, Kanban), Waterfall, SDLC, CI/CD, Lean, Process Improvement, Change Management

Product & Business: Product Vision/Strategy, Requirements Analysis, Risk Management, User Story Mapping, Stakeholder Engagement, Agile Transformation, Business Process Modeling

Leadership: Facilitation, Mentoring, Coaching, Stakeholder Management, Decision-making, Critical Thinking, Time Management, Risk Assessment, Conflict Resolution, Gaining Consensus, Delivering Outcomes

Agile Tools: Jira/Advanced Roadmap, Azure DevOps, Rally, MS Project, Confluence, SharePoint, Miro/Mural, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint

Professional Experience

Assistant Vice President Project Sr. Analyst/Scrum Master

Citi Bank TX Nov 2024 – Present

Guide 5 globally distributed Scrum teams (US/India) through structured Scrum ceremonies, capacity planning, story estimation, and sprint forecasting, improving sprint goal completion to 80%+ and strengthening delivery predictability for regulatory requirements

Collaborate with Product Owners and PMO to align backlog priorities with product roadmap, implement Definition of Ready (DoR), and incorporate automated testing checkpoints, streamlining deployment readiness, reducing story carryover, and enhancing team delivery predictability

Design Jira and Confluence dashboards to track velocity, sprint progress, and blockers, enabling real-time transparency for leadership and reducing decision-making delays by 25%

Maintain RAID logs and coordinate cross-team dependencies, aligning sprint goals with PMO milestones and business objectives.

Embed risk mitigation checkpoints into Scrum ceremonies, resolving blockers within 24 hours and reducing rework and process inefficiencies.

Coach teams on Agile best practices, shield them from external distractions, and foster continuous improvement, accountability, and cross-functional collaboration.

SAFe Scrum Master

Bank of America NC June 2022 – Sept 2024

Coached and mentored Agile teams on Lean-Agile practices, achieving significant improvements in meeting program increment objectives.

Led two Scrum teams through daily stand-ups, backlog refinement, sprint reviews, and retrospectives—boosting sprint predictability and productivity by 25%

Partnered with stakeholders and PMO to manage dependencies, communicate expectations, and mitigate risks, reducing project delays and ensuring alignment with business priorities

Successfully integrated real-time payment processing and secure transaction features, achieving increase in transaction speed and reduction in processing errors

Designed Jira and Confluence dashboards to track velocity, burndown, and capacity, enabling real-time visibility for leadership and accelerating decision-making.

Prepared teams for Program Increment (PI) Planning, influencing ART stakeholders to remove impediments, ensuring successful execution of PI objectives and sprint plans.

Promoted cross-team collaboration and communication, bridge the gap between IT and business stakeholders, driving organizational success.

Guided teams to higher levels of Agile maturity by reinforcing SAFe principles, coaching on self-organization, and facilitating retrospectives that led to 20% improvement in delivery predictability

Senior Scrum Master

Walmart AR Feb 2020 – June 2022

Provided Agile coaching and mentorship, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and upholding Agile standards, resulting in increase in team efficiency.

Guided cross-functional teams to enhance Walmart’s digital infrastructure, achieving significant productivity improvements and ensuring high-quality deliverables.

Facilitated all Scrum ceremonies for distributed teams, coached teams on Agile best practices, and promoted a culture of continuous improvement and accountability

Defined and tracked Agile metrics (velocity, cycle time, team health), creating dashboards in Jira/Confluence to support data-driven retrospectives and improve team performance

Utilized Jira, Confluence, and Azure DevOps to maintain healthy backlogs, track progress, and ensure transparent communication of deployment schedules.

Developed dashboards and executive-level reports to track KPIs, defect trends, and team performance, enabling data-driven decisions and improved transparency for senior leadership

Implemented structured intake and prioritization processes to reduce blockers, enhance team engagement, and improve delivery outcomes

Scrum Master

GM Financial TX Oct 2018 – Jan 2020

Facilitated all Scrum events, drove backlog refinement, and promoted Agile best practices, improving team cohesion and accelerating delivery cycles and optimize team performance

Facilitated Scrum ceremonies and backlog refinement, leading to successful delivery of an automated loan management system that reduced processing time

Implemented and managed Azure DevOps pipelines to automate builds and deployments, significantly enhancing the efficiency of development and operations processes.

Resolved cross-functional project issues and coordinated with stakeholders, ensuring on-time delivery and continuous process improvement

Scrum Master

United Health Group MN Jan 2016 – Sep 2018

Collaborated closely with product owners to meticulously manage backlogs, ensuring their alignment with product vision and strategic business objectives, and optimizing resource allocation.

Led quarterly Agile maturity assessments and established Communities of Practice, scaling Agile culture, improving cross-team collaboration, and driving measurable gains in productivity and delivery efficiency.

Facilitated stakeholder alignment sessions and Scrum events, fostering collaboration and accelerating team velocity, leading to superior project outcomes.

Organized and facilitated Agile workshops, training sessions, and technical discussions to promote best practices, mitigate delivery risks, and drive a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and excellence

Business Analyst

Eco Bank Mar 2013 – Dec 2015

Led UAT sessions, supported risk analysis, and maintained client communication for timely, high-quality project delivery.

Education

MBA, Finance, Wilmington University (WILMU), New Castle, DE

BSc. Management

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