CV

Ahmed BEN SALEM

Agile Coach and Release Train Engineer

Ahmed Ben Salem Scrum Master and Certified Agile Coach
About me

Ahmed Ben Salem: Agile Coach and Release Train Engineer SAFe, based in Paris, with 9 years of experience in Cloud, Web, Agile and DevOps environments.

I help organizations become Agile, Lean & DevOps

I have had the opportunity to work in various roles such as Agile Coach, Scrum Master, Product Owner and Release Train Engineer on projects using the SAFe, Scrum and DevOps frameworks. My approach, centered on people and stakeholder involvement, has enabled me to create collaborative environments conducive to innovation and performance.

Since 2016, I have successfully led several Agile software development projects, both in medium-sized companies such as Odigo, and in renowned multinationals such as Orange and PSA Group.

With solid experience in Lean-Agile methodologies, in particular Scrum and SAFe, I’ve had the opportunity to work with multicultural teams in various countries, including the USA, India, Portugal, Vietnam and Morocco.

Skills

Dynamic, committed Scrum Master with a solid understanding of Agile principles and proven experience in creating collaborative, high-performance team cultures that foster innovation and project success.

Scrum, Kanban

Practical experience in managing agile projects with Scrum and Kanban methods, using iterative approaches to planning, collaboration and continuous delivery.

Agility at scale

Extensive experience in managing large-scale agile projects using the SAFe methodology, with a focus on strategic alignment, collaboration and continuous value delivery.

Animation, Facilitation

Skilled in facilitating and leading meetings, workshops and training courses, using creative techniques to encourage participant involvement and interaction.

Jira / Confluence

Expert in the use of Jira and Confluence for project management, collaboration and documentation, with in-depth experience in customizing and configuring these tools to meet the specific needs of the company and project team.

Training and support

Experience in training and coaching teams in agile methodologies, using pedagogical techniques to facilitate the adoption of agile practices and values.

Risk management

Practical experience in risk management on agile projects, using iterative approaches to quickly identify and address potential risks, while maintaining the flexibility needed to adapt to changes

Continuous improvement

Implementation of continuous improvement on agile projects, using methods such as retrospective to evaluate results and identify opportunities for improvement within the team.

Release schedule

Practical experience in Agile release management with approaches such as continuous delivery, automation and dependency management to ensure frequent, stable and high-quality deliveries.

DevOps

Good understanding of DevOps principles, including the importance of automation, collaboration and continuous delivery, and I am proficient in the corresponding core practices.

Visual Management

Mastery of visual management tools such as Klaxoon, iObeya or Miro to facilitate collaboration and visualization of key information, improving transparency and understanding of tasks and objectives for the project team.

Web Development

Basic knowledge of web development with a solid understanding of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and the ability to create simple, interactive web pages.

Cloud

Familiar with the basic concepts of Cloud Computing, including service models such as SaaS, PaaS and IaaS, as well as popular Cloud providers such as VMware and Azure.

My Certifications & Diplomas

Skills

Agile and Lean frameworks (SAFe, Scrum, Kanban...)
100%
OKR (Objectives & Key Results)
100%
Event Storming / Event Modeling
100%
Team Topologies
100%
Product Ownership (Writing US, Prioritization, Roadmap...)
100%
Jira / Confluence & Plugins
100%
Animation Facilitation
100%
Visual Management (iObeya, Klaxoon, Miro...)
100%
Development planning and monitoring
100%
Training and support
100%
Continuous improvement (retrospectives, workshops, etc.)
100%
Risk management (ROAM matrix)
90%
DevOps (Git, CI/CD, Jenkins, Sonar, Microservices...)
80%
Test Management (Jira XRay)
80%
Wordpress CMS
80%
Development (C, C++, C# .Net)
60%
Cloud (VMware, Azure, K8s, Openshift)
55%
Web development (Java/JEE, Angular)
50%

Professional experience

2023-2024

BPCE Group

Release Train Engineer & Agile Coach

As part of an in-house Cloud project (PaaS/SaaS offerings), I held the parallel roles of Release Train Engineer and Agile Coach. As RTE, I collaborated with cloud infrastructure teams, ensuring the regular planning, coordination and delivery of features. My responsibilities also included proactively managing risks and dependencies to ensure project success.

At the same time, as an Agile Coach, I have trained teams new to agility, including managers, product owners, developers and operational staff. I organized practical workshops on various topics such as estimating in days or Story Points, initializing and prioritizing the backlog with Event Modeling and Story mapping, and defining DoD (Definition of Done) and DoR (Definition of Ready). I also ran serious games to help people understand and apply agile principles.

To reorganize our entity into a product-oriented organization made up of feature teams, I implemented advanced techniques such as Event Storming and Value Stream Mapping. These methods have strengthened collaboration, improved process understanding and facilitated the continuous delivery of value to our customers.

2022-2023

Orange

Release Train Engineer

Release Train Engineer SAFe in an internal Cloud project (PaaS type) involving a team of 60 people, ensuring the regular and reliable planning, coordination and delivery of functionalities, as well as risk and dependency management, to achieve our entity's business objectives.

2020-2021

Orange

Scrum Master and Product Owner

Experience as Scrum Master and Product Owner in an internal IaaS cloud project, with a focus on regular and efficient delivery of key functionality to meet the train's business challenges SAFe. All the while fostering innovation, collaboration and project team performance to guarantee customer satisfaction.

2018-2019

PSA

Scrum Master

As Scrum Master and Business Analyst in a Business Intelligence (Big Data) project at PSA, I implemented effective Scrum practices to enable better priority management, smoother collaboration between teams and continuous improvement of product quality. I also worked closely with the customer to maximize the business value delivered, while giving him visibility of the project's progress.

2016-2018

Odigo by Capgemini

Scrum Master

As Scrum Master on a train SAFe with 100 people, I was responsible for implementing agile practices and facilitating ceremonies. I also helped the team to improve collaboration and solve problems, while ