William R. Cross

• Tampa, FL
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Facilitating Lean-Agile Solutions to Abstract Problems

William R. Cross's Bio:

William R. Cross's Experience:

• Principal Agility Consultant at LYNX Principal Solutions, Inc.

  February 2024 - Present | Tampa, FL

• Agile Transformation Lead, Senior SAFe Release Train Engineer, SAFe Practice Consultant, LeSS Agile Coach at Booz Allen Hamilton

  June 2022 - February 2024

  Leads the transformation and scaling of government software development initiatives within extensive programs, overseeing Technical Teams exceeding 80 full-time employees. Ensures strategic alignment with Agile Release Trains (ARTs) through diligent collaboration with Product Management, Systems Architecture, and each program's Contractor Program Management Office (CPMO) Teams for enhanced requirement development and feature prioritization. Holds ownership of the Risk Management Process, adeptly identifying, categorizing, and strategizing the handling of risks. Facilitates an array of ART-level events and activities, including Pre-Planning, Program Increment/Planning Interval (PI) Planning, Inspect and Adapt events, Sprint/Iteration Planning, Scrum of Scrums, Scrum Master and Product Owner Syncs, leveraging a deep understanding of SAFe, Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming (XP) methodologies. Drives continuous improvement and fosters a culture of transparency and communication within the ARTs, significantly contributing to each program's success and operational excellence. • Mentoring multiple ARTs to maturity, enabling contract extension by 24 months, worth more than $100,000,000. • Driving DevSecOps processes, increasing month-over-month deployment frequency by 1,900%. • Implementing Agile best practices, increasing employee Net Promoter Score by 211%. • Creating a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) and guiding leadership through Value Stream Mapping (VSM). • Facilitating workshops like CI/CD data gathering/analysis and policies/procedures for Change Advisory Boards (CABs). • Mentoring across contracts using SAFe, Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS), Scrum, XP, and Kanban for 10+ Teams. • Managing the careers of 3 Developers; Supervising daily job performance for 8 Agile leaders. • Volunteering: Military & Veterans Business Resource Group, Armed Services Network, Veteran Mentorship Program, Connect4 Mentorship Program, and Agile Coaching Dojos.

• Lean-Agile Board Advisor, Agile Program Management Consultant at AdvisoryCloud

  January 2021 - June 2022

  (concurrent w/ Navy Federal Credit Union employment, 01/21-05/22) Provided confidential advice on nights/weekends for for-profit entities, focusing on Lean-Agile Principles and Business Value Delivery via virtual/digital board meetings and detailed consultation calls at $425 per hour. Roles included: • Active participation in the Board of Directors for Veterans Imprint, contributing to governance. • Influential role in the Strategic Advisory Board for CLAIRE Fertility, steering business strategy, goal setting, and roadmap refinement, emphasizing an Agile mindset. • Key contributor to the Solution Roadmap Advisory Board for Top10ERP, focusing on market strategy and process improvement from an Agile perspective. • Strategic guidance for xFusion Technologies, Inc., driving go-to-market strategy and product marketing.

• Program Manager, Enterprise Agile Leader, Senior Scrum Master, Kanban Service Delivery Manager, Kanban Service Resource Manager, Information Technology Project Manager at Navy Federal Credit Union

