Ilham Mustafa
Fairfax
Summary
Analytical and results-driven technical professional with over a decade of experience consulting and guiding program management for federal agencies and the commercial sector. Managed cross-functional teams to support full project management lifecycles. Demonstrated expertise in business and systems analysis; Waterfall, and Agile methodologies; Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC); product management and ownership; project management from planning to execution (Waterfall, Agile, and hybrid frameworks); risk analysis and mitigation; User Acceptance Testing (UAT); data analysis and reporting; Quality Control (QC); Quality Assurance (QA); process improvement and reengineering; consultative and technical approaches; Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) for on-premises and cloud websites and applications. Adept at prioritizing tasks, managing timelines and budgets, and collaborating with stakeholders to deliver high-quality products.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
BUSINESS ANALYST / SCRUM MASTER/SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER
Buchanan And Edwards
McLean
10.2023 - Current
- Company Overview: (Client: Department of State/ Government Accountability Office-(GAO))
- Elicit, research, analyze, and document functional, non-functional, and data requirements using techniques such as stakeholder interviews, workshops, business process modeling, diagramming, use case analysis, data analysis, journey mapping, and prototyping for the different projects under the program like data migration, records retention and management, sensitivity labels.
- Manage business and technical requirements by creating detailed requirements documents, user stories, features, epics, and milestones for data migrations and system features using Azure DevOps (ADO).
- Facilitate and lead the different scrum ceremonies including Daily standups, sprint review, retrospective, and sprint planning meetings.
- Plan actions to enhance performance based on retrospective outcomes. Also, track progress with tools like burndown and velocity charts, and regularly update the product backlog with new feedback to align with current priorities and needs.
- Assist the Program Manager in overseeing project execution, ensuring alignment with project deliverables and business objectives within the Task Order/CLINS/Project scope.
- Collaborate with clients, team members, project, and program managers to create weekly, monthly, and quarterly status reports.
- Identify risks/issues and collaborate with the project/product team to create mitigation plans.
- Manage stakeholder expectations through transparent communication and timely status updates.
- Conduct requirements analysis and validation to ensure completeness, consistency, conciseness, comprehensibility, traceability, feasibility, unambiguity, verifiability, and conformity to standards.
- Improve project efficiency by analyzing business processes and requirements and identifying gaps for improvement.
- Evaluate alternative solutions and processes using decision matrices and cost-benefit analysis.
- Manage and author deliverables such as user guides, developer portal training material, SharePoint Governance & Testing, and Operation Transition guides.
- Led Sharegate-based migration efforts to move content into SharePoint Online, ensuring files, permissions, and metadata were accurately transferred with minimal/no errors.
- Identified and resolved data issues during migration by analyzing Sharegate reports and PowerShell logs, fixing missing or mismatched information as needed.
- Used Sharegate's built-in tools to run targeted queries, helping uncover migration errors, broken links, and data gaps before they became bigger problems.
- Worked closely with records management and IT teams to double-check that migrated content met data quality and compliance standards.
- Created easy-to-follow guides and visual dashboards and migration metrics to track migration progress and simplify reporting for both technical teams and stakeholders.
- (Client: Department of State/ Government Accountability Office-(GAO))
PROJECT MANAGER/ SCRUM MASTER/SENIOR BUSINESS ANALYST
Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB)
Reston
07.2022 - 06.2023
- Streamlined Team Workflow by Introducing agile tools like Atlassian Suite (Confluence and Jira), Trello, Monday, leading to a streamlined team workflow and Trello, improving transparency and accountability. Reduced project lead time and saved around 25% hours per week on manual reporting.
- Mapped product roadmap features and product incremental releases to the sprints quarterly.
- Facilitated agile workshops and training sessions, promoting cross-functional collaboration and reducing delivery time.
- Managed and coordinated agile ceremonies, including daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, product demonstrations, and retrospectives, fostering continuous improvements and utilized metrics to adjust and improve team performance based on capacity, velocity, burn-up, burn-down, and other scrum metrics.
- Spearheaded agile transformation of cross-functional teams by implementing Scrum principles, increasing delivery efficiencies, and reducing project risks.
- Identified bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the scrum team's workflow, implementing lean practices to reduce time for users and stakeholders.
