Who Am I?
My name is Dan King and I am a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) as well as a SAFe Advanced Scrum Master (SASM) living and working in Nashville, TN. I have worked for a number of companies both as a web and software developer and as a Scrum Master/Delivery Lead.
What Is An Agilist?
Describing what I do for a living for people who work outside of tech is often an arduous task. Here are some of the ways I have described my work in the past:
- I help software teams get their job done
- I am a delivery lead in the software space
- I am a liason between business and software teams
- I coach and enforce Scrum and Agile thinking
- I lead continuous improvement
- I am sort of a project manager... kind of...
The truth is I do ALL of the above, but none of these descriptions really sum up what I do very accurately.
Yes, I am a Scrum Master to be sure. I use frameworks, philosophies and tools like DevOps, Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP) and Kanban to manage workflow, ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget. I facilitate communication between software teams, stakeholders, and customers. I also optimize performance to achieve better outcomes through continuously monitoring performance, feedback, and data.
In simpler terms, I am an Agilist.
"His ability to gain consensus on every issue is outstanding; he treats everyone with a high degree of respect for employees and contractors alike; because of this, our BA teams and off-shore Dev and QA teams trusted him implicitly. To sum up my experience working with Dan - he made it fun to go to work. Not because everything was easy and stress-free, far from it. But with his leadership and his good countenance we were always ready to put our shoulder into it and get the job done." - Joyce
My mission as an Agilist is to help individuals and teams achieve not only high-performance in building complex products, but also to spur them on to success in their Agile journey. I love sharing my knowledge and experience, and helping others discover the power of Agile methodologies. I thrive on helping to create high-performing teams that delight customers through continuous innovation and improvement. Here at SmartAgilist I share the things I learn in my day to day life as a Scrum Master and agile practitioner. I hope I can be of help to you in your journey as well!
"The best part about all of this is the way he treats his team. He really listens to the painpoints of each and everyone in the team and helps mitigate the issues. He treats every teammate with respect and boosts the team morale. I loved working with Dan and would love working with him again if ever I get a chance." - Swapna
How did I get here?
My career started in the .NET space when I first taught myself to code. Yes, I did teach myself. I bought some books from Barnes & Noble and dove right in with zero experience. It was not easy but after a couple of years of study, trial and error, and starting a small web design business to put by skills into real-world practice, I got my first job with Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).
I spent over a decade developing applications in the healthcare and insurance sectors. A few years ago the company I was working for asked me to help spearhead our effort to adopt Agile. I was all in and the rest is history.
My university degree is in English with an emphasis on Technical Communications which helps me in every aspect of my work with teams, Product Owners, stakeholders, and senior leadership.
I am a Certified Scrum Master through ScrumAlliance and a Certified SAFe Advanced Scrum Master through Scaled Agile.
In my spare time I play ambient music using weird guitars and spend time with my family.
