Iron Bank
For more information, visit Platform One's Iron Bank.
Development Time: Joined January 2022 and left May 2023
Platform One's authorized, hardened, and approved container repository that supports the end-to-end lifecycle needed for modern software development.
Team Composition: Engineers, Designers, Project Managers
Role: Senior Scrum Master (formerly Scrum Master and Project Manager)
Team Size: 60
About the Project
Platform One (P1) is a modern cloud-era platform that provides valuable tooling, hosts CI/CD DevSecOps pipelines, and offers a secure Kubernetes platform for hosting microservices.
Authorization to go live with your application can be achieved faster than ever by using Iron Bank hardened containers and P1 pipeline security tools. The resulting Certificate to Field (CtF) and Continuous Authority to Operate (cATO) provides developers the ability to push validated code into production on an ongoing basis. This results in shorter development cycles, less debugging, and more rapid feature development.
Iron Bank is Platform One's authorized, hardened, and approved container repository that supports the end-to-end lifecycle needed for modern software development.
Project Contributions
Role: Senior Scrum Master
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Work:
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Ran meetings and agile ceremonies
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Removed development blockers by finding the right resources and personnel
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Ensured the task boards were organized and reflected the current work in progress
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Adapted to feedback from the team to ensure the development process worked for them
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Advocated for the developers to leadership to plan realistic deadlines and milestones
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Thoroughly documented meetings and major decisions
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Upheld Platform One's culture of innovation and collaboration
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Worked with Stakeholders and Anchor Engineers to determine the priority of features and tasks
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Communicated issues to leadership to ensure the team could progress
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Renewed required certifications for the applications in development
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Organized internal and customer-facing documentation
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Maintained consistent and transparent communication with the team
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Participated in the creation of the goals and OKR (Objective Key Results) model objectives for the organization and Value Stream
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Developed team health check surveys for the organization, analyzed the results, and developed a plan of action for leadership
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Created presentations and materials for senior leadership
Supporting the Teams
This project is under an NDA. All descriptions of my work are left vague to adhere to the contract.
Scrum Master
In January 2022, I started at Iron Bank as the Scrum Master for two teams responsible for developing the interfaces for the hardened container catalogs. At their largest, these fully remote teams had a combined total of 16 members (3 on one team and 13 on the other). Although they were separate projects, the teams' work was interconnected, leading them to share many of the same meetings. My prior experience with Platform One during the Space Cockpit project allowed me to quickly acclimate and begin my Scrum Master responsibilities.
Initially, the teams lacked consistent meetings beyond the daily standup. To address this, I established regular ceremonies tailored to each team's needs. At Platform One, we did not adhere to a strict agile framework but adapted to what worked best for each team. After some trial and error, we found that a kanban-style framework suited the larger team, while the smaller team benefited from a more structured scrum framework. Given that both teams were on a bi-weekly release schedule, I scheduled bi-weekly pre-Iterative Planning Meetings, Sprint Planning Meetings, Backlog Grooming Meetings, Retrospectives, and even a Happy Hour.
With a regular meeting cadence in place, I focused on organizing and maintaining the development boards. I reviewed the roadmap and all backlog tickets. After consulting with the Project Manager, Anchor Engineers, and Designers, I created epics to group related tickets, facilitating better tracking of specific features. I also set up a board for the designers and established a workflow to ensure seamless transition from design to development. After the major organization, I continuously maintained the boards and processes, adapting them as necessary.
In addition to my Scrum Master duties, I supported the team in various ways. I scheduled and facilitated meetings to discuss features and remove blockers, took notes and documented key decisions, worked with Iron Bank leadership to secure necessary licenses, and assisted with writing and reviewing documentation. My overall goal was to support and advocate for the team.
When the Project Manager for the two teams had to divide her time with another project, I took on some of her responsibilities to ensure continuous support and smooth operation for the team.
Project Manager
My work was recognized, and I was promoted to Project Manager for the two teams, in addition to my Scrum Master responsibilities. I continued to perform all the duties of a Scrum Master while taking on additional tasks and sharing some work with the original Project Manager, who moved to a part-time role on the two teams.
As Project Manager, I collaborated with stakeholders and Anchor Engineers to prioritize features and tasks. I ensured that the required certifications for the applications in development were renewed and maintained open communication with leadership to address any issues that arose, ensuring the team could make continuous progress. Additionally, I was selected to attend the Platform One May Cohort in Colorado Springs. During the cohort, I had the opportunity to meet many coworkers in person for the first time, engage in productive ad hoc meetings with other value streams, and participate in broader Platform One discussions.
Senior Scrum Master
At the end of July 2022, the Iron Bank Scrum Knight (Senior Scrum Master at the Value Stream Level) left Iron Bank, creating an opening in the Value Stream. I was nominated for the role due to my work as a Scrum Master and Project Manager. Iron Bank leadership supported the decision, believing that I was a good advocate for the collaborative and innovative culture they were trying to build at Iron Bank, and I accepted the position.
With no one filling the role of Scrum Master on the two teams I was on, I continued to work closely with them to ensure there were no gaps and that they were well supported.
As the Scrum Knight for the Value Stream (consisting of 60 people across 6 teams), I worked to ensure that all teams were supported, collaborating, and working efficiently. I continued my work as Scrum Master and Project Manager on the two teams I was on, as we were not able to bring on an extra person at the time. I joined as many team meetings as I could, working with the respective Scrum Masters and Project Managers to ensure the meetings were effective for the teams, adapting as needed, and helping to remove blockers. I also organized the Value Stream documentation and maintained the roadmap. I worked with stakeholders, Iron Bank leadership, and the teams to keep the roadmap up-to-date with our current progress, track potential features, and update the priorities and estimated timeline of features.​
