Resume

Summary:

Dedicated Agile coach since 2013, and Agile practitioner since 2003, with deep expertise in implementing Scrum, Kanban, and Lean in software-intensive and non-software contexts. Software engineer with over 25 years of practice as a Scrum Master, architect, and developer in mobile development, government auto insurance, telecommunications, oil & gas, SCADA, and equity trading. Experienced team leader, engineering mentor, and valuable team player; skilled trainer, communicator, and facilitator.

Highlights:

Agile coach with expertise in initiating impactful changes across organizational boundaries.
Trained 300 people on Agile and DevOps at Shaw as part of an enterprise Agile transformation.
Coached adoption of BDD to decrease lead time while reducing defects on a system of over 900k set-top boxes.
Responsible Member – Software Engineering on Shaw’s Permit to Practice Engineering from 2014 to 2021.
APEGA Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) since 1997.

Experience:

President and Owner, Hacken Agile Software Engineering Inc. (2021 – present)

Repairing the world of work by providing in-person, hybrid, and remote Agile coaching.

Scrum Master (contract), Suncor Energy – Petro-Canada (2024)

Coached 25-member Petro-Canada retail mobile application development team.
Reduced WIP by 50%, resulting in decreased cycle time. Improved focus by reducing simultaneous initiatives.
Introduced Monte Carlo simulation forecasting, providing accurate delivery-date prediction for a UI/UX revamp.

Scrum Master (contract), Manitoba Public Insurance (2021 – 2023)

Coached teams working in HR, finance, payroll, IT (Microsoft 365, Remedy, desktop support), and modernization.
Introduced flow metrics (cycle and lead time, WIP limits, item ageing) and enterprise-wide prioritization of work.
Developed high-trust relationships within and between teams.
Mentored Product Owners and Scrum Masters in Communities of Practice to maximize their understanding of Agile.
Pragmatically applied Scrum and Kanban practices in a SAFe organization.

Senior Agile Coach, Scrum Master, Freedom Mobile (Shaw Communications) (2020 – 2021)

Coached senior leaders across the enterprise by understanding their goals and obstacles and offering context-specific guidance for their Agile transformation.
Developed Agile transformation plan and playbook for Shaw.

Principal Consultant Engineer, Agile Coach, Shaw Communications (2019 – 2020)

Facilitated the creation of self-sustaining, self-organizing teams that maximized the benefit of what they produced.
Coached teams for effective application of Agile and Scrum throughout Shaw.
Acted as a trusted advisor, collaborating with leaders and teams to discover ways we could continuously improve.

Principal Software Engineer, Scrum Master, Shaw Communications (2013 – 2019)

Developed and delivered a 9-hour introduction to Agile and DevOps for 300 people throughout Shaw.
Provided Agile coaching for multiple Scrum teams.
Introduced acceptance criteria, unit testing, and peer code reviews.
Developed Behaviour Driven Development framework for embedded JavaScript running on cable set-tops.
Scaled development to two cross-functional Scrum teams.

Senior Software Engineer, Shaw Communications (2009 – 2013)

Developed an Agile software engineering practice worth following based on a hybrid of Scrum and XP.
Introduced unit and integration testing, Kanban, peer code reviews, and Agile for embedded software.
Arranged CSM and TDD training with Ron Jeffries and Chet Hendrickson.
Mentored Engineers in Training.

Software Engineering Architect, Pason Systems (2007 – 2009)

Designed inter-site communication standards using JMS and HTTPS.
Expert in Linux, Perl, Regular Expressions, cfengine, and autonomics.
Created and chaired weekly team meetings to improve collaboration. Performed design and code reviews.
Encouraged feature-based Agile releases based on user stories, emergent design, TDD, and refactoring.
Met weekly with other architects to share innovations and improve knowledge transfer.
Encouraged developers to continuously improve, and continuous improvement of the development process.
Created high-level designs for software update mechanism; system life cycle management; centralized management of a distributed fleet of Linux systems on land-based drilling rigs; 802.1x network using PPP over Ethernet.
Researched and selected CentOS 5 as a replacement for legacy Red Hat 7.2 installations.

Senior Software Engineer, Pason Systems (2001 – 2007)

Designed and developed a method for automated and unattended remote system upgrades over a VSAT network; a method for performing unattended transformations of 8GB MySQL databases; application for mass imaging Linux hard drives.
Designed back-end software components for backups, management of removable hard drives, and system upgrades.
Converted application deployment system from tar files to auto-generated RPMs.
Created coding and unit testing standards.
Key developer in conversion from DOS/QNX-based product to Linux servers with Windows 2000 clients.
Firmware programming for an Intel 8051 microcontroller in a hook load sensor.
Configured and administered a new CVS server, replacing Visual Source Safe.
Provided after-hours technical support for applications on drilling rigs.

Senior Programmer Analyst, EFA Software Services Ltd. (2000 – 2001)

C development (object-oriented), unit testing, QA, and maintenance for a high-performance equity trading engine.
Responsible for peer code reviews and technical documentation.
Created Perl productivity tools for developers.

Senior Systems Engineer, Neles Automation (now Schneider Electric) (1996 – 2000)

Designed and developed a real-time multithreaded Publish/Subscribe network layer in C++.
Enhanced Chevron Pipeline’s leak detection application to minimize false alarms.
On-site support of Colonial Pipelines’ batch tracking and metering applications.
Designed and implemented engineering calculations in C for hydraulic profiling application.
On-time delivery of temperature and pressure correction calculations for Kenya Pipeline Company.
Successful upgrade of an 18GB Sybase database, and Y2K remediation for Chevron Pipeline.
Coordinated monthly software releases of Liquid Management System applications.

Design Engineer, Engineered Air (1994 – 1996)

Designed finned-tube heat exchangers for HVAC equipment, and certified steam heating coils.

Education, Certification, and Memberships:

Applying Professional Kanban I (2022), Professional Scrum Master I (2021), and Certified Scrum Master (2010-2023).
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba.
Member of Calgary Agile since 2010.
Sponsor of Agile Open Canada since 2023.