Abir Sohel

After recieving my Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Degree from City University of New York, I began my career in the Information Technology industry as a Software Development Sales Engineer/Consultant. I worked for major Fortune 500 companies and got experienced in the traditional Software Development Life Cycle methodologies. I played a key role and successfully worked on major projects from initiation through completion primarily in the roles of a Principal Sales Engineer, Business Architect, Project Manager , Scrum Master/Product Owner, Solutions Architect/Manager. I have gained exposure to Agile Methodology over the last decade and developed good understanding of the Scrum principles and practices. I was able to understand the pros and cons of the traditional vs. Agile methods in execution of projects. As my career progressed, I grew into the role of a Product Manager successfully overseeing product from innovation/development to deployment.   I have used Agile Scrum/SAFe methodology on all of my software implementation projects. Playing the role of a servant leader, I have helped my teams work through the Software Development Life Cycle using Scrum best practices to meet the needs of the project and team as applicable.   I was actively involved in helping define Agile Scrum best practices in my current IT unit and played a major role in defining the Product Planning processes to meet the Customer’s needs leading to successful Kick-Off of projects. The practices that I used are now part of their organization’s best practices guide for Release planning and kick off phase of the Agile SDLC Best Practices.                                                                                                                                                          

Now after getting my PhD  from Geogia Tech in Data Science and professional certifications from UPenn and reputable Venders like Scrum Alliance, PMI, SAFe, AWS, PMI,  I am currently serving in the role of an Director of AI  - Advance Analytics and Data Services for Google and previously with PwC New Ventures Product Development where I explored the data, delivering key insights and adding real business value. Even the best data science teams won't last long in your organization if they can't generate revenue or lower expenses. The best way to generate business value is to deliver a constant stream of key insights iteratively. These iterative known as sprints gives real-time feedback to help keep my team on track. A shorter sprint will also help my team pivot so they can ask new questions based on what they learn from the data.

Over the course of my experience I have learned how to structure work within a SAFe and scrum/kanban sprint. See how to work within a data science life cycle (DSLC)—a methodology for cycling through questions, research, and reporting every two weeks. Explore key practices to help my team break down the work so it fits within a two-week sprint. Learned how to use tools like question boards to encourage discussion and find essential questions. And most importantly, learn how to grow my team's shared knowledge and avoid common pitfalls. My MVP's have been very successful and are used as examples for application of Scrum practices. I have played a key role in helping Customers understand the significance of Solutions Management role and collaborated with a wide variety of Vendors for successful implementation of solutions   I have worked with various units within and outside my organization in understanding Agile and implementation of Scrum principles.