Anna Zakoyan

After conducting a core analysis of the status quo through assessments and coaching sessions at the team and management levels, I identified the team's five dysfunctions, lack of Agile knowledge, and lack of consistency.

Based on these findings, I led the creation of an impediments and improvement plan, an Agile leadership team was formed, and actions were assigned. Agile knowledge increased through a series of Agile training sessions and workshops.

The practical Scrum framework was established from scratch. By working closely with scrum masters, product owners, and the development team and using different models to work with change and human social experience, I switched their focus from mechanical Scrum to core Agile and Scrum values.

Simultaneously, I conducted coaching sessions with the Agile leadership team and senior management to unleash their potential, understand business agility, see the context, and step on a true leadership road.

Product roadmaps and milestones were clearly defined, and the team learned to focus on a value-driven approach. Architecture, QA automation, XP practices, and documentation became some of the key objectives for the teams. OKRs and performance review systems were established.

We started with implementing a Scrum framework for fully remote team collaboration and product development. As the work progressed and the development teams started norming and understanding the core values and principles, many Lean principles were also applied to product development to create transparent, continuous delivery on that level.

Teams began to focus throughout the day on cycle time, work capacity, work predictability, team ownership of the product and goals, dealing with dependencies and priorities, accomplishments, and growth. Feature-based teams were formed, each with a dedicated scrum master who I assigned and coached.

Later, we integrated a QA team to fill the gaps in these areas. The team optimized the workflows, collaborated with developers, defined what done meant from a QA perspective, and determined what tools to use and how to deal with stories, defects, changes, and improvements. A whole automation framework was written using Selenium to focus on automated tests.

WORK DONE
• Strategic leadership: Aligned organizational goals with strategies, collaborating with executives.
• Project and program management: Oversaw projects, ensuring alignment with objectives using Agile and Lean methodologies.
• Process optimization: Enhanced workflows for efficiency.
• Resource allocation: Managed resources for optimal utilization.
• Performance metrics: Defined metrics and provided data-driven insights.
• Continuous improvement: Implemented best practices for ongoing enhancement.
• Organizational effectiveness: Collaborated with HR to refine strategies.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Fostered collaboration and prepared progress dashboards.
• Risk management: Identified and mitigated risks proactively.
• Mentorship and training: Provided Agile and Lean training, fostering skill development.

BREAK Media is a loyal client, and I have been happy to work with them for so many years.

After a year of work, the company saw these results:
• 25% progress in the speed of delivery by working with dependencies and changing priorities.
• 70% project visibility and transparency.
• 90% in Agile and Scrum knowledge, values, and practices.

WORK DONE
• Collaborated with the IT department to align with business goals by reviewing value streams, involving business unit owners in strategic alignment, establishing PI cycles, and restructuring teams into product, platform, and service units with designated leaders and architects. Engaged with the HR team to define performance metrics and devise a performance management strategy.
• Partnered with product owners, scrum masters, tech leads, and teams to establish team foundations, implement suitable frameworks (Scrum and Kanban), and streamline delivery and product roadmap/backlog initiatives.