Holly Estes
Northglenn,CO
Summary
Dynamic project leader with extensive experience at J3 Consulting LLC, excelling in Agile methodology and stakeholder engagement. Proven track record in managing cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality outcomes, driving continuous improvement, and optimizing performance metrics. Strong communicator and strategic planner, adept at aligning project goals with organizational objectives.
Overview
33
33
years of professional experience
1
1
Certificate
Work History
SETA Project Lead
J3 Consulting LLC
01.2025 - Current
- Company Overview: USDA FPAC Contract
- Developed and managed project plans using Kanban methodology, ensuring adherence to timelines.
- Oversaw consultant tasks and hours to maintain budgetary control.
- Set priorities and managed workloads for timely task completion.
- Coordinated cross-functional teams to achieve program objectives effectively.
- Monitored program performance and risks, implementing corrective actions as needed.
- Communicated progress and updates to J3 leadership and client stakeholders regularly.
- Ensured compliance with government policies and regulatory requirements throughout project lifecycle.
- Facilitated employee onboarding and access requirements to optimize team readiness.
Senior SAFe Agile Analyst
J3 Consulting LLC
06.2024 - 12.2024
- Company Overview: USDA FPAC Contract
- Collaborated with Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and stakeholders to align business goals and priorities.
- Translated business needs into clear user stories and prioritized backlog items.
- Analyzed Agile metrics to identify trends and optimize processes.
- Presented insights on Agile metrics to stakeholders and leadership for informed decision-making.
- Elicited, analyzed, and prioritized Agile requirements from business stakeholders.
- Established strong relationships with stakeholders to foster collaboration throughout Agile delivery process.
- Communicated project status, risks, and dependencies transparently to stakeholders.
- Maintained solid understanding of SAFe Agile Processes and SDLC best practices.
Senior Product Owner/Technical Program Manager
Maxar Technologies
04.2022 - 06.2024
- Collaborated with product owners, engineers, and program managers to refine requirements into user stories.
- Developed roadmaps and release plans in conjunction with software teams across the program.
- Facilitated formal sessions with Scrum teams for effective release planning and scrum-of-scrums.
- Maintained design artifacts for system services, ensuring documentation remained up-to-date.
- Contributed to the strategic vision of SPD SW architecture roadmap.
- Assumed ownership of deliverables while working with multi-disciplinary teams.
- Led design sessions with internal clients, emphasizing spacecraft flight software and dynamics analysis.
- Resolved program requirement challenges through proactive engagement.
Product Owner III
Modivcare
09.2021 - 04.2022
- Identified business opportunities through direct client engagement and market research.
- Engaged internal stakeholders to gather comprehensive business requirements.
- Managed product roadmap and prioritized product backlog effectively.
- Drove prioritization of requirements within agile sprint teams.
- Assisted UX/UI Designers in conducting user research as needed.
- Participated in key sprint events, including planning, backlog refinement, and reviews.
- Defined success metrics to evaluate feature effectiveness.
- Produced marketing collateral with relevant business departments for release rollouts.
Product Manager
Alethix/Intellibridge
10.2020 - 08.2021
- Company Overview: USDA FPAC Contract
- Primary responsibility is the creation and grooming of the program backlog.
- Responsible for working with the business owners and product owners to calculate WSJF.
- Participating in Program Increment (PI) Planning as well as Pre- and Post-PI Planning for Solution Trains.
- Drive requirements discussions, adding to solution intent.
- Drive discussions and coordination around dependencies.
- Collaborating with Agile teams to fulfill the dependencies that occur during PI execution.
- Primary responsible for System Demos and Solution Demos, and Inspect and Adapt (I&A) workshops.
- When appropriate, as many improvement backlog items may reflect challenges with the availability of specialized skills and dependencies.
- Ensures alignment and focus on delivery of value.
- Create and maintain a three (3) program increment roadmap.
- USDA FPAC Contract
Product Owner Liaison
ASRC Federal Contractor-TekSystems
08.2020 - 10.2020
- Company Overview: USDA FPAC Contract
- Coordinated with Scrum Master, Dev Team, and Product Managers to facilitate agile practices.
- Managed backlog by building, editing, and maintaining items based on user value and dependencies.
- Transformed solution themes and epics into comprehensible stories, defects, and enablers.
- Reviewed and reprioritized backlog in preparation for Iteration Planning sessions.
- Provided detailed story elaboration during Iteration Planning, accepting final iteration plans.
- Ensured acceptance criteria met quality standards and aligned with user expectations.
- Participated in team demos and retrospectives to drive continuous improvement.
- Orchestrated Systems Demo for stakeholders, showcasing critical solution aspects.
Product Owner/Business Analyst
Travelport
03.2020 - 07.2020
- Led Program Increment Planning (PI Planning) to align product development with strategic goals.
- Managed and prioritized product backlog, ensuring alignment with overall product strategy.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to develop user stories, incorporating non-functional requirements for optimal performance.
- Communicated product vision during SAFe/Agile ceremonies to foster shared understanding among teams.
- Planned release cycles according to roadmap, addressing key risks and removing blockers.
- Worked closely with development teams to implement user stories and document edge cases.
- Analyzed customer needs to drive innovation within Product Management and Delivery Team.
- Conducted system demos at conclusion of PI to showcase progress and gather feedback.
IT Certified Scrum Product Owner - Portal Team
Nelnet/5280 Solutions
10.2016 - 02.2020
- Company Overview: US Department of Education and Private Loan Servicing
- Directed web development team, including mobile applications for iOS and Android.
- Collaborated with product manager to achieve corporate objectives.
- Championed Agile transformation and guided team in Agile principles.
- Partnered with Scrum Master to foster team evolution under Agile framework.
- Maintained and prioritized product backlog for optimal workflow.
- Facilitated Agile ceremonies including daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and planning sessions.
- Assisted development team in removing roadblocks and minimizing disruptions.
- Engaged stakeholders to define product roadmap and requirements.
IT Business Analyst
Nelnet
12.2009 - 10.2016
- Focused on production support and small enhancements for mainframe and web applications.
- Mentored and trained new employees on business analysis processes and web support.
- Facilitated team transition to Agile methodology, enhancing project adaptability.
- Conducted Sprint Grooming and Sprint Planning meetings to prioritize tasks.
- Maintained product backlog for web team, ensuring alignment with project goals.
- Participated in all Agile ceremonies to promote collaboration and transparency.
- Acted as web subject matter expert for cross-project teams, providing technical guidance.
- Performed cost-benefit analysis to assess project feasibility and return on investment.
Product Analyst/Project Manager/Business Analyst
Fiserv ISS/Lincoln Trust Company
09.2006 - 12.2009
- Obtained Series 6 License to enhance financial expertise.
- Conducted cost-benefit analyses to assess project feasibility and ROI.
- Completed comprehensive project documentation, including charters and detailed requirements.
- Executed system and user testing to ensure functionality and performance.
- Managed relationships between vendors, business units, and project teams for effective collaboration.
- Reported project status to upper management, facilitating informed decision-making.
- Maintained project schedules and budgets to meet organizational goals.
- Applied Waterfall and Agile methodologies to optimize project execution.
Certified Paraplanner
Kathleen Lenover, Inc
05.2003 - 09.2006
- Held Series 6 License.
- Obtained Paraplanner Certificate.
- Prepared documents/updates for Customer Quarterly Reviews.
- Prepared Monte Carlo analysis for retirement planning.
- Prepared applications/documents for customer investments.
Business Analyst
Oppenheimer Funds
12.1991 - 05.2003
- Held Series 6 License.
- Perform cost benefit analysis to determine feasibility and ROI of projects.
- Complete project documentation including project charter, detailed project requirements, and project plans.
- Perform system and user testing.
- Manage relationships between vendors, business units and project teams.
- Report project status to upper management.
- Maintain project schedule and budget.
- Practiced Waterfall.
- Researched/corrected account issues.
- Established and maintained new Funds in core system.
Education
Certificate - Certified Paraplanner - Financial Planning
College For Financial Planning
Denver, CO01-2005
Skills
- Agile methodology and program management
- Backlog and use case management
- Strategic planning and audience narratives
- Acceptance criteria definition
- User experience design
- Government security clearance
- RFP response management
- Stakeholder engagement
- Continuous improvement
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Performance metrics
- Requirements analysis
- Leadership skills
- Effective communication
- Conflict resolution
Certification
- Certified AI Product Owner, Scrum Alliance
- Certified SAFe Agile Product Manager (APM), Scaled Agile, Inc
- Certified SAFe Practitioner, Scaled Agile, Inc
- Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner (A-CSPO), Scrum Alliance
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Scrum Alliance
- Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Scrum Alliance
- Certified Paraplanner, College for Financial Planning
Affiliations
- Board member for HOA
Timeline
SETA Project Lead
J3 Consulting LLC
01.2025 - Current
Senior SAFe Agile Analyst
J3 Consulting LLC
06.2024 - 12.2024
Senior Product Owner/Technical Program Manager
Maxar Technologies
04.2022 - 06.2024
Product Owner III
Modivcare
09.2021 - 04.2022
Product Manager
Alethix/Intellibridge
10.2020 - 08.2021
Product Owner Liaison
ASRC Federal Contractor-TekSystems
08.2020 - 10.2020
Product Owner/Business Analyst
Travelport
03.2020 - 07.2020
IT Certified Scrum Product Owner - Portal Team
Nelnet/5280 Solutions
10.2016 - 02.2020
IT Business Analyst
Nelnet
12.2009 - 10.2016
Product Analyst/Project Manager/Business Analyst
Fiserv ISS/Lincoln Trust Company
09.2006 - 12.2009
Certified Paraplanner
Kathleen Lenover, Inc
05.2003 - 09.2006
Business Analyst
Oppenheimer Funds
12.1991 - 05.2003
Certificate - Certified Paraplanner - Financial Planning
College For Financial Planning
Specialties Strengths
- Agile project management/software development methodologies
- Backlog management and prioritization
- Roadmap Planning
- Feature/Epic writing/refinement
- User story/Use Case writing/refinement including User Acceptance Criteria
- Collaborating with Development Teams and Stakeholders
- Promoting/demoing Product for Stakeholders and Potential New Clients
- UX/UI Implementation
- Understanding of Web-based enterprise software, .Net Framework, C#, javascript, databases and mainframe
- 5C - Moderate Risk Government Clearance for 10 years
- RFP Contract Response with Government Agency
References
References available upon request.
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