MARIE (Mater) ASHU
Houston,TX
Summary
With 4+ years as a Scrum Master, I’m a continuous learner, critical thinker with a track record of successfully leading, coaching, supporting, and mentoring teams in developing high-quality software solutions on time and within budget while eliminating waste. Skilled in multiple Agile methodologies, and stakeholder management. Manage and facilitate all scrum ceremonies/events (Sprint planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective, and Product Backlog refinement). Efficient in the usage of vital Agile collaborative tools/software including Atlassian suite, Jira, Confluence, Mural, Miro, Lucid chart, Mind map, Ideaboardz, Invisionapp, Scrum poker, Dictation software, MS Teams, and Zoom among others. Other software competent usage includes the following: Microsoft Office suite, and SharePoint.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Scrum Master/Project Manager
Fidelity Investments
05.2023 - Current
- Worked closely with the Product Owner in defining the product goal & roadmap
- Worked effectively within the Scrum Team to remove impediments and track them in Jira
- Guided the team through continual improvement processes and best practices
- Facilitated scrum master community of practices
- Ensured a conducive environment that fostered self-organizing and self-managing team
- Empowered the Scrum team with regular inspection and adaptation opportunities
- Encouraged the Dev team to keep sprint backlog up to date
- Facilitated all Scrum Events including the Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective, Product Backlog Refinement
- Conducted PBR workshops with stakeholders and PO
- Created Epics, Features, fixed releases & Stories for the team in Jira and assisted the Product Owner
- JIRA admin activities for teams (created boards, workflows, filters, dashboards, reports using JQL.)
- Planned and tracked sprints closely and helped the team to focus on commitments & delivery
- Communicated team velocity and sprint/release progress to the teams and management
- Organize & facilitate Team and organization Agile maturity
- Facilitated retrospectives using innovative game techniques and closure of action items on improvements
- Reflecting and radiating the metrics like burn down chart progress, quality, and velocity continuously to the team and various stakeholders
- Prepared various dashboards in Jira which reflect risks, dependencies, impediments
- Helped Product owner with effective management of Features, Epics, Stories, and prioritization
- Ensured INVEST criteria were met for all the user stories in the backlog
- Coached teams in Agile practices and provided the necessary training to create a positive mindset to Agile methodologies.
- Applied human-centered design (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test, Implement).
- Led sprint reviews and planning meetings to promote full team engagement.
Agile Scrum Master
Liberty Mutual
02.2020 - 04.2023
- Organized and facilitated agile ceremonies such as sprint planning, daily scrum, sprint review, sprint retrospectives, and product backlog refinement
- Encouraged, motivate, and build team rapport by facilitating team and cross-team retrospectives to ensure the team has a common understanding
- Proactively identified and found ways to resolve issues to prevent distractions and keep projects on track.
- Researched emerging technologies and current trends to stay knowledgeable in methods that could benefit the scrum team.
- Ensured the team came up with and adhered to the INVEST criteria, Acceptance criteria, Definition of Ready (DOR), and Definition of Done (DOD) of user stories
- Coached the team on the Agile methodology
- Coached and empowered a self-organizing and cross-functional team to improve team performance and optimize team velocity
- Coached Product Owner in designing good and achievable user stories
- Worked closely with the PO and business to understand the requirements and create the product roadmap
- Share sprint completion reports to management and ensure that team velocity improves
- Worked closely with the team to come up with a good estimation of user stories
- Tracked and made transparent team’s performances using some reporting tools like the Velocity Chart, Sprint Report, and Burndown Chart among others using Jira, confluence
- Utilized Jira to track issues and organize product and sprint backlogs
- Utilized Confluence to manage information transparency and accessibility among the team
- Created various automated dashboards in Jira using advanced JQL and Filters.
- Coached teams in Agile practices and provided the necessary training to create positive mindset to Agile methodologies.
Project Coordinator
Tek Global
02.2018 - 01.2020
- Attend meetings for planning and scheduling to keep the department calendar updated and manage work flow coordination.
- Kept projects on schedule by managing deadlines and adjusting workflows.
- Serve as a liaison between the Aftermarket Department and other departments within the company to facilitate communication and keep appropriate parties updated on project developments.
- Serve as a liaison between the company and clients (both current and potential).
- Ensure all project deliverables are completed within the designated timeframes, meeting all quality standards and requirements.
- Create and modify documents such as: reports, memos, presentations, and letters using Microsoft O365 and other programs
- Work closely with the Aftermarket and cross-discipline teams to ensure that all aspects of the department are running smoothly and efficiently as possible.
- Ensure all records and files are maintained and up to date
Team Lead
PlanNet Marketing
02.2016 - 01.2018
- Ensured administrative duties are accurately completed in a timely fashion
- Supported clients to establish and maintain robust relationships and interests
- Facilitated initiatives, tasks and activities aimed at meeting the customer’s personal individual needs
- Facilitated the team to meet the agreed and working case plans of the customers
- Proactively plan, organize, and execute team brainstorming sessions to bring about new innovations to improve team objectives
- Guide and coach, the team to become self-organized
- Build a safe and trusting environment where conflicts are managed healthily without fear of blame
- Assisting with internal and external communication, improving transparency, and radiating information
- Providing all support needed to the team including using a servant leadership style and leading by example.
- Managed schedules, accepted time off requests and found coverage for short shifts.
- Worked different stations to provide optimal coverage and meet production goals.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Business Administration: Marketing Option
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH05.2015
Associate of Arts - Information Technology
Lynn Community College
Lynn, MA08.2012
Skills
- Agile Framework
- Leadership, planning & creativity
- Coaching
- Agile tools: Jira, Confluence, Poker Planning, Miro
- Agile maturity improvement
- Teamwork & collaboration
- Servant leadership
- Shielding team members
- Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills
- Strong organizational and analytical skills
- Proactive with handling dependencies & impediments
- Transparency
- Project Management
- Presentation Skills
- Public Speaking
- Interpersonal Communication Skills
Certification
- Professional ScrumMaster (PSM)
- Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO)
Client Industry
- Financial services
- Marketing
- Insurance
- Software Development
Personal Information
Title: PRODUCT OWNER | SCRUM MASTER
References
On Request
Timeline
Scrum Master/Project Manager
Fidelity Investments
05.2023 - Current
Agile Scrum Master
Liberty Mutual
02.2020 - 04.2023
Project Coordinator
Tek Global
02.2018 - 01.2020
Team Lead
PlanNet Marketing
02.2016 - 01.2018
Bachelor of Science - Business Administration: Marketing Option
University of New Hampshire
Associate of Arts - Information Technology
Lynn Community College