About the Client

Strategic Management and Technology Consulting Firm

Based out of Atlanta, GA, this strategic management and technology consulting firm is dedicated to being a trusted advisor for its clients. By taking an integrated approach to enhancing business processes, developing human capital, and aligning technology, it's able to unlock future value today for its clients. 

The Situation 

Facing Capacity Constraints for Key Client Project

Speed is the name of the game today, even more so as disruption becomes the norm. Having set up an Agile Transformation office to help it better serve clients faster, this IT management staffing firm realized that it would need to onboard a Scrum Master to manage complex software projects on behalf of its end clients. 

More specifically, the IT management staffing firm wanted to optimize its agile teams, making them as productive and predictable as possible. And they wanted outside expertise to ensure it was setting up the department for success. So it turned to the strategic management and technology consulting firm for help.

But the consulting firm had a problem. It lacked the internal capacity to take on this project effectively. Given the expedited timeline, onboarding a full-time employee was out of the question. After working with internal staff members, it decided to explore on-demand talent for the Scrum Master role. 

The consulting firm wanted to onboard a specialist who boasted Scrum certification, 3 - 5+ years supporting Agile Delivery (specifically as a Scrum Master), and experience working in an agile environment at a multi-billion dollar company.

Most importantly, the expert had to be comfortable supporting an agile team through Scrum Master responsibilities. This would include:

• Facilitating Scrum meetings
• Leading retrospectives
• Communicating across teams where necessary
• Resolving issues
• Managing estimations, capacity, and velocity
• Capturing and communicating metrics
• Optimizing agile team practices

The Solution 

Sourcing an On-Demand Scrum Master

Having worked with Graphite on prior IT engagements, the consulting firm reached out to its Account Executive (AE) to source an expert within 24-48 hours. Once connected, the hiring manager for the Scrum Master project outlined the role for the AE. 

The AE captured this information and created a detailed job description to post on the platform. Over 116 experts were identified on the platform that fit the client's criteria. Of the 166 experts, three were presented to the hiring manager. 

After setting up a call with each candidate using Graphite's in-app messaging features, the hiring manager identified an expert as the right blend of Scrum Master and coach. The hiring manager scheduled a role-play interview to ensure the chosen expert was the right fit.

When the expert seamlessly handled the role play without any hitches, the hiring manager knew they were the right person for the job. The selected expert had a strong transformational leadership background with over 10 years of specialization in design, development, and system maintenance across enterprise-level high-tech industries. 

Their CV was a testament to their unparalleled expertise. For example, it detailed how the expert had unlocked $26M in increased revenue for Cisco by improving its feature delivery timeline and recounted their experience delivering Kaiser's NPG program (which generates $88M in benefits for the company).

The Result 

Helping a Valuable Client Deliver Agile Transformation Initiatives

After undergoing the onboarding process, setting up the frequency of check-ins, and answering any last minute questions, the AE let the expert and the strategic management and technology consulting firm take the reins from there. 

First, the specialist set up weekly calls with the end client’s Agile Transformation Officers to ensure everyone was aligned on key deliverables and to provide ongoing updates. Taking the lead on iteration management, the expert guided and coordinated the aspects of each iteration or sprint for selected agile teams for the end client. 

Furthermore, they provided critical estimation management, capacity and velocity management support, and capturing and communicating team metrics. 

Leveraging their coaching prowess, the expert identified and applied agile expertise to promote efficient and effective team mechanics. Finally, the expert created and executed a plan to transfer knowledge and ownership of Scrum Master responsibilities to the end client’s employees once hired.

As the project scope evolved, the firm extended the project beyond its original timeline — retaining the expert to fulfill the project's next phase. Graphite connected with the firm and the expert throughout the engagement to ensure that the initiative was delivered on time.

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