Summary
Overview
Work history
Education
Skills
Certification
Languages
References
Timeline
Generic

Sam Akins

Frisco,TX

Summary

Results-driven Agile Coach / Scrum Master with over 7 years of experience leading Agile software development teams. Proficient in Scrum, Kaban, Lean, and Scaled Agile Frameworks (SAFe), with a focus on driving continuous improvement and maximizing team performance. While I have extensive experience with enterprise platform implementations, I am also highly adaptable and quick to learn, making me well-prepared to excel in ServiceNow environments. Proven ability to mentor teams, facilitate Agile ceremonies, and collaborate effectively with Product Owners and stakeholders to ensure alignment with business goals.

Overview

11
11
years of professional experience
2012
2012
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification

Work history

Agile Coach / Scrum Master

Capita
Leeds
01.2020 - Current
  • Led the scaling of Agile practices across multiple teams in a complex enterprise environment, ensuring seamless adoption of SAFe principles
  • Facilitated PI planning and Scrum of Scrums to coordinate work across multiple Agile teams, aligning objectives with business priorities
  • Facilitating Scrum Ceremonies, including Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, Sprint Reviews, and Retrospective meetings
  • Worked closely with Product Owners to prioritize product backlogs and roadmaps, increasing team agility
  • Resolved team conflicts by fostering a collaborative environment and coaching teams in Agile principles
  • Participated actively in technical discussions to identify and fill gaps, ensuring continuous delivery
  • Regularly analyzed team dashboards (Burndown charts, historical velocity, team capacity) for reporting and planning purposes Coaching the Development team in self-organization and cross-functionality
  • Removed impediments to the Development Team's progress, collaborating with cross-functional teams to find solutions
  • Worked with other Scrum Masters to increase the effectiveness of the application of Scrum across the organization
  • Created strategies for transitioning from traditional project management approaches to agile practices, with a focus on enterprise-level platforms
  • Monitored team performance metrics such as velocity, throughput, cycle time, identifying areas for improvement.

Project Manager / Scrum Master

Capita
United Kingdom
12.2015 - 12.2019
  • Served as the Project Manager/ Scrum Master for active UK client accounts like Southern water, Irish Water, Thames Water, totaling £20 million+ in projected revenue
  • Created budget estimates and project statement of work for clients
  • Created project timelines and managing schedules using MS Project, Smartsheet's, and Skills
  • Served as Scrum Master for agile teams, serving as a servant leader and coordinating all scrum events, such as sprint planning, daily scrum, sprint review, and sprint retrospective
  • Identified project risk and developing risk mitigation strategies/plan
  • Simultaneously managed and facilitated Scrum processes for two Scrum teams
  • Engaged in scaled agile framework (SAFe) and program increment planning to align with organizational goals
  • Managed creative, design, and development teams on current and ongoing projects and to scope projects for proposal purposes
  • Coordinated User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and assisting in testing efforts to ensure that projects meet acceptance criteria
  • Managed all project communication between client, internal team, and all stakeholders
  • Implemented multiple prioritization techniques to streamline release planning and improve backlog management
  • Identified risks associated with each project and developed strategies for mitigating those risks
  • Conducted regular status meetings with internal teams and external partners to track progress against established milestones
  • Created project plans with established timelines, assigned to appropriate teams and managed workflow throughout construction.

Project Manager / Business Analyst

O2 Network
United Kingdom
11.2013 - 11.2015
  • Led implementation of Amazon Connect, replacing the existing Avaya telephony platform
  • Experience with large-scale platform integrations, which aligns with Service Now implementation environments
  • Led requirement gathering and process mapping workshops with stakeholders to understand the inbound and outbound call flow, As-Is process
  • Created budget estimates and project statement of work for clients
  • Created project timelines and managing schedules using MS Project, Smartsheet's, and Skills
  • Documented the As-Is process of inbound call route via client IVR to client hosted Avaya platform (HVS) and created detailed process map of the call flows processes
  • Led requirement gathering and process mapping workshops to capture and document the To-Be process call route from Avaya platform (HVS) via PSTN network to AWS connect, with AWS inbuilt CCP softphone (USB headset) rather than Avaya hard phone
  • Mapped the To-Be inbound call flow process for ease of development using MS Visio
  • Identified project risk and developing risk mitigation strategies/plan
  • Developed Epics, Features, detailed User Stories/Acceptance Criteria, and managed all defects raised, ensuring high-quality delivery of platform updates
  • Collaborated with developers, guiding the team through the lifecycle, ensuring that all deliverables aligned with stakeholder expectations.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSc.) - Computer Science

University of Greenwich
London

Diploma in Computer Science - undefined

West London College

Skills

  • Schedule planning and monitoring
  • Budget development
  • Risk planning and assessment
  • Resource and Stakeholder management
  • Leadership and Negotiation skills
  • Agile (DSDM, Kanban, Scaled Agile Framework SAFe & Scrum)
  • Waterfall
  • PRINCE 2
  • Lean
  • Microsoft Excel
  • PowerPoint
  • Visio
  • MS Project
  • Lucid chat
  • Confluence
  • JIRA
  • Trello
  • TFS
  • Azure DevOps
  • Slack
  • Power BI
  • Jet
  • GitHub
  • Miro
  • Lumzy
  • Sprint Planning
  • Value stream mapping
  • Curriculum Planning
  • Presentations and demonstrations
  • Training initiatives
  • Subject matter expertise
  • Planning and coordination
  • Creative Problem-Solving
  • Public Speaking
  • Interpersonal Communication
  • Cross Functional Team Management

Certification

  • SAFe Scrum Master (6.0)
  • Agile Team Facilitation & Certified Professional – Agile Coaching
  • Professional Scrum Master (PSM)
  • Project Management Professional (PMP)
  • Six Sigma Green Belt Professional
  • Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis

Languages

English
Fluent

References

References available upon request.

Timeline

Agile Coach / Scrum Master

Capita
01.2020 - Current

Project Manager / Scrum Master

Capita
12.2015 - 12.2019

Project Manager / Business Analyst

O2 Network
11.2013 - 11.2015

Diploma in Computer Science - undefined

West London College

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSc.) - Computer Science

University of Greenwich

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Sam Akins