Kazi Hoque
Buffalo,NY
Summary
Lead Agile Coach/RTE Seasoned RTE/Agile Coach & SAFe Consultant with over 10 years of driving Agile Transformation and improving project/program management with effective change mangement within the banking and insurance sectors. Specialized in large-scale Agile transformations and various Agile practices such as Scrum, XP, Lean, Kanban, and SAFe. Proven ability to deliver complex initiatives through Agile frameworks, fostering high-performing teams, and applying techniques like TDD, BDD, and DevOps. Passionate about training Agile methodologies, coaching executives, and leading workshops. Committed to driving innovation and achieving organizational goals through an OKR-driven approach.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Lead Agile Coach/RTE
Manulife / John Hancock
01.2023 - Current
- Serve as a trusted advisor to executives on Sacled Agile implementation strategies
- Act as RTE/ Coach change in implementing scaled Agile methodologies by launching Agile Release Trains (ART)
- Activated Scaled Agile way of working within Retirement Portfolio with a 30% increase in productivity, 200% increase in release frequency, and 15% increase of Digital adoption at the client side
- Launched 3 ARTs as RTE and establisned PI planning cednce, achieved ART flow enhancements with 90% predictability
- Established PI planning and PI execution framwork along with governance with collaboration between Product, Technology and Opeartion with a result of 15% increase in employee engagement
- Trained over 800 team members through internal sessions and a dedicated Podcast, achieving a 85% satisfaction rate and exceeding learning objectives in topics such as OKR, Scaled Agility, and mindset development
- Increased project success rates by 20% and the adoption of OKR-based methodologies to 50% by providing executive coaching to key stakeholders to improve strategic alignment
- Directed an Agile taskforce of five members to deliver a 20% decrease in Delivery/Project cycle times and a 30 % increase in team productivity while maintaining a 90% employee retention rate within the team
- Developed and delivered a Value Stream Management course tailored to Manulife's needs that improved delivery efficiency by 15% and reduced time-to-market for for key initiatives
- Enhanced actionable insights and improved Agile maturity by 30% by redesigning the Agile Health check process to enable teams to focus more on value delivery
- Achieved a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 80 through training initiatives within the Insurance operations domain, leading to boosting customer satisfaction and reducing defects reported post-training.
Agile Trainer
Izenbridge
01.2021 - Current
- Facilitated public and private training sessions, certifying individuals in Scrum and Scaled Agile methodologies
- Provided impactful mentorship to Agile professionals, fostering a culture of continuous learning and development
- Taught certification courses on Leading SAFe, SAFe Certified Scrum Master, SAFe Certified Product Owner, SAFe Certified Senior Scrum Master, SAFe Lean Portfolio Management, and Scrum Foundations.
Enterprise Agile Coach
Deloitte
03.2022 - 12.2022
- Served as a change agent on a team of coaches, guiding multiple teams and value streams through Agile adoption and transformation
- Led the implementation of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) for one of the largest value streams (Platform) within clients, involving 20 teams, accelerating organizational agility and improving team productivity
- Led workshops and training sessions that achieved the highest rating of Scaled Agile Framework and ceremonies adoption at 90% while equipping teams and leaders with essential Agile methodologies and tools
- Developed and executed customized coaching plans that increased team happiness scores from 60% to 80% and enhanced team performance with streamlined processes
- Fostered a culture of continuous improvement and innovation that improved action item tracking and increased velocity by 15% net
- Cultivated Agile knowledge and best practices, improving the Agile practice score to Optimizing at 60% and Performing at 40% from Initiating and Performing
- Guided multiple teams and value streams through Agile adoption and transformation, ensuring seamless integration and sustained success, with all the PODs within the value stream released at least once per month.
Agile Coach
Accenture
06.2021 - 03.2022
- Led training, coaching, and mentoring sessions for six teams of managers, Scrum Masters, and product owners, focused on enhancing Agile fluency and consistency across the organization
- Delivered 95% predictability by championing Agile processes at the enterprise level, focusing on value stream creation and backlog management to improve efficiency with all the teams within the portfolio
- Conducted assessments of Agile maturity, identified areas for improvement, and provided actionable guidance to accelerate progress that increased team happiness scores from 50% to 85%
- Served as a thought leader and advocate for Agile principles, resolving complex problems and facilitating continuous improvement forums to foster a culture of innovation and adaptability
- Achieved a net 10% increase in velocity by implementing an efficient action item tracking system
- Improved team performance and organizational agility, leading to all the PODs within the portfolio being released at least once per month.
