Andy Deighton, Project Manager in Brighton, United Kingdom

Andy Deighton

Project Manager

Location
Brighton, United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since
August 9, 2020

Andy was a senior Java web developer for over a decade before becoming a product-focused scrum master and Agile coach. From startups to multinationals, from fintechs to commercial banking, from data science to web development teams, Andy has a wide gamut of experience. As a Professional Scrum Master, he helps teams thrive and discover what customers need. In managing projects, Andy uses the latest analytical methods to help clients answer the question, “When will it be done?”

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Project Highlights

From Scrum to Kanban With Data Scientists
Led the adoption of Kanban and flow analytics with four teams of data scientists and engineers.
Fintech Product Management
Advised on the product discovery of a leading pensions advice solution.

Expertise

Agile CoachingAgile PracticesAgile Project ManagementJiraKanbanProduct DiscoveryProduct ManagementScrum Master

Select Certifications

Certified Agile Team Coach
ICAgile
Professional Scrum Master (PSM)
Scrum.org
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance

Work Experience

2019 - 2020

Agile Project Manager

EDF Energy
  • Led EDF’s data science team's Agile journey by implementing Scrum, which was accomplished after three months. EDF Energy is the UK's largest electricity supplier, responsible for generating a large portion of the UK's nuclear energy capacity.
  • Served as an agile coach and scrum master to four data science and data engineering teams and mentored team members who later took over scrum master duties.
  • Introduced the organization to a more data-led approach to project forecasting in the form of Kanban combined with advanced flow analytics. Using Agile analytics, we predicted team capacity and delivery dates more accurately.
  • Coached and mentored seven employees individually, covering subjects as diverse as retrospectives, difficult team members, communication, development patterns, testing, and personal confidence.
2018 - 2019

Team Coach

Mind Tools
  • Introduced Agile practices, flow efficiency, and work visualization to a team of 10 software developers responsible for the company's flagship product that was built with Python. Mind Tools is a supplier of online learning materials for businesses.
  • Prepared the organization for cross-functional teams that included business representatives.
  • Provided coaching to the lead project manager and project manager in Agile principles and practices.
  • Introduced a SonarQube code quality analyzer as a means of measuring technical debt. Technical debt-reduction strategies were implemented following the adoption of SonarQube.
2018 - 2019

Agile Coach

National Grid
  • Provided executive-level coaching to the head of National Grid Metering, the UK's power grid infrastructure owner and operator.
  • Created and facilitated Agile workshops for the National Grid Metering leadership team.
  • Coached individuals on the leadership team in the ways of agility.
2017 - 2018

Scrum Master

Lloyds Bank
  • Led a department's adoption of Agile practices and Scrum. The department was responsible for producing millions of customer communications each year.
  • Created four distinct Scrum teams, each comprising remote workers spanning England, Scotland, and India. Selected and trained their respective scrum masters.
  • Advised department heads with regards to best-practice Agile project management.
2016 - 2016

Product Advisor

Wealth Wizards
  • Trained and coached the company's product owner in product management methods and best practices. Wealth Wizards is an award-winning fintech, specializing in automated pensions advice.
  • Initiated a new product discovery program with the product management team.
  • Introduced Scrum to the development team of seven and acted as their scrum master, delivering multiple iterations of the company's key offering.
2014 - 2016

Scrum Master

Asset Bank
  • Served as the scrum master on a project for a client that is currently the world's largest company. Across three-week sprints, we constantly delivered iterations of their product that's designed to manage the real-time capture of digital assets.
  • Created and subsequently implemented Agile contracts with several of the company's clients. Bright is a digital asset management provider and custom- software supplier.
  • Practiced sociocratic facilitation across the organization.
2009 - 2014

Technical Scrum Master

Crunch
  • Shaped and developed the core product offering (developed in Java) as a senior developer during the company's explosive pre-investment growth phase.
  • Rolled out many critical features of the product and consistently met delivery targets.
  • Managed several Scrum teams and introduced them to Scrum and Agile principles.
  • Negotiated with the leadership team and product owners with regard to product stories and successfully brokered many high-quality and high-value releases.
  • Co-implemented a thorough testing regime across the product development teams and brought in extreme programming practices such as pair programming and test-driven development.
2006 - 2007

Java Developer

BMW United Kingdom
  • Led analysis, design, and implementation of the company's internal business applications.
  • Conducted internal customer requirements gathering and rolled out iterations of applications across the company's WebLogic platform.
  • Ensured that code quality was kept at its highest level through reviews with developers.

Project History

From Scrum to Kanban With Data Scientists

Led the adoption of Kanban and flow analytics with four teams of data scientists and engineers.

I organized 15 data scientists and data engineers into four Scrum teams. After several months, I guided them through reteaming and then, ultimately, on to adopting the Kanban method as a way to measure and control their flow of work, which involved using AWS, PySpark, Python, Java, Pandas, and Jupyter Notebooks.
Using a more evidence-based approach to forecasting allowed stakeholders, and the teams themselves, to get a better handle on when work would be delivered.

Fintech Product Management

http://wealthwizards.com

Advised on the product discovery of a leading pensions advice solution.

I started by structuring a Scrum team for the company, comprising JavaScript, Node.js, UX, and QA engineers. Once the team was up and running with Scrum, I introduced product discovery techniques including impact mapping, user story mapping, and generative and evaluative user research. This led to subsequent versions of the product that better met the company’s users’ needs.

Certifications

FEBRUARY 2020 - PRESENT

Certified Agile Team Coach

ICAgile

FEBRUARY 2019 - PRESENT

Professional Scrum Master (PSM)

Scrum.org

OCTOBER 2015 - OCTOBER 2016

Certified Scrum Master

Scrum Alliance