Kayode Makinde

A Dynamic Scrum Master with over 10 years Agile experience, leading high-profile, high-pressure software releases through Servant leadership and result-driven attitude. An expert at leading multiple Agile Teams, measuring the agile maturity of the teams, and helping the teams attain continuous improvement with the frequent inspections and adaptions. I am also an expert at bringing transparency and minimizing waste. Highly proficient at using Agile tools and techniques such as Jira, Confluence, Story mapping, Miro, Ideaboardz, Measuring risks, dependencies and overall delivery.

Throughout my career, I’ve become an expert on the Agile framework for project management and the Scrum evangelist for each company I’ve worked for. I value my role in an organization and aspire to help others interested in becoming a Scrum Master. 

Senior Scrum Master, Pesapeer Inc. Canada                                                                  2021 – Present

Provide support and coaching to four Scrum teams on high-value projects across several platforms. Establish the product goal and roadmap in close collaboration with the product owner. Eliminate and track obstacles in Jira within the Scrum teams. Lead the teams through best practices and continuous improvement processes. Build supportive climate that encourages self-organizing and self-managing teams. Provide frequent inspection and adjustment chances to the Scrum teams. Motivate the development teams to maintain the current sprint backlog. Supervise workshops with stakeholders and facilitate Scrum events like sprint, sprint planning, daily Scrum, sprint review, sprint retrospective, and product backlog refinement. Contribute to creating and implementing the forward order procedures, and promote ongoing process improvement.

• Exceeded 120% of full revenue budget by the end of the third quarter.
• Started managing the fourth Scrum team as the result of the increase in subscription traffic to the mobile application.

Scrum Master, Iowa Solutions, Nigeria                                                                                  2017 – 2021

Coached cross-functional teams of business analysts, testers, developers, subject matter experts, and stakeholders to define and complete projects according to the standards for scope, time, cost, quality, and client satisfaction. Directed Scrum teams on the best ways to apply Agile methods and concepts to provide clients with high-quality goods and services. Conducted and aided in the facilitation of all scrum-related activities. Raised the teams' performance levels by identifying areas for strength and improvement and implementing proper coaching and development strategies. Contributed to the development and enhancement of Agile techniques within the company. Assumed responsibility for significant incidents, ensuring coordination of responses, effective stakeholder and product owner communication, and incident learning. Evaluated project performance with proper tools, methodologies, and systems. Sustained quality service by creating and upholding organizational standards.

• Provided assistance in developing and delivering Agile automated solutions to the government agency through rebranding, automation, and reengineering of NIPOST’s last-mile delivery operations.
• Transformed manually operated parastatal into automated one that started using systems with real-time accesses, online approvals, secure login information, authorization, and authentication rules.

Scrum Master, Foundation Systems, Nigeria                                                                       2013 – 2017

Recognized and eliminated obstacles to teamwork and organizational efficiency, and engaged in resolving disputes protecting the team from outside intervention. Held Agile planning sessions, stand-ups each day, reviews, and retrospectives. Aided communication and teamwork both within and outside the team. Presented information on the pace of the project, risks, obstacles, burndown during sprints, and state for release. Delivered team members and stakeholders with pertinent project information in effective manner. Sustained knowledge to deliver all deliverables more quickly. Encouraged creativity by helping teams become more productive and promoting continual improvement. 

• Built Agile framework from scratch and deployed automation software to all construction clients nationwide.
• Boosted 95% improvement in customer digital interactivity, referral, and repeat businesses, and service delivery efficiency within one year of constant deployment.

Junior Scrum Master, Ecobank Plc, Nigeria                                                                          2011 – 2013

Interacted with necessary corporate entities to help remove barriers that prevented the teams from achieving stated goals and assisted in the negotiation of working arrangements. Engaged with the product owner to ensure that work requests were clearly stated with top priority and adequate detail. Focused on improving processes continuously through feedback loops, coaching, retrospectives, and personal development. Assured that the corporate framework was followed when using the scrum framework. Built positive work atmosphere where team members take pride in and enjoy working on the product.

• Served as the leader to scrum teams in upgrading the mobile application to automate credit card applications, credit score monitoring, and new product feature notification.

Master of Managerial Psychology

Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

Master of Business Administration

Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Babcock University, Nigeria