  January 2020 - May 2022

  (concurrent w/ Department of the Army employment, 01/20-06/20, and AdvisoryCloud employment, 01/21-05/22) Spearheaded software development and process improvement initiatives for Navy Federal Credit Union's Lending Department, orchestrating a program encompassing 5 projects and 6 Agile Teams. Expertly facilitated Scrum Events, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, Sprint Retrospectives, and the 3 Amigos, ensuring adherence to Agile Values and Principles. Played a pivotal role in enhancing Team capabilities by conducting extensive training for Product Owners, Stakeholders, and Developers in Agile and Scrum Values, Events, and processes. Assisted in refining Agile practices by aiding Product Owners with Requirements Gathering, Feature Prioritization, and orchestrating Product Backlog Refinement and Sprint Reviews, aligning with best practices. • Selected to coach and mentor the very 1st end-to-end Agile project in the Enterprise Services Division. • Managed program of projects forecasted to yield savings of 150,000 hours and $9,000,000 over 5 years. • Facilitated Developer and Customer collaboration to script the Definition of Done and led Product Owners and Developers through scripting the Definition of Ready. • Guided software development via planning (via Atlassian Jira, Mural, and Microsoft Azure DevOps Boards), development, quality assurance, acceptance testing, and deployment (via IBM BPM and Pega BPM) while maintaining stewardship of time/resources/budget requirements for Annual Financial Plan. • Utilized Kanban as a dual-hatted Service Delivery Manager and Service Resource Manager to lead 10 Service, Resource, and Project Managers within Enterprise Services through VSM and analysis; coached the 10 Managers through their Waterfall to Agile to SAFe transformations. • Earned a Sustained Superior Performance award; nominated as "Work in Northern Virginia" Ambassador. • Volunteered: Military Transition Community of Practice, Talent Acquisition Brand Ambassador, Veterans' Initiative Steering & Events Planning committees, and exploratory committee for 501c19 foundation for Veterans.

• SAFe Epic Owner, Chief ORSA at Department of the Army

  July 2019 - June 2020

  (concurrent w/ Navy Federal Credit Union employment, 01/20-06/20) Managed the Officer/Soldier talent management profile Epic and subordinate feature backlog for the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army (IPPS-A) Release 3, integrating 34 disparate human resources (HR) and pay systems and aiming for release to 1,100,000 personnel. • Selected as the Epic Owner out of 500,000 due to unmatched expertise in Agile and SAFe methodologies coupled with a deep understanding of Talent Management, HR Functions, and HR information systems. • Demonstrated exemplary skill in identifying inefficiencies, evidenced by uncovering redundant applications during initial Sprint/Iteration on IPPS-A, resulting in savings of over 80,000 vendor hours and $2,000,000. • Engaged closely with key Functional Experts and Stakeholders across the Department of the Army offices of Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA-ALT), Army G-1, Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO-EIS), Technology and Business Architecture Integration (TBAI), IPPS-A Project Management Office (PMO), and Functional Management Division (FMD). • Fostered crucial relationships with Stakeholders across the three Army components, including, but not limited to, Human Resources Command (HRC), United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC), Subordinate Component Commands, the National Guard Bureau (NGB), and the Office of the Chief of the Army Reserve (OCAR), ensuring comprehensive collaboration in the design and development of web/mobile applications developed by IPPS-A Teams. • Championed innovative approaches such as blind screening for promotion boards that fundamentally leveled the field for under-represented categorizations of the Army population to rise to Senior ranks. • Led advanced data virtualization processes for Product Management's User Story development for the Talent Management Marketplace, saving 1,400 project hours. • Devised an optimization model to enable Talent Management functionality to maximize Human Capital utilization with Lean-Agile principles and Business Value Delivery while considering Stakeholder preferences and communication, personnel knowledge, skills, abilities, and Army unit needs. • Selected for Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program with host, Navy Federal Credit Union, which coincided with this tour from 01/20-06/20.

• Program Manager, Senior SAFe Release Train Engineer, SAFe Solution Train Engineer, Director of Assessments, Operations Research Division Chief, Chief ORSA at United States Army Pacific

  July 2017 - June 2019

  Oversaw a comprehensive program dedicated to meticulously collecting, managing, and storing strategic data and metrics for guiding the Army's Plans and Strategies in the Indo-Pacific region. Played a critical role in orchestrating holistic assessments, ensuring informed updates and strategic alignment. Implemented and leveraged SAFe for streamlined value development across analytical and assessment products. • Led the recruitment, interviewing, hiring, training, and management of Senior-level personnel within the Operations Research Division, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. • Successfully established and managed a 200+ person Solution Train, encompassing 4 geographically dispersed ARTs, facilitating strategic assessments across 34 countries, and effectively impacting more than 105,000 personnel; operated as both Solution Train Engineer and the RTE for the Hawaii ART. • Ensured clarity and alignment on complicated operational concepts through strategic pre-briefings with the Deputy Commanding General and the Chief of Staff before presentations to the United States Army Pacific 4-Star General and other high-level Stakeholders. • Developed and maintained comprehensive Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and metrics dashboards, enabling precise tracking of ART performance and requirements through each Iteration and PI. • Garnered commendation for leading the "best in recent memory" Army Universal Needs Assessment, setting a benchmark for strategic evaluations in the Indo-Pacific. • Appointed as the sole Army representative in a government task force to design and develop artificial intelligence technology to counter terrorists and adverse entities across the region.

• Program Manager, SAFe Release Train Engineer, Deputy Director of Modeling and Requirements, Senior ORSA at Human Resources Command

  January 2016 - June 2017

  Served as Deputy Director of Modeling and Requirements and RTE/Program Manager for the ART, focusing on analytical programs and projects. Enhanced forecasting models for enterprise requirements, encompassing over 350,000 positions across 4,800 organizations, and provided accurate forecasts for budgets concerning moves among military installations. • Expertly facilitated Agile events and activities across 10 PIs, adeptly modeling anticipated position and skill vacancies, ensuring alignment with Lean-Agile Principles and Business Value. • Managed and aligned Executive-Level Stakeholder expectations, effectively handling permanent change of station costs, Brigade workforce replenishment schedules, and monthly modeling development; demonstrated agility in ART redirection based on corroborated analysis and necessary scope changes. • Recognized by Executive Leadership for steering the organization's most intricate projects, skillfully mitigating risks, and significantly impacting the entire Army. • Led and mentored 11 Division Leaders, driving respective Teams and sections within the ART towards exceptional performance and continuous improvement. • Innovatively reduced the workload of Teams and Project Managers by developing/implementing SQL and SAS programs for data extraction, cleaning, transformation, and arrangement, followed by meticulous analysis, model construction, and appropriate data visualization for presentations to Army Generals and Senior Stakeholders. • Initiated and championed recognition and Team-building programs, achieving 100% retention of ART members, reflecting strong leadership and a commitment to Team cohesion and morale. • Received commendations from Executive Leadership as a top 5% officer, distinguished for inspiring the ART to surpass expectations and for exceptional leadership qualities.

• Program Manager, Senior Scrum Master, Scrum Developer, Senior ORSA at Human Resources Command

  November 2014 - December 2015

  Directed essential programs focusing on junior leadership new hire requirements, stratified by Army component, occupational specialty, and commissioning source. • Crafted a sophisticated analytical model, integral in shaping congressional testimony by Senior Army Leadership about the trajectory of Senior Military Colleges, reflecting proficiency in strategic oversight. • Rapidly acquired proficiency in SAS and SQL (in less than 4 weeks), employing these programming skills to maintain and enhance a complicated optimization model for workforce forecasting, comprising nearly 5,000 lines of code, demonstrating an Agile mindset. • Orchestrated the Requirements Gathering, Product Backlog Refinement, and Stakeholder Engagement Processes, aligning with best practices; spearheaded the development of robust models and led comprehensive Sprint Reviews for Executive Leadership, ensuring alignment with Business Value and continuous improvement.

• Program Manager, Senior Scrum Master, Scrum Developer, Project Manager, Senior ORSA at Department of the Army

  June 2011 - October 2014

  Oversaw the management and development of ORSA projects and Teams, instrumental in facilitating informed workforce, budget, and recruiting policy decisions. • Engineered a sophisticated comparative analytics model, projecting significant cost savings by optimizing new hire benefit combinations, achieving savings of $250,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 over 5 years. • Led the coordination of Agile activities and Scrum Events across dozens of Sprints, effectively modeling enterprise requirements for over 1,000,000 positions, demonstrating solid alignment with Agile Principles. • Prepared and presented comprehensive monthly/quarterly analytical briefings to Senior Army Executives and crafted targeted talking points and reports for the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. • Coordinated Scrum Events and activities across 10 Army organizations, successfully integrating critical documentation concerning Army recruiting missions, classified by grade, occupational specialty, and recruiting goals for diversity, ensuring adherence to Agile and Scrum practices. • Recognized by Senior Supervisor as 1 of the best 2 ORSA Project Managers out of the dozens he supervised or operated alongside in over 34 years, showcasing exceptional leadership in guiding teams towards achieving strategic objectives and fostering a culture of continuous improvement; Supervisor-rated as the best and most insightful ORSA Project Manager with whom he ever served.

