Ashok Bopanna

Dynamic Project Manager and Senior Scrum Master with 10+ years of experience leading multi-track IT transformations, application deployments, and Agile capabilities across enterprise Advisory IT environments. Holds a B.E. in Electronics & Communication and an MBA. Proven track record in aligning technology initiatives with business roadmaps, managing operating costs, and establishing robust governance frameworks in partnership with Governance, Risk, and Security stakeholders.

Skilled in developing project initiation statements, executing behavioral change management plans to ensure user adoption, and leveraging Azure DevOps, Jira, and AI-powered project tools to optimize delivery speed and quality.

Project Manager – Scrum Master at JCPenney (under Vrize Payroll) (2025-11 – Present)

• Program-managed cloud-native engineering and multi-track solution delivery, defining project scope and aligning deliverables with product roadmaps to improve delivery velocity by 25%.
• Served as Change Approval Board (CAB) liaison, collaborating with Governance, Risk, and Security teams to ensure 100% compliance with IT project governance frameworks.
• Integrated GenAI tools for project planning, automated risk analysis, and status reporting, deploying AI-powered test automation that reduced QA cycle times and boosted code quality by 30%.
• Facilitated technical discussions on APIs, cloud infrastructure, system integrations, and data onboarding with internal engineering and business clients to ensure long-term strategic alignment.

Senior Team Lead – Scrum Master at Cisco (under VCTI Payroll) (2024-04 – 2025-11)

• Led 3 concurrent Agile teams executing critical multi-phase IT transformation projects, accelerating delivery speed by 30% and facilitating ceremonies that drove a 15% boost in team velocity.
• Architected enterprise Jira tracking strategies, producing accurate project definition reports, sprint metrics, and product backlog tracking across all delivery tracks with 100% accuracy.
• Coached teams to resolve impediments swiftly (reducing sprint blockages by 40%) and fostered Product Owner collaboration, elevating backlog efficiency by 35%.
• Optimized continuous integration processes and release schedule consistency, conducting retrospectives and phase reviews to cultivate a high-performance delivery culture.

Agile Project Manager / Scrum Master at ARCTERN (2020-09 – 2023-10)

• Developed and executed behavioral change management plans and stakeholder communication strategies, driving smooth user adoption while reducing change-related disruptions by 95%.
• Formulated work plans, estimates, and Dependency Trackers to control scope changes, mitigate cross-project dependencies, increase delivery quality by 20%, and reduce defects by 15%.
• Orchestrated resource planning and cross-functional collaboration across product, engineering, and marketing teams to define project scope, achieving a 95% on-time project delivery rate.
• Spearheaded new Agile methodologies incorporating emerging technologies, boosting team productivity by 40%, decreasing project defects by 20%, and delivering clear Sprint Closure documentation.

Project Lead / Scrum Master at Oracle Corporation (2014-06 – 2019-12)

• Managed project operating costs, resource capacity forecasting, and allocation across multiple medium-scale projects, increasing resource efficiency by 20% and mitigating delays by 15%.
• Built and maintained real-time risk management dashboards for healthcare IT initiatives, providing complete risk visibility that reduced overall delivery risks by 40% and enhanced client satisfaction by 20%.
• Consulted with internal/external stakeholders on project initiation statements, scope reports, and QA strategies, decreasing defects by 30% while ensuring full regulatory compliance.
• Applied servant leadership and conflict resolution to boost team morale by 10% and productivity by 20%; streamlined stand-ups, planning, and demos using Jira and Confluence.

Senior Test Analyst at Philips Innovation Campus (2013-09 – 2014-04)

• Developed and executed 20 comprehensive test scenarios, achieving a 95% defect detection rate during software testing cycles.

Testing Engineering Senior Analyst / Team Lead at Dell R&D Centre (2011-12 – 2012-08)

• Led the development of 150 test scenarios and 200 test cases for enterprise applications, reducing defects by 50% during first release.
• Implemented defect management workflows to decrease defect backlogs by 25%; authored daily/weekly status and test closure reports.

Senior Software Engineer / Team Lead at Target Corporation (2008-08 – 2011-11)

• Incorporated Six Sigma process improvements into project management practices, reducing overall project timelines by 20%.
• Provided UAT support for localization and internationalization testing; tracked and reported defects to decrease defect rates by 30%.

Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Human Resources – Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) (2008-01 – 2011-12)

Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in Electronics & Communication – Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology (Sir MVIT) (2001-01 – 2006-07)