Agile Coach / Sr. Scrum Master
Allstate Insurance Canada
09.2018 - 06.2021
- Served as an Agile coach in a transformation pilot to launch a new team for developing the Allstate Mobile app from scratch
- Coached internal and vendor teams, fostering Team and Technical Agility across various platforms
- Enhanced cross-team collaboration and knowledge sharing by establishing SAFe implementation roadmap and Agile Communities of Practice (COP)
- Increased quality and reduced bugs 30% for new features year over year by guiding teams in implementing practices like TDD and CI/CD
- Emphasized a culture of innovation and facilitated the transition of a Kanban-based team to Scrum while preserving engineering practices, increasing team productivity XX% and employee satisfaction XX%
- Led the integration of lean methodologies such as value stream mapping, Cycle time, and continuous flow, delivering a 60% increase in velocity for web and mobile application teams year over year
- Guided teams in implementing a testing automation framework with a 70% adoption rate
- Achieved over 1.5M lifetime downloads and a 4.1 app rating for a brand-new Allstate mobile app
- Implemented strategies that increased self-service transactions 35% through the web self-service portal year over year, enhancing customer convenience and reducing operational overhead by XX%
- Mentored teams to deliver one major product feature every quarter, ensuring continuous value delivery to customers and stakeholders.
Scrum Master/Sr. Business Analyst
CIBC
07.2016 - 09.2018
- Served as Scrum Master (SM) and Business Systems Analyst (BSA), developing projects for Wealth Management, AML Group, and the Chief Data Office in Agile pilot program and Waterfall stream
- Established the 1st AGILE product delivery team in the Shared Services Area, leading to achieving the lowest defect rate per release within the area
- Achieved a 95% on-time delivery rate by integrating cross-team collaboration with waterfall teams and release cycles to ensure timely release
- Secured an initial 70% adoption rate of Agile processes during the transition, managing project tools like JIRA, Confluence, and SharePoint
- Participated in the Agile Center of Excellence, partnering with business and IT to capture accurate requirements
- Coached Product Owners on authoring stories, maintaining backlogs and performing User Acceptance Testing (UAT), leading to a 30% improvement in backlog management.
Agile Business Analyst
B2B Bank
01.2014 - 01.2015
- Acted as an internal consultant, guiding over XX projects from inception to implementation, integrating Agile processes to reduce project startup time and increase project completion efficiency
- Elicited and documented requirements for an online investment loans portal for advisors
- Enhanced requirement clarity by authoring user stories and acceptance criteria using JIRA and Confluence
- Increased loan approval rates 15% by providing expert analysis and insights for the Lending portfolio
- Reduced onboarding time 45% by creating detailed process flows and documenting component-wise requirements to streamline the onboarding process for advisors and clients
- Conducted user acceptance testing (UAT) for system changes, ensuring 95% accuracy in testing outcomes and facilitating post-implementation training sessions for over 100 users.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) -
Texas A&M University
Texas, USASkills
- Agile Coaching & Mentoring
- SAFe
- OKR
- Scrum
- Kanban
- XP
- Lean
- Product Development
- Program Management
- Design Thinking
- Facilitation
- Communication
- Conflict resolution
- Critical Thinking
- Leadership & Influence
- Innovation
- Road Mapping
- Training
- JIRA
- Confluence
- SDLC
- Planning
- Cordination
- JTMF
- Jenkins
- Backlog
- User stories
- Acceptance Criteria
- TDD, BDD, HCD
- CI/CD
- Value Stream
- Confliect Resolution
- DevSecOps
- Process Analysis
- Re-Engineering
- Product Management
- ML & Data
- Waterfall
- Organizational Transformation: Led transformation of F500 companies (TD Bank, Allstate, Manulife/John Hancock) into OKR-based, value-driven, product-centric organizations using Scaled Agile principles and practices
- Performance Improvement: Achieved 20-40% increases in speed and productivity, 90-95% predictability, and 15-30% higher capital efficiency at F500 organizations
- Cultural Enhancement: Promoted a people-first culture and psychological safety, resulting in a 15-25% increase in employee satisfaction and engagement scores
Certification
- SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) – Scaled Agile: 2021
- PROSCI Change Practitioner – PROSCI: 2023
- Agile Coaching – IC Agile Certified Professional - IC Agile: 2020
- Kanban Management Professional (KMP) – Scrum Kanban University: 2019
- LUMA Certified Practitioner – LUMA Institute: 2023
- Certified Scrum Professional – Scrum Alliance: 2019
- Advanced Certified Scrum Master – Scrum Alliance: 2018
- Certified Scrum Product Owner – Scrum Alliance: 2021
- Diploma in Business Analysis – International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA): 2016
Languages
English, Bengali, Hindi
Native or Bilingual
Timeline
Lead Agile Coach/RTE
Manulife / John Hancock
01.2023 - Current
Enterprise Agile Coach
Deloitte
03.2022 - 12.2022
Agile Coach
Accenture
06.2021 - 03.2022
Agile Trainer
Izenbridge
01.2021 - Current
Agile Coach / Sr. Scrum Master
Allstate Insurance Canada
09.2018 - 06.2021
Scrum Master/Sr. Business Analyst
CIBC
07.2016 - 09.2018
Agile Business Analyst
B2B Bank
01.2014 - 01.2015
Master of Business Administration (MBA) -
Texas A&M University