Hi, I’m
Darren Shafer
IT/Business Consultant
Tonganoxie,Kansas
Summary
Technology professional skilled in creating agile, responsive organizations that improve customer and user satisfaction. Background includes software development, system administration, and technical support, with a focus on problem-solving and performance optimization. Experienced in project management and team collaboration, driving successful outcomes. Focused on continuous learning and industry engagement to enhance contributions to organizational success.
Overview
36
years of professional experience
Work History
Apex SystemsOverland Park
Sr. Project Manager, Agile Coach, Chief Scrum Master
09.2022 - 01.2025
Job overview
- Sr. Project Manager, Chief Scrum Master and Agile Coach for the Kansas University Medical Center as a consultant through Apex Systems, providing leadership and guidance to Operations and IT leaders, multiple development teams and other project managers, product owners and Agile project teams.
- Chief Scrum Master for KUMC’s HITS (Health Information Technology Services) organization Frictionless and Ambulatory scrum teams responsible for automating clinical and ambulatory business and data processes, table migrations and system/application usage reporting.
- Co-facilitated Agile/Scrum training for multiple teams, guiding each team’s launch through many sprints/iterations until they were ready to be transitioned to their own internal scrum masters.
- Chief Scrum Master for KUMC’s Frictionless Enterprise Program, coaching and leading multiple teams in their adoption of Agile and Scaled Agile concepts and framework, in order to create a more 'frictionless' experience for patients, internal employees and physicians.
- Developed new and improved processes for product/project management and reporting utilizing browser-based Planview AgilePlace and SharePoint to support scaled Agile transformation.
- Developed multiple ongoing executive-level communications/reporting information radiators that teams and leadership adopted and used to assess, predict, and improve performance.
T-MobileOverland Park
Sr. Project Manager, Agile/Scrum Transformation Coach, SA, SASM
10.2019 - 09.2022
Job overview
- Agile Transformation Coach, Program/Project Manager, Scrum Master, protector, and servant-leader for the transformation of T-Mobile's Enterprise Fraud Management organization consisting of [X] teams and [X] employees.
- Developed and managed project plans for guiding the transformation of Fraud Technology, Data Science, Data Analytics, Reporting, Business Intelligence, Strategy, Compliance, and other technical and operational/business teams to an Agile framework, migrating [X] projects from Rally to Jira, Jira Align, and Confluence.
- Led [X] enterprise level projects in their adoption of SAFe, facilitated [X] PI Planning sessions and prepared Product deliverables for consumption by Enterprise Technology Services in Jira & Confluence.
- Led multiple initiatives for the Data Reporting, BI and Data Science teams to automate the acquisition, transformation, loading and reporting of data from [X] sources necessary to identify fraudulent trends in [X] retail store transactions, preventing or mitigating losses of $[X]M annually.
- Directed [X] teams across the Fraud Management organization to consolidate, migrate, and sunset [X] technology platforms (SQL Server, Teradata, AWS, Snowflake, etc.) utilizing Jira, Jira Align, and Confluence to organize work streams and documentation, reducing operational costs by [X%].
- Developed [X] executive-level communications/reporting information radiators utilizing Jira, Jira Align, Confluence, Tableau and Power Point decks that improved executive visibility and decision-making speed by [X%].
- Performed Jira training for [X] teams consisting of [X] users, increasing platform adoption and proficiency by [X%].
ShaferNet Consulting, LLCOlathe
IT/Business Management Consultant
07.2018 - 10.2019
Job overview
- Management Consultant providing IT/Business Leadership, Business Process Management, Project/Program Management, Agile/Scrum coaching, System/Software Integration and web development services.
- Partnered with DataLoci to develop a variety documentation including strategic roadmaps, business process maps and a presentation document for their SolarWinds Enterprise Tool Analysis and Architecture Recommendation for the USAF.
- Contracted with The Kansas City Southern Railway to help them develop IT/Business solutions on the ServiceNow platform and provide Agile coaching for a development team, BAs and managers.
- Develop and manage web, social media, SEO and marketing content for multiple small businesses.
Charter CommunicationsGreenwood Village
Sr. Project Manager, Agile/Scrum Transformation Coach, SA, SASM
08.2016 - 07.2018
Job overview
- Project Manager, Agile Transformation Coach, Scrum Master for the transformation of 15 Charter Communications Spectrum Enterprise Commercial Product Development and Emerging Technologies teams consisting of [X] members.
- Facilitated and led multiple teams as a Senior Project Manager, mentor and change agent to continually and iteratively improve the approach to planning and delivery of leading-edge business, network and technology solutions for [X] large scale commercial products serving [X] enterprise customers.
- Led SAFe adoption, transformation of 15 teams and 60 projects across Spectrum Enterprise for Emerging Technologies, Enterprise Product Data, Voice, Video and Client Experience, reducing delivery cycle time from [X] months to [X] weeks and improving on-time delivery by [X%].
- Planned and executed Enterprise Product tools migration to Clarity and Jira from MS products for [X] teams and [X] projects, including some Jira Admin duties, completed [X%] under budget and [X] weeks ahead of schedule.
- Created Jira User Training documentation and conducted [X] classes for [X] employees, achieving [X%] user proficiency within [X] months.
- Applied knowledge gained from SAFe 4 Agilist (SA) and SAFe Advanced Scrum Master (SASM) Certifications daily to progress the adoption and understanding of SAFe across the organization, increasing SAFe maturity score from [X] to [X].
Schwab CharitableLone Tree
Project Manager, Scrum Master, Agile Coach
11.2014 - 05.2016
Job overview
- Scrum Master and Agile Coach, protector and servant-leader for Schwab Charitable's Distributed Application Support and Critical Engineering teams (Database & Web Services) consisting of [X] members, as well as the Operations Technology Services UI development, QA and SOA QA teams totaling [X] members.
- Successfully led [X] projects for the transformation of the Distributed Application Support team and Ops Central UI Development, QA and SOA QA teams from waterfall to Agile/Scrum, reducing delivery time from [X] months to [X] weeks and decreasing defects by [X%].
- Served as Scrum Master, facilitator, catalyst and change agent for continual improvements to the approach, planning and execution of [X] critical business solutions and processes, improving sprint velocity by [X%] and team satisfaction scores from [X] to [X].
- Developed and delivered self-paced and instructor-led Agile/Scrum training courses for 12 team members that had no prior training or exposure, with a 100% participation and pass rate.
- Developed and delivered input and insight to Schwab's Agile Process Community and Scrumology forum to help develop and promote common Agile/Scrum practices across [X] teams in the organization.
- Provided early Agile/Scrum coaching/consultation to the Sales & Service Technology team of [X] members, accelerating their Agile adoption by [X] months.
- Performed Product Owner role/responsibilities for the Schwab Charitable Charity Screens in the Ops Central application, managing backlog of [X] items and delivering [X] features that improved user efficiency by [X%].
- Redesigned and maintained the Schwab Charitable Technology SharePoint site and wiki, organizing [X] documents and improving information retrieval time by [X%].
TravelportCentennial
Sr. Project Manager, Agile/Scrum & Technology Consultant, CSM
05.2011 - 02.2014
Job overview
- Provided leadership and Agile Program and Project Management for multiple front and back end initiatives within Travelport's flagship Global Distribution System platforms, Universal Desktop and Universal API.
- Scrum Master and Project Manager providing leadership, coaching/consultation to multiple Enterprise PMO initiatives to adopt and adapt to Agile/Scrum SDLC methodologies and Microsoft Project Server technology, and blend or retain some waterfall development as necessary.
- Developed tools, processes and communication methods for transparent, seamless Agile/Scrum and Waterfall dashboard reporting at Developer, Project, Product, Program and Executive levels.
- Leveraged and integrated tools, languages and technologies such as Microsoft Team Foundation Server, Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint, Jira, Confluence, Greenhopper, TFS Workbench, Kanban, Basecamp, Extreme Planner, .Net, WPF, Web Services, Mule ESB, Informatica and Cognos.
- Applied Agile, Scrum, Iterative, and Waterfall SDLCs to plan, coordinate, and manage execution of work for large, globally distributed cross-functional on and offshore teams in the areas of Performance, Infrastructure, Feature, UI/UX, API, and Security.
- Reduced usable software delivery windows from 6-9 months down to 3-6 weeks and defects from hundreds to just a few.
- Performed SharePoint Site Administration including site layout/design, workflows and content management to organize and streamline Program, Project and process documentation.
- Introduced new tools to improve facilitation of teamwork and communications between global, cross-functional Product, BA, Development, QA, Middleware, DBAs, Architecture and BI teams, improving the delivery of complex and technically diverse end-to-end software solutions.
ShaferNet Consulting, LLCLenexa
IT/Business Management Consultant
09.2009 - 05.2011
Job overview
- SMB Management Consultant startup providing IT/Business Leadership, Business Process Management, Process Improvement, Project/Program Management, System/Software Integration and web development services to [X] clients generating $[X]K in revenue.
- Provide consultancy in Real Estate Investments/Sales and Green Conservation/Sustainability to [X] residential and [X] commercial clients, facilitating $[X]M in transactions.
- Partnered with [X] clients to develop a variety of strategic roadmaps, business process maps and organizational excellence practices, standards and documentation that improved operational efficiency by [X%].
- Web and social media consulting for [X] small businesses, [X] non-profit organizations and charities, increasing their online engagement by [X%].
- Volunteer presentation/educational speaker for environmental non-profit group Bridging The Gap, delivering [X] presentations to [X] attendees.
- Commercial and residential real estate consulting for [X] clients and investors, managing portfolio valued at $[X]M.
- Develop Comparative Market Analysis and support regional market data trends to set pricing and negotiation leverage, achieving [X%] above asking price on [X] of [X] properties.
CitigroupKansas City
Senior Vice President – Technology Director
02.2004 - 09.2009
Job overview
- Directed the North America Operations and Technology Recovery Systems organization, including Project Management, MIS, System Administration and System Controls functions, ensuring alignment with IT Centers of Excellence, Information Security, PMO, Audit/Risk, Vendor Management, Finance, Operations, and Senior Management across [X] departments supporting [X] employees.
- Established and drove technology direction for enterprise-level initiatives that improved performance, minimized franchise risk, reduced unit costs by [X%], and maintained competitive advantages for Citi.
- Led Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence initiatives that reduced systemic and operational overhead by 80-100%, eliminating [X] redundant processes and improving data accessibility for [X] users.
- Led cost/benefit/gap analysis and integration initiatives to replace [X] legacy system interfaces with modern Web application architectures, resulting in [X%] improvement in system performance and [X%] reduction in maintenance costs.
- Spearheaded development of Electronic Media solution that reduced operational expenses by $1.6 million annually and created potential revenue stream of $70 million, impacting [X] customer transactions per year.
- Developed centralized enterprise platform that eliminated non-standard risk-prone tools from critical business processes for 350+ IT Services, reducing security vulnerabilities by [X%] and improving compliance audit scores by [X] points.
- Integrated secure file transfer tools to facilitate exchanges with [X] external vendors, saving $100,000+ annually and reducing security incidents by [X%].
- Implemented MOF/MSF (ITIL)-based Help Desk and Service Delivery model that improved response times by [X%] and increased customer satisfaction scores from [X] to [X].
- Managed [X] critical technology vendor relationships and contracts worth $[X]M annually, negotiating savings of $[X]K through strategic contract optimization.
- Coordinated Vulnerability Assessments and Third Party Information Security assessments for [X] technology vendors, reducing security findings from 200+ to fewer than [X], achieving [X%] compliance improvement.
Sprint PCSOverland Park
Software Engineer, BA, SA, PM
10.2001 - 02.2004
Job overview
- Project Manager, Systems Analyst, Business Analyst and Implementation Manager roles for IT Application Development supporting [X] call center locations and [X] representatives.
- Led the implementation, testing, troubleshooting and support of [X] client call center applications in a multi-tier, multi-application environment for Sprint's 3G wireless network serving [X]M customers.
- Improved software quality and stability of [X] client call center applications with superior automated testing tools and systematic elimination of defects, reducing production incidents by [X%] and improving system uptime from [X%] to [X%].
- Boosted ROI by developing LOEs, impact matrix/models and scoring tools to prioritize [X] new projects, maintenance requests, enhancements and functional requirements, improving resource allocation efficiency by [X%].
- Led, managed and deployed [X] software development projects valued at $[X]M in a heavily matrixed, architecturally complex system and business environment, delivering [X%] on-time and [X%] on-budget.
- Led [X] development JAD sessions as application and business SME, engaging [X] stakeholders and capturing [X] requirements.
- Designed integration of new industry 3G technology requirements with the existing technology and functionality for [X] applications, enabling [X] new features and improving network performance by [X%].
DMR ConsultingOverland Park
Senior Systems Development Analyst
02.2001 - 10.2001
Job overview
- Software design consultant and Systems Analyst for Sprint PCS supporting [X] mission-critical call center applications serving [X] representatives and [X]M customers.
- Provided critical system and application analysis, development, design and troubleshooting of [X] major, multiple client call center applications in a highly complex multi-tier, multi-application environment, reducing system downtime by [X%].
- Strategic and tactical leadership for [X] development initiatives valued at $[X]M, delivering [X%] on-time.
- Interviewed [X] stakeholders, defined [X] business, system and data requirements, wrote and maintained [X] functional and technical system and application specifications that improved development accuracy by [X%].
Quest Diagnostics (LabOne, Inc.)Lenexa
IS Programmer/Analyst
02.1998 - 02.2001
Job overview
- Direction, customer relationship, development and maintenance of ASTM remote client clinical laboratory software applications and internal VAX CASE tool applications using VB/Access, GoldRun, Oracle, SQL and PL/SQL.
- Slashed data entry and processing time by 96% while maintaining data quality and HIPAA compliance.
- Improved collaboration and communication by developing department Intranet.
GE CapitalLenexa
IS Programmer/Analyst
02.1989 - 02.1998
Job overview
- Dramatically increased productivity and operating efficiencies with [X] iterations of front and back end office automation, supporting 150+ associates and processing $[X]M in transactions annually.
- GUI, batch and database programming, web development, audio/visual and telecommunications support, multiple platform hardware/software support and security administration for [X] systems, reducing technical support tickets by [X%].
- Daily interaction with [X] vendors, [X] clients, internal and external users and management of all levels, maintaining [X%] customer satisfaction rating.
- Managed [X] projects and high-volume workloads in a fast-paced environment of 150+ associates, delivering [X%] on-time and reducing operational costs by [X%].
Education
Scaled Agile, Inc.Greenwood Village, CO
SAFe 4 Agilist (SA)
03.2018
Scaled Agile, Inc.Greenwood Village, CO
SAFe 4.5 Advanced Scrum Master (SASM)
03.2018
Agile for All, LLCAurora, CO
Agile for Teams
06.2013
Career Education SystemsKansas City, MO
Kansas and Missouri Real Estate License
05.2010
George Washington UniversityWashington, D.C.
PMP Certification curricula
10.2003
University of KansasLawrence, KS
Architecture and Industrial Design curricula
05.1988
Skills
- Business Leadership
- IT Leadership
- Operations Leadership
- Strategic Vision and Planning
- Program Management
- Project Management
- Agile Transformation
- Agile Coach
- Scrum Master
- Lean Thinking
- Scaled Agile
- Scrum
- Kanban
- LeSS
- Systems Analysis
- Business Analysis
- Process Improvement
- Process Management
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Team Collaboration
- Change Management
- Risk Assessment
- Data Analysis
- KPI Tracking
- Performance Monitoring
- Cross-functional Coordination
- Requirements Gathering
- Training and Mentoring
- Client Relationship Management
- Matrixed Organizations
- Team Building
- Contract & SOW Negotiation
- Vendor Management
- Gap Analysis
- Requirements Management
- GUI Design and Interaction
- Functional & Technical Specifications
- Problem and Issue Resolution
- Root Cause Analysis
- Vulnerability Assessment Mitigation
- Service Delivery
- DevOps
- ITIL
- SDLC
- PDLC
- MS Project
- Visio
- SharePoint
- ServiceNow
- Rally
- Jira & Jira Align
- Confluence
- Trello
- Adobe Suite
Timeline
Sr. Project Manager, Agile Coach, Chief Scrum Master
Apex Systems
09.2022 - 01.2025
Sr. Project Manager, Agile/Scrum Transformation Coach, SA, SASM
T-Mobile
10.2019 - 09.2022
IT/Business Management Consultant
ShaferNet Consulting, LLC
07.2018 - 10.2019
Sr. Project Manager, Agile/Scrum Transformation Coach, SA, SASM
Charter Communications
08.2016 - 07.2018
Project Manager, Scrum Master, Agile Coach
Schwab Charitable
11.2014 - 05.2016
Sr. Project Manager, Agile/Scrum & Technology Consultant, CSM
Travelport
05.2011 - 02.2014
IT/Business Management Consultant
ShaferNet Consulting, LLC
09.2009 - 05.2011
Senior Vice President – Technology Director
Citigroup
02.2004 - 09.2009
Software Engineer, BA, SA, PM
Sprint PCS
10.2001 - 02.2004
Senior Systems Development Analyst
DMR Consulting
02.2001 - 10.2001
IS Programmer/Analyst
Quest Diagnostics (LabOne, Inc.)
02.1998 - 02.2001
IS Programmer/Analyst
GE Capital
02.1989 - 02.1998
Scaled Agile, Inc.
SAFe 4 Agilist (SA)
Scaled Agile, Inc.
SAFe 4.5 Advanced Scrum Master (SASM)
Agile for All, LLC
Agile for Teams
Career Education Systems
Kansas and Missouri Real Estate License
George Washington University
PMP Certification curricula
University of Kansas
Architecture and Industrial Design curricula