• Program Manager, Scrum Master, Scrum Developer, ORSA at United States Army Recruiting Command

  October 2007 - May 2011

  Directed a comprehensive talent acquisition program, managing a network comprising 9 facilities, 23 managers, and over 120 non-management, full/part-time employees across 34,000 square miles. Spearheaded the analysis of local demographics and labor markets, formulated strategic communication strategies, and developed robust training programs for managers, ensuring adherence to regulations/standards and enhancing recruitment/accession processes. • Implemented innovative strategies that significantly increased monthly acquisitions by 400%, optimizing resource allocation and demonstrating a keen understanding of Agile Values and Principles. • Established and nurtured strategic partnerships with 136 educational institutions and numerous essential community and state influencers, laying the groundwork for recruiting more than 360 personnel, showcasing effective Stakeholder engagement and communication. • Revolutionized full-cycle recruiting operations in the mid-west, achieving a remarkable 100% recruit-to-onboarding rate from 6/10-5/11, underlining continuous improvement and operational excellence.

William R. Cross's Education:

• Quantic School of Business and Technology

  2021 – 2024
  Executive Masters of Business Administration
  Concentration: Business Administration
  Activities: Cultural Intelligence, Business-Level Strategy, Corporate-Level Strategy, International Strategy, The Balanced Scorecard Method, Organizational Behavior: Working in Groups and Teams, Organizational Structure and Culture, Theories of Leadership, Developing a Corporate Philosophy, Corporate Governance, Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, The Art of Negotiation, Operations Management Fundamentals, Project Management, Finance: Time Value of Money, Cost of Capital I: Capital Structure, Cost of Capital II: The Modigliani-Miller Theorem, Capital Budgeting, Modern Portfolio Theory, Accounting I: Fundamentals, Accounting II: Revenues and Expenses, Stocks and Bonds, Accounting III: Financial Statements, Accounting IV: Working with Ratios, Managerial Accounting, Microeconomics I: Supply and Demand, Microeconomics II: Shape Your Economic Worldview, Microeconomics III: Markets and Externalities, Macroeconomics: Economic Fluctuations, Macroeconomics: US Fiscal and Monetary Policy, etc.

• Army Logistics University - College of Professional and Continuing Education

  2017 – 2017
  Graduate Certificate
  Concentration: Operations Research Management
  Activities: Introduction to Strategic Thinking, Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Design Thinking, Ethical Reasoning, Cultural Influences on Thinking, Thinking in Time, Systems Thinking, Operations Research History, Problem Formulation, Analysis Planning Constraints, Limitations, and Assumptions; Measures of Merit and Essential Elements of Analysis, Model and Simulation Analysis Methods, Measurement Space, Survey Methods for Operations Research and Systems Analysis, Principles of Visualization, Operation Assessment, Workforce Management Capabilities Based Assessments, Capabilities Needs Analysis, and Analysis of Alternatives; Strategic Organization and Strategic Planning, Writing Fundamentals, Capstone Project

• U.S. Army Command and General Staff College

  2015 – 2015
  Graduate Certificate
  Concentration: Strategic Management
  Activities: Organizational Foundations, Developing Organizations and Leaders, Enterprise Ethics, Workforce Management, Strategic Context of Operational Art, Operational Art and Joint Planning, Doctrine and Planning, Unified Action, Rise of the Western Way of Conflict Resolution, Elective - Leadership Lessons of George Washington, Elective - Genocide Prevention Organizational Foundations, Developing Organizations and Leaders, Enterprise Ethics, Workforce Management, Strategic Context of Operational Art, Operational Art and Joint Planning, Doctrine and Planning, Unified Action, Rise of the Western Way of Conflict Resolution, Elective - Leadership Lessons of George Washington, Elective - Genocide Prevention

