Years of Agile Experience
Ashley Stevenson
Woodbridge,VA
Summary
Dynamic Agile Coach with over 10 years of experience in enhancing product delivery through expert Agile coaching and lean portfolio management. Proven track record in fostering team cohesion and psychological safety while optimizing Jira processes. Adept in stakeholder communication, driving organizational agility and facilitating continuous improvement initiatives. Committed to promoting a culture of adaptability and collaboration within teams.
Overview
10
10
4
4
SAFe Certifications
1
1
PMP Certification
Work History
Agile Coach
LSA Digital
04.2023 - 11.2024
- Coached 14 pilot teams to adopt Agile practices, resulting in a 25% reduction in project delivery time
- Led over 10 Epic Identification and Feature Decomposition workshops, improving alignment with strategic objectives by 15%
- Delivered SAFe training sessions, including 'SAFe for Teams' and 'Leading SAFe,' for organizational upskilling
- Ensured adherence to Agile principles and methodologies, leveraging feedback and metrics to drive continuous improvement
- Led Agile leadership coaching initiatives for the Air Force Research Laboratory to equip leaders with Lean-Agile practices to drive their organizational transformation
- Conducted Value Stream Identification to streamline workflows and enhance organizational agility
Release Train Engineer
Southwest Airlines
11.2022 - 04.2023
- Mentored Scrum Masters and Product Owners through 1:1 coaching sessions and weekly role-based meetings, fostering psychological safety, open communication, and transparency across the ART
- Held weekly role alignment meetings to introduce consistent processes, provide role clarity, optimize efforts, and align team practices
- Supported Agile transformation in the People & Finance Portfolio, aligning team objectives with strategic goals
- Developed Agile roadmaps and operating models to guide transformation efforts
- Leveraged Jira expertise to optimize workflows, drive transparency, and enhance efficiency across distributed teams, increasing efficiency by 30%
- Designed and tracked metrics to evaluate Agile adoption and performance, including the creation of Jira dashboards at the team, ART, and portfolio levels to enhance transparency and decision-making
Senior Release Train Engineer
Edward Jones
03.2022 - 11.2022
- Supported the Lean Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) to establish RTE best practices as the first Senior RTE for the organization
- Gathered feedback from RTEs across the organization to provide senior leadership with insights on transformation status and needed support
- Facilitated workshops with the LACE to establish its mission, vision, values, and working agreements, fostering alignment and clarity
- Supported enterprise-wide efforts to identify portfolio-level epics and map them to ART-level features, ensuring strategic alignment
- Held 1:1 coaching sessions with Scrum Masters and Product Owners to address team-specific challenges, improve team dynamics, and enhance collaboration
- Established metrics for tracking team progress and aligning outcomes with Program Increment objectives, enhancing enterprise-wide transparency and decision-making
Release Train Engineer
GDIT
03.2021 - 03.2022
- Facilitated Agile transformation for the DEE program, guiding teams and leaders in Lean-Agile adoption
- Conducted Value Stream Identification to optimize processes and foster collaboration
- Supported Jira administration, ensuring effective workflow management and improved transparency
- Designed metrics to monitor Agile adoption and foster continuous improvement
- Held 1:1 coaching sessions with Scrum Masters and Product Owners to address team-specific challenges, improve team dynamics, and enhance collaboration
Information Technology Project Manager
Prince William Water
Woodbridge, USA
03.2019 - 03.2021
- Introduced Agile methodologies and coached senior leadership in their adoption, driving strategic alignment and project success
- Utilized Jira to streamline project management processes and improve communication and collaboration across teams
- Held PI Planning Event to identify HR bottlenecks and improve predictability
Agile Project Manager
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)
Woodbridge, USA
03.2019 - 03.2021
- Led Agile adoption initiatives, coaching technology leaders and streamlining project management practices
- Developed and implemented metrics to monitor team performance and Agile adoption
- Administered Jira to enhance team collaboration and accountability
- Created Agile operating models to align team efforts with organizational goals
Scrum Master / Release Manager / Business Analyst
GDIT
Woodbridge, USA
03.2019 - 03.2021
- Facilitated daily scrums, sprint planning, and retrospectives, resolving conflicts and negotiating scope to maintain team velocity and quality
- Managed all release activities, identifying risks, and ensuring readiness for deployment, including negotiating with IT partners to align on deployment needs
- Captured and translated requirements for the development team, ensuring that IT solutions met user needs and compliance standards
Education
Dual MA - International Affairs & Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
American University
01.2011
BA - Biology
Clemson University
01.2008
Skills
- Agile coaching and mentoring
- Lean portfolio management
- Product owner support
- Team building and psychological safety
- Relentless improvement
- Metrics development and analysis
- Stakeholder communication
- Jira administration and optimization
- Agile training
- Organizational agility
- Servant leadership
- Agile framework expertise
- Scaling agile
- Value stream mapping
- Agile metrics analysis
Certification
- SAFe 6 Practice Consultant
- SAFe 6 Lean Portfolio Manager
- SAFe 6 PO / PM
- SAFe 6 DevOps Practitioner
- Project Management Professional (PMP)
Additional Highlights
- Expert in tailoring Agile practices for regulated industries, ensuring compliance while fostering innovation.
- Skilled in coaching remote teams across multiple time zones, achieving measurable results.
- Passionate about driving cultural shifts to align with Lean-Agile values.
Clearance
Secret Clearance
Affiliations
- Live music
- Writing
- Travel
- Spending time in nature
- Momming
References
- Cynthia Ferreira, Enterprise Lean-Agile Strategic Advisor, Scaled Agile, Inc., SPCT
- Danielle Linn, Director of Agility at Scale, LSA Digital
- Robin Yeman, Space Domain Lead, Carnegie Mellon, SPCT and SAFe Fellow
Timeline
Agile Coach
LSA Digital
04.2023 - 11.2024
Release Train Engineer
Southwest Airlines
11.2022 - 04.2023
Senior Release Train Engineer
Edward Jones
03.2022 - 11.2022
Release Train Engineer
GDIT
03.2021 - 03.2022
Information Technology Project Manager
Prince William Water
03.2019 - 03.2021
Agile Project Manager
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)
03.2019 - 03.2021
Scrum Master / Release Manager / Business Analyst
GDIT
03.2019 - 03.2021
Dual MA - International Affairs & Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
American University
BA - Biology
Clemson University
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