Toptal Project Management Expert
What Is a Product Owner? A Project Manager’s Guide
It’s not uncommon for project managers to be assigned duties that should belong to a product owner. Find out how you can use this role confusion to your advantage, and increase your skills in both arenas.
Elizabeth A. Anderson
Elizabeth is a Certified Scrum Master and Certified Product Owner with more than a decade of experience in Agile project management. She has built and supported a variety of software products, including a complex IoT yacht security monitoring system with hardware, mobile, and web apps, and a mobile e-commerce platform for industrial metals company O’Neal Steel.
You’ve Landed Your Next Scrum Master Job. Now What?
The first days in a new position can be confusing and lead to avoidable mistakes. These Scrum master best practices will help you become the servant-leader your team needs.
Anna Zakoyan
Anna is an Agile coach, senior Scrum master, trainer, and consultant with 16 years of experience in project and team management. She has helped more than 50 companies, including SGS Digicomply, Krisp, Ucraft, HSBC, Ameriabank, and Joomag, transform how teams collaborate and how work gets done.
SAFe Case Studies: Transformation Notes From the Field
In the final installment of Toptal’s Agile scaling series, the creator of SAFe, Dean Leffingwell, shares his expertise alongside three case studies from Toptal project managers who discuss the challenges and rewards of implementing an Agile scaling framework.
Daniel Carroll
Daniel is a Senior Editor for the Toptal Projects and Product Blogs. He has more than 20 years of experience at publications of the University of Chicago Press, Cambridge University Press, and Elsevier.
5 Agile Scaling Frameworks Compared: Which One Should You Use?
Toptal’s Agile scaling series is designed to guide project managers in their team expansion efforts. In this first installment, project manager Kamil Imański breaks down popular scaling frameworks to help you make the best choice.
Kamil Imański
Kamil is an Agile project manager and Scrum master with a background in business analysis and change management. He has extensive experience leading teams and implementing Agile scaling practices at international companies, including BAE Systems, which is an FTSE100 company and the largest defense contractor in Europe. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, PMP, and PMI-ACP.
What Is Agile? A Philosophy That Develops Through Practice
Agile’s flexibility is attractive, but its lack of specificity leads teams to misinterpret its applications. Agile expert Umar Ali explains how he helps teams prioritize values over practices.
Umar Ali
Umar is a project manager, Agile coach, and Scrum master who specializes in leading Agile transformations for organizations and teams. He leverages Agile ways of working to improve software quality and push for process and cultural improvements that allow self-organizing teams—remote, on-site, and offshore—to flourish.
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Streamline Jira Workflows With These Best Practices
Jira’s flexibility can make managing projects complicated if your setup isn’t optimized for success. Use these Jira workflow best practices to strengthen the efficiency and clarity of your projects.
Kelly Provost
Kelly Provost is a business analyst and project manager with more than 20 years of experience leading Agile teams. Her former clients include JPMorgan Chase and IBM, as well as startups and organizations such as BMW Financial Services and the Ohio Department of Commerce.
Tracking the Scrum Master Growth Path
Whether you’re exploring the fundamentals or refining your leadership skills, these recommendations will help you chart a path toward becoming a true transformation expert.
Anna Zakoyan
Anna is an Agile coach, senior Scrum master, trainer, and consultant with 16 years of experience in project and team management. She has helped more than 50 companies, including SGS Digicomply, Krisp, Ucraft, HSBC, Ameriabank, and Joomag, transform how teams collaborate and how work gets done.
World-class articles, delivered weekly.
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