• Army Logistics University - College of Professional and Continuing Education

  2008 – 2008
  GRADUATE CERTIFICATE
  Concentration: OPERATIONS RESEARCH
  Activities: Data Analysis and Modeling, Cost Analysis, Decision Analysis, Linear Statistical Models, Mathematical Programming, Simulation Modeling, Combat Modeling, Probability, Statistics, Calculus, Capstone Study Data Analysis and Modeling, Cost Analysis, Decision Analysis, Linear Statistical Models, Mathematical Programming, Simulation Modeling, Combat Modeling, Probability, Statistics, Calculus, Capstone Study

• American Public University

  2003 – 2004
  Graduate Certificate
  Concentration: Security Management
  Activities: Evaluation of Security Programs, Security Management Ethics, Research Methods in Security Management, Principles and Theory of Security Management, Protective Services, Perimeter Security

• University of Tampa - John H. Sykes College of Business

  2000 – 2002
  Bachelors
  Concentration: Economics
  Activities: Activities and societies: National Dean's List Honoree, University Dean's List Honoree, University Newspaper Staff Reporter, Knight Detachment Fraternal Organization Commander (President), National Anthem Performer, Statistics Tutor, Youth Mentor, Army ROTC Executive Officer, Army ROTC Public Affairs Officer, Ranger Challenge, Intramural Soccer, Intramural Softball, Intramural Flag Football, Intramural Basketball, Intramural VolleyballActivities and societies: National Dean's List Honoree, University Dean's List Honoree, University Newspaper Staff Reporter, Knight Detachment Fraternal Organization Commander (President), National Anthem Performer, Statistics Tutor, Youth Mentor, Army ROTC Executive Officer, Army ROTC Public Affairs Officer, Ranger Challenge, Intramural Soccer, Intramural Softball, Intramural Flag Football, Intramural Basketball, Intramural Volleyball Principles of Microeconomics, Principles of Macroeconomics, Labor Economics, Managerial Economics, Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis, International Economics and Finance, Economic Development, Seminar in Economics, Independent Study: Economics, Managerial Statistics I, Financial Accounting, Public Finance, Seminar in Leadership and Management I, Seminar in Leadership and Management II, Leadership Laboratory I, Leadership Laboratory II, Leadership Laboratory III, Leadership Laboratory IV, National Advanced Leadership Course, Environmental Science, General Psychology, Chemistry and Society, English Composition and Rhetoric I, English Composition and Rhetoric II, Introduction to Criminology, America and Vietnam, Introduction to Computers, Seminar in Tactical Operations I, Seminar in Tactical Operations II, Beginning Photography, Special Problems: Photography I, Special Problems: Photography II

• National Defense University

  2000 – 2000
  Certificate of Completion
  Concentration: National Cryptologic School RSOC Course
  Activities: Introduction to Overhead, Introduction to Classification, Introduction to Webworld for Research, Whys and Hows of SIGINT Reporting, Triteal Enterprise Desktop I, Triteal Enterprise Desktop II, Introduction to Unix I, Introduction to Unix II, Sun Usage, Introduction to Computer Security, Introduction to Texta: Structure and Application

• Defense Language Institute/ Foreign Language Center

  1995 – 1996
  Linguist Certificate
  Concentration: Russian
  Activities: Activities and societies: Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Run TeamActivities and societies: Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Run Team Elementary Russian I, Elementary Russian II, Elementary Russian Conversation, Russian Culture I, Russian Area Studies I, Intermediate Russian I, Intermediate Russian II, Intermediate Russian Conversation, Russian for Specific Purposes I, Russian Culture II, Russian Area Studies II, Advanced Russian I, Advanced Russian II, Advanced Russian Conversation, Russian for Specific Purposes II, Russian Culture III, Russian Area Studies III

William R. Cross's Interests & Activities: