Karen McDaniel

Karen McDaniel

Helping People and Projects Achieve Success Through Passion and Process

I am a results oriented Program Manager with more than 20 years experience successfully driving and implementing key strategic technology projects. Over the years I have applied many different project methodologies to large, complex projects. Nine years ago I was introduced to Agile and received my first Scrum Master certification. After a few false starts, many excellent workshops and mentoring sessions I now Scrum Master a high performing team that has evolved past just mimicking what we read in Scrum books to living the principals of Scrum.

After receiving a degree in Computer Science I quickly realized that I wanted to work with people not code. My career started in Product Support in the early days of Borland International which lead me to opportunities Technical Sales and Training. Leveraging the skills I learned in these positions I found my true passion in technical project management. I’ve gained a reputation as an excellent communicator & change agent. I lead by providing a clear vision, while creating strong relationships built on trust.

Over the last 7 years I’ve project managed the Licensing Platform team at Autodesk and together we optimize the business platform that connects Autodesk to our customers. The work that we do is key to delivering strategic initiatives allowing Autodesk to transform from a product to customer focus while providing convenient, flexible programs that are sustainable to Autodesk growth.

My favorite part of my job is influencing improvements in the engineering organization by creating an innovative and collaborative environment resulting in increased team satisfaction and velocity. By effectively facilitating project planning, daily stand-ups (scrums), demos, retrospectives and grooming sessions I’m able to coach team members through continuous reflection and improvement utilizing Agile guiding principles.

Beyond creating a fun, collaborating team I am also motivated to spend time inspiring Autodesk customers by leading tours at the Autodesk Gallery. I also gain inspiration by participating in several mentorship programs including Autodesk Women in Leadership and Bay Area Agile Coaching Circles.