- Worked with business and technical product owners to develop and implement product backlog prioritization and roadmaps leading to optimized project backlogs and reduced technical debt.
- Supported and led a team of peers, including training, mentorship, and task delegation using tools like Trello and Asana for task management.
- Aligned with business units and IT teams to identify technical and functional requirements. Led project management activities following both SDLC and Agile methodologies to deliver multiple complex releases.
- Tracked budget forecasts and monitored budget performance.
- IT and Business Collaboration: Championed collaboration across IT functions (DevOps, Networking, Security, Architecture) and business units, driving end-to-end application/system enhancements.
- Delivered multiple high-impact projects on time and within budget, such as migrating from an on-premises document management system to SharePoint online and debt system enhancements.
PRINCIPAL BUSINESS ANALYST/PRODUCT OWNER/SCRUM MASTER
Applied Information Sciences (AIS)
Reston
06.2021 - 04.2022
- Managed and facilitated scrum ceremonies utilizing Azure Devops (ADO).
- Created product roadmaps backlog epics, features, user stories and enablers and aligned them to the roadmap features and releases.
- Partnered with clients and leads to frame business goals, roadmaps, strategies, and release plans and aligned them with business goals and strategies to shape value proposition.
- Coached and educated client product owners to utilize agile practices and cadences.
- Used design thinking to understand customer needs and convert that to user centric features/products based on user and market research.
- Collaborated with client's cross functional product owners to create alignment in vision and strategy.
- Partnered with client and scrum teams to create, modify, and simplify a health safety database and system and moved it from an enterprise level application using access to a modernized, cloud-based application utilizing power platform.
- Collaborated with the different stakeholders to elicit, analyze, document, manage and validate requirements.
- Expert in business process modeling tools using Visio to create diagrams like swim lanes, UML, process flows and sequence diagraming.
- Designed end solutions and used designs to validate requirements and improve system usability.
- Created epics, features, user stories and developed acceptance criteria based on the requirements and in collaboration with the clients.
- Utilized performance Metrics to track and analyze team performance metrics, such as velocity and burndown charts, to identify areas for improvement and optimize productivity.
BUSINESS ANALYSIS MANAGER / LEAD DIGITAL BUSINESS ANALYST/SCRUM MASTER/PRODUCT OWNER/DEPUTY PROJECT MANAGER
ICF NEXT
Fairfax
11.2018 - 06.2021
- Company Overview: (Clients: CDC, Department of Health- HIV Bureau, National Cancer Centers (NCC), North Carolina department of Safety NCOR)
- Managed multiple projects working collaboratively with the delivery teams while supervising and training a team of junior- and mid-level Business and Technical Analysts.
- Managed allocation of departmental resources and ensured full adherence of company policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and industry standards.
- Coordinated team-based professional development activities to establish strong work cultures and guide career growth planning for each employee.
- Oversaw and collaborated in the campus recruiting process, onboarding and staff training, performance management.
- Worked directly with Account and Project Managers to develop and implement best practices, procedures, and user manuals.
- Served as Scrum Master, and client proxy product owner and interfaced with government management personnel to create project and product backlogs beside defining and refining requirements.
- Key Projects: CDC's OD2A-TAC, collaborated with cloud services vendors like Aquia, Research Connections, Ryan White HRSA Benchmarking, Rebuild NC Web Redesign, National Cancer Centers (NCI) Smokefree Program Digital Toolkit, Centers of Medicaid, and Medicare Modernization.
- Generated ad-hoc reports to evaluate specific business requirements.
- Generated standard and custom reports to provide insights and enhance performance.
- Implemented, co-designed business intelligence solutions to increase operational efficiency.
- Developed complex dashboards and reporting tools to track business performance metrics.
- Analyzed data to identify root causes of problems and recommend corrective actions.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to identify business needs and data sources.
- Coordinate product releases, ensuring that all stakeholders are informed and prepared for new features and updates.
- Deployed predictive analytics models to forecast future trends for public healthcare organizations like HHS-HIV Bureau, CDC, and National Cancer Centers.
- (Clients: CDC, Department of Health- HIV Bureau, National Cancer Centers (NCC), North Carolina department of Safety NCOR)
LEAD BUSINESS PROCESSES & RULES ANALYST/PROJECT MANAGER
TEKsystems
Mclean
08.2018 - 11.2018
- Company Overview: (Client: Freddie Mac)
- Supervised, managed, and trained the business analysis team to create and manage processes for multiple projects, in addition to management of baseline change processes focused on origination and delivery.
- Steered verbal and written communications that included coordinating and leading business rules meetings to identify and recommend appropriate methods and solutions for addressing enhancements and defects.
- Ensured all business rules are modelled and adhered to the stakeholder's approved project requirements and key specifications.
- Implemented the use of decision modeling and rules change processes to address minor to major business challenges.
- (Client: Freddie Mac)
SENIOR REQUIREMENTS ANALYST III-OPERATIONS/PRODUCT OWNER
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
Reston
01.2014 - 04.2018
- Company Overview: (Making Home Affordable (MHA))
- Oversaw analysis and management of customer requirements that included defined project scope, functional and non-functional specifications.
- Led the design, documentation, modification, testing, and implementation of new and current Fannie Mae software applications.
- Ensured each project's key sponsor customer requirements were effectively prepared and incorporated.
- Supported development of business intelligence (BI), master data management, and functional data projects by documenting and preparing business requirements, interface control documents (ICD), and BI reports.
- Created architecture diagrams, process flows, data mapping documents, and other technical specification documentation as required.
- Translated technical concepts and information into terms parties could easily comprehend.
- Coordinated deployments of new software, feature updates and fixes.
- Evaluated functional compliance of company products.
- Staged, evaluated, and performed quality checks on large data files before sharing them with the department of Treasury and Freddie Mac using controlled File Transfer protocols (FTP).
- Developed and maintained database of financial records for clients.
- Participated in development and acceptance testing of new reports and enhancements.
- Compiled, maintained, and verified data and distributed information through reports and queries to support operations.
- Assessed report and data requirements and determined best technology solution, format, and distribution methods.
- (Making Home Affordable (MHA))
SENIOR CONSULTANT/ PROJECT MANAGER
Actualize Consulting
McLean
08.2012 - 12.2013
- Company Overview: (Advisory Services)
- Served as a senior-level consultant to business clients on assigned projects.
- Built strong interpersonal relationships with business units to identify project needs and requirements ensuring deliverables were met according to project deadlines and client budgets.
- Key Projects: Freddie Mac Uniform Mortgage Dataset (UMSD/UMDP/MISMO) Project, Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC) / Subsidiary Plan Management, Inc Accounting Infrastructure & Finance BPR Project, Freddie Mac Finance Change Management Project.
- (Advisory Services)
APPLICATION QUALITY ANALYST
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
Washington
03.2010 - 11.2011
- Company Overview: (Property Data Warehouse)
- Utilized SQL, MS Excel, MS Access, and other quantitative and qualitative analytical tools to perform monthly data reconciliations, while maintaining brief and precise dataflow for users and database.
- Conducted risk mitigation and conducted short- to long-term solution planning and execution to identify and address data reconciliation problems.
- Developed, documented, and implemented testing plans and scripts with objective of maintaining optimal application performance while complying with specifications outlined by business clients and company stakeholders.
- Created and revised procedures, checklists, and job aids to reduce errors.
- Edited, proofed, and critiqued internal documents to improve clarity.
- Consulted with vendors and end-users to uncover system optimization opportunities.
- Recorded findings of inspection process, collaborating with quality team to implement corrective actions.
- Monitored KPIs to proactively address bottlenecks and quality issues.
- (Property Data Warehouse)
SENIOR BUSINESS ANALYST
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
Herndon
09.2008 - 03.2010
- Company Overview: (Exception Transaction Management)
- Conducted interviews with key business users to collect information on business processes and user requirements.
- Developed diverse reporting packages to meet individual needs of sales, marketing, product management and senior leadership.
- Mentored teams and streamlined techniques through evolution of delivery cycles, establishing documentation framework to support agile methodology implementations.
- Managed team performance by implementing measurable metrics to track delivery of supporting requirement artifacts.
- Managed the servicing transfer and exception transaction functions, and monitored risk aspects for MBS servicers, sub-servicers, and custodians.
- (Exception Transaction Management)
BUSINESS ANALYST
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
Herndon
02.2005 - 09.2008
- Company Overview: (Asset Development and Portfolio Management)
- Managed Servicers and Sub-servicer portfolios to monitor and mitigate MBS pool and cash level risks including classification, servicing transfers, pool liquidations and pre-payoff.
- Surveyed clients to ascertain requirements and expectations for product.
- Assessed business requirements to forecast annual budgetary operational costs.
- Developed customized servicer plans and reports, summarizing, and presenting data in visually appealing format, and addressing mitigation plans for troubled servicers.
- Led elevated risk and or troubled Servicers and conducted on and off-site reviews.
- Partnered with Fidelity and Fannie Mae attorneys and management to develop a quarterly data-compare program to ensure compliance with.
- (Asset Development and Portfolio Management)
INVESTOR REPORTING SPECIALIST
Navy Federal Credit Union
Vienna
03.2001 - 02.2005
- Served as account manager for organizational servicers. Skillfully forecasted servicer activities and mitigated risk exposure through monitoring cash, security updates, loan and pool-level reporting, MBS disclosure, lender reconciliations, and data integrity.
- Tracked servicer activities regarding pool/loan level reporting and remittances, and factored trends into annual action plans.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Agriculture
University of Khartoum
Khartoum, SudanSkills
- Project Management
- Stakeholders and Vendor Management
- Risk and Portfolio Management
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Resource Allocation and Management
- Implementation Planning
- Sprints Management
- Contracts Management
- Status Reports Management
- Software Development Methodologies
- Agile
- Scrum
- Kanban
- SAFE
- Backlog refinement
- SDLC
- EPLC
- Waterfall Methodologies
- Business Analysis
- Process Improvement
- Business Process Re-Engineering
- Requirements Elicitation
- Requirements Management
- Requirements Validation
- Business Requirements Document
- Functional Requirements Document
- Software Requirements Specification
- Technical Specifications
- Change Management
- Process Mapping
- Product Management
- Key Performance Indicator Management
- Objectives Key Results Management
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Visio
- SQL
- ClearQuest
- Microsoft Power Platform
- SharePoint
- Wireframing
- Prototyping
- Manual Testing
- Accessibility Testing
- Gherkin
- Cloud Solutions
- Cloud Configurations
- Microsoft eDiscovery
- Google Analytics
- Specialized Knowledge
Affiliations
- International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), 01/01/09
- Scrum Alliance, 01/01/18
Certification
- Certified Scrum Master (CSM), 10/31/26, 000847724
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), 10/31/26, 000847724
- Microsoft Azure Cloud Fundamentals (AZ-900), 07/29/21
- ITIL 4 Foundation, In Progress, 09/30/25
- Project Management Professional (PMP), In target, 12/31/25
Timeline
BUSINESS ANALYST / SCRUM MASTER/SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER
Buchanan And Edwards
10.2023 - Current
PROJECT MANAGER/ SCRUM MASTER/SENIOR BUSINESS ANALYST
Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB)
07.2022 - 06.2023
PRINCIPAL BUSINESS ANALYST/PRODUCT OWNER/SCRUM MASTER
Applied Information Sciences (AIS)
06.2021 - 04.2022
BUSINESS ANALYSIS MANAGER / LEAD DIGITAL BUSINESS ANALYST/SCRUM MASTER/PRODUCT OWNER/DEPUTY PROJECT MANAGER
ICF NEXT
11.2018 - 06.2021
LEAD BUSINESS PROCESSES & RULES ANALYST/PROJECT MANAGER
TEKsystems
08.2018 - 11.2018
SENIOR REQUIREMENTS ANALYST III-OPERATIONS/PRODUCT OWNER
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
01.2014 - 04.2018
SENIOR CONSULTANT/ PROJECT MANAGER
Actualize Consulting
08.2012 - 12.2013
APPLICATION QUALITY ANALYST
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
03.2010 - 11.2011
SENIOR BUSINESS ANALYST
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
09.2008 - 03.2010
BUSINESS ANALYST
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
02.2005 - 09.2008
INVESTOR REPORTING SPECIALIST
Navy Federal Credit Union
03.2001 - 02.2005
Bachelor of Science - Agriculture
University of Khartoum