Iron Bank
For more information, visit Platform One's Iron Bank.
Role: Senior Scrum Master (Formerly Scrum Master and Project Manager)
Team Size: 60
Development Time: Joined January 2022 to Present
Platform One's authorized, hardened, and approved container repository that supports the end-to-end lifecycle needed for modern software development.
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 (current)
Work:
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Run meetings and agile ceremonies
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Provide support and helped to remove blockers. Communicate issues to leadership to ensure the team could progress
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Ensure the task boards were organized and reflected the current work in progress. Work with Stakeholders and Anchor Engineers to determine the priority of features and tasks
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Thoroughly document meetings and major decisions. Organize internal documentation
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Renewed required certifications for the applications in development
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Maintain consistent and transparent communication with the team
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Adapt to feedback from the team to ensure the development process worked for them
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Participate in the creation of the goals and OKR (Objective Key Results) model objectives for the organization and Value Stream
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Uphold Platform One's culture of innovation and collaboration
Supporting the Teams
This project is under an NDA. All descriptions of my work are left vague to adhere to the contract.
Scrum Master
I started at Iron Bank in January 2022 as the Scrum Master for the two teams that develop the interfaces for the hardened container catalogs. The teams combined had 16 members at their largest (3 on one team and 13 on the other), all fully remote. Although they are two separate projects and teams, their work is similar and often tied together, so the two teams share many of the same meetings. Having worked with Platform One during my time on the Space Cockpit project, I was able to get spun up quickly and start my work as the Scrum Master.
Lacking any consistent meetings besides daily standup, I started by establishing regular ceremonies for the teams. At Platform One, we do not have to adhere to any specific agile framework but can adapt and adjust to what works well for each team. Through some trial and error, we determined that the larger team would follow a more kanban-style framework while the smaller team would follow a more structured scrum framework. Since both teams are on a bi-weekly release schedule, I set bi-weekly times for a pre-Iterative Planning Meeting, Sprint Planning Meeting, Backlog Grooming Meeting, Retrospective, and Happy Hour.
After establishing a regular meeting cadence, I got to work on organizing and maintaining the development boards. I reviewed the roadmap and all of the tickets in the backlog. Consulting with the Project Manager, Anchor Engineers, and Designers, I created epics and grouped all of the tickets under the appropriate epics to better track the work on specific features. I created a board for the designers and established a workflow for tickets to transition from design to development. Since then, I have ensured that the boards are maintained and the processes are followed, continuing to adapt and change as needed.
I also helped the team out however I could. I helped schedule meetings for the teams to discuss features and remove blockers. I joined in meetings to take notes and document important decisions. I worked with Iron Bank leadership to get the team any necessary licenses. I helped to write and review documentation. Overall, I supported and advocated for the team.
When the Project Manager for the two teams had to split her time with another project, I began to take up some of her responsibilities to ensure there was no gap and the team was supported in every way.
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 do all of the work as a Scrum Master but took on extra tasks and shared some work with the original Project Manager, who moved to part-time on the two teams.
As Project Manager, I worked with Stakeholders and Anchor Engineers to determine the priority of features and tasks. I renewed the required certifications for the applications in development, and I continued to communicate issues to leadership to ensure the team could progress. I was also selected to attend the Platform One May Cohort in Colorado Springs. At the cohort, I had the opportunity to meet many coworkers for the first time in-person, meet with the other Value Streams for productive ad hoc meetings, and was able to participate in some larger 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 are 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 have continued to work closely with them to ensure there are no gaps and that they are well supported.
As the Scrum Knight for the Value Stream (consisting of 60 people across 6 teams), I work to ensure that all teams are supported, collaborating and working efficiently. I am continuing my work as Scum Master and Project Manager on the two teams I was on, as we are not able to bring on an extra person at the time. I join in as many of the team meetings as I can, working with the respective Scrum Masters and Project Managers to ensure the meetings are working well for the teams, adapting as needed, and helping to remove blockers.
I also organize the Value Stream documentation and maintain the roadmap. I work with Stakeholders, Iron Bank leadership, and the teams to keep the roadmap up-to-date with our current progress, track any potential features, and update the priorities and estimated timeline of features.
Along with my roadmap work, I participate in the creation of the goals and OKR (Objective Key Results) model objectives for the organization and Value Stream. I was invited to attend the Platform One October Cohort in San Antonio to finalize the Fiscal Year 2023 OKRs.
I have been enjoying my work at Platform One and I am excited to see where it takes me.
