With over 27 years of extensive hands-on experience – Data Engineering and Agile values and principles are my vocation in life, not just a career choice; I have honed a versatile skill set encompassing both soft and technical proficiencies. I have consistently demonstrated my capability to lead and take charge of a diverse array of projects and programmes, leveraging Agile and Waterfall methodologies with a particular focus on Data, Pipelines, Engineering and Enablement, Data Story Telling Migration, Change, Transformation, Digital, and Application/Software/Release development through Lean-Agile Leadership. My expertise extends to owning and managing the roadmaps/budgets for these initiatives.
I hold several certifications, including Azure and AWS Cloud certifications, SCRUM Master certified, TOGAF Certified Enterprise Architecture, Agile DSDM Project management certification, Scale Agile SAFe 5.1, PRINCE2, Business Agility, and ITIL. These certifications, experience, skills, and initiative have equipped me to deliver highly effective and efficient business operations and project delivery. Throughout my career, I have demonstrated my ability to lead diverse teams through periods of change when required. I am skilled in collaborative work within organisations at all levels of stakeholders, both within the UK and internationally. My experience spans a wide range of sectors, including Government, Public Health, NGOs, Charities, NFP, Scientific, Memberships Organisations, Start-ups, Consultancy, Healthcare, Property and Housing, International Education, Waste Management, Sales, Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, Manufacturing, and HR.
SCRUM Master / Agile Coach / Agile DSDM Project Manager / Lead Delivery
I have created and driven organisation-wide Agile adoption strategies and rollout plans.
My responsibilities include:
- Providing Agile coaching to teams on all aspects of the Agile project management framework, with a strong focus on Scrum practices.
- Embracing servant leadership and embodying the qualities and mindsets associated with agile methods.
- Enabling the continual improvement of software development projects.
- Coaching teams and management towards improving agile processes and metrics.
- Delivering training sessions for roles including product owners, developers, and testers.
- Developing and evaluating team metrics, and making recommendations to teams and management for improvements.
- Capturing feedback and continuously improving Agile guidance, training materials, and content.
- Guiding the organisation towards Agile maturity by organising workshops and presentations.
- Bringing transparency to the business and earning the trust of stakeholders.
- Participating in Agile knowledge communities and continuously sharing and improving related practices and knowledge.
In terms of training at the enterprise level of Agile and methodologies under the Agile umbrella, I focus on:
- Rolling out the Agile framework to the company, particularly focusing on Scrum 101.
- Creating dedicated teams and providing coaching across all areas of the company.
- Encouraging teams to self-organise to boost efficiency and coordination.
- Publicising team progress and successes to ensure visibility to the product owner and stakeholders.
- Coaching several new Scrum teams.
- Serving as the Scrum Master for the Innovations teams.
- Leading new processes and continuous improvements at the enterprise level.
I provide constructive performance feedback to agile team members, including:
- Representing the team to report overall project status, upcoming risks, and suggested solutions.
- Facilitating daily Scrum meetings, sprint planning, sprint reviews, and sprint retrospectives.
- Managing projects in agile development environments.
- Keeping the team cohesive to ensure successful sprints.
- Providing visibility to team impediments and risks, and helping to eliminate them.
My specific activities also include:
- Working with the Product Owner on artifacts such as the product backlog, sprint backlog, sprint burndown, and release burndown.
- Facilitating Scrum for offshore teams in the around the World, including USA / India and for other org, i.e big 4 etc and the UK Government
- Publicising the team’s progress and successes to ensure visibility to the product owner and stakeholders.
- Managing projects in agile development environments.
- Keeping the team cohesive to ensure successful sprints.
- Providing visibility to team impediments and risks, and helping to eliminate them.
- Coaching and mentoring agile team members and providing constructive performance feedback.
- Coaching a development teams of 6-8 members and a management team of 12 in utilising Agile methodology with Scrum.
- Encouraging teams to self-organise to boost efficiency and coordination.
- Working with stakeholders and product owners to prioritise sprint requirements.
- Encouraging the team to develop reusable elements and follow best practices.
- Motivating the team to deliver high-quality shippable products and meet product goals.
- Tracking and reporting status and other metrics against goals on an ongoing basis.
- Managing communications and capacity of offshore teams.
- Representing the team to report overall project status and upcoming risks, and suggesting solutions.
KEY SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES
• Exceptional | Neurodivergent Leadership & Social Influence | Creativity, Originality & Initiative
• Very Strong | Complex problem-solving | Analytical thinking & innovation | Reasoning, problem-solving & ideation | Active learning & learning strategies |Technology design & programming
• Strong | Emotional intelligence | Critical thinking & analysis
• Experienced Leader and Product visionary with a strong background in Senior Management. I serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) Agile Servant Leader in technology and data products/projects, providing crucial guidance in situations where information may be variable or conflicting. I regularly liaise with a wide range of stakeholder management, including C-level executives, board members, government entities, and non-profit NGOs, ensuring effective reporting and strategic decision-making.
• Strategy and planning with the goals and objectives so the data technology and digital landscape can achieve them.
• Methodology & Technology Agnostic – Agile – Waterfall – Kanban – Lean- AWS – Azure – Google – VMware On Perm / Cloud / Web / Digital environment.
• Three years experience UK Government Best Practice – Project Delivery Profession Community, Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF) Digital Services Framework – UX/ UI User Centric Design Principles, Government Digital Service GDS and Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Profession Capability Framework and Success Profiles Framework / WCAG – Web Content Accessibility Guides
• Cloud Platform / Data Engineering AWS / Azure, Domain Expert; SDLC, Scrum Master / Product Owner / Agile Coach / EA Architect / Release DevOps, Change and Service Lead ITIL – Over 25 years of experience in service delivery.
• Atlassian SME – Jira / Confluence / Service – Server, DataCenter or Cloud. – Strong experience with Bitbucket / Bamboo, Git – CD/CI
• Data Engineering | Business Intelligence -Data Lakes, Data Warehousing and Data Analytics via ELT via Pentaho – Kettle PDI, Data Processing and Validation Database Modelling, Data Domain Knowledge – Data Warehouse, Analytics and Data Excellence.
• OnPrem – SQL, VMware, Networking, Infrastructure, Storage, Security and Cyber,
• AWS Glue, Data Pipeline, Batch, Step Functions, Redshirt, Athena, DataLakes, SageMaker, and more
• Azure, Data Factory, DataBricks, Logic Apps, Power BI, Synapse, Azure Analysis, SSRS, ML, Purview and more
• Governance & Compliance – DPO | GDPR | ISO 9001, 27001| DSP Toolkit NHS Digital | Cyber Essentials PLUS
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• Scum Master / Service Owner / Delivery Lead / ITSM / Release For Covid-19 Data and Platform and Data Engineering Teams – DHSC / UKHSA – UK Government
• Teams- Built teams of people with new Agile Collaborated Mindsets and behaviours.
• Created Intensive Care National Audit and Clinical Trials, data Capture and data platform/application– including pandemic module.
• People – Ensuring the individual understands their role in the comprehensive plans & values of the organisations
• Consistent Programme Delivery. On time, On budget & with the required quality.
• Established Transformation by Shifting Mindsets and behaviour Modification within “teams of teams” by “Curated Content” Vision & Method using the Agile Manifesto, Business Agility, & SCRUM across organisations.
• Six senior or board level roles | 25 Business intelligence Solutions or Applications 5 large & complex country transformation programmes | 6 organisation significant change programmes | 6 ERP Implementations | 3 Integrated acquisitions
• Maintained & Continuously Improvement of Governance & Compliance in high-regulatory sectors
• Process re-engineering to increase operational efficiencies & performance – Replaced Spreadsheets in Word, Excel & Email.
• I have completed 8 MVPs on time, on budget & with the required quality. Increase profitability between 4% to 8% & 6% to 25% increase in productivity.
• Defined, monitored & continuous improvement for KPI & SLA &OLA
• Implemented DevOps – CD/CI/CR with Test-driven development (TDD) with automated testing.
I am an experienced and dynamic Scrum Master Coach who will contribute to our team and drive the successful adoption of Agile methodologies across any organisation. I embrace Agile practices to enhance collaboration, efficiency, and the delivery of high-quality products and services. Becoming part of a collaborative, forward-thinking organisation that values Agile methodologies and fosters innovation. Together, we will deliver exceptional solutions and services to our products, services and projects, while promoting a culture of continuous improvement and growth.
My Responsibilities
Agile Facilitation: As a servant leader and facilitator for Agile teams, I ensure adherence to Agile principles, values, and practices. I facilitate Agile ceremonies including daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprint reviews, and retrospectives to foster effective collaboration, communication, and decision-making.
Coaching and Mentoring: I coach and mentor teams, product owners, and stakeholders on Agile principles, frameworks, and practices. I guide Agile roles and responsibilities, Agile planning, backlog refinement, user story development, and estimation techniques. I help teams continuously improve their Agile practices through regular feedback and coaching sessions.
Process Optimisation: I collaborate with teams to identify process inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement. Working with cross-functional teams, I optimise workflows, eliminate waste, and increase productivity. I foster a culture of continuous improvement by promoting experimentation, learning, and adaptability with Jira and Azure ADO Boards.
Stakeholder Engagement: I facilitate effective collaboration and communication between Agile teams and stakeholders, including business leaders, product owners, and external partners. I help stakeholders understand Agile principles and practices and align their expectations with Agile delivery approaches. I ensure transparency and visibility into project progress, risks, and dependencies.
Agile Transformation: I play a key role in driving our organisation’s Agile transformation journey. Working closely with leadership, I define and implement Agile strategies, frameworks, and best practices. I champion the Agile mindset and help foster a culture of Agile thinking, collaboration, and self-organisation.
Team Empowerment: I empower teams to make decisions, self-organise, and take ownership of their work. I foster a supportive, inclusive environment that encourages innovation, creativity, and continuous learning. I facilitate team-building activities, fostering a sense of camaraderie, trust, and accountability.
Metrics and Reporting: I define and track Agile metrics to measure team performance, predictability, and process improvement. I provide stakeholders with regular status updates, reports, and insights on project progress, risks, and achievements. I utilise data-driven insights to identify areas for improvement and facilitate data-informed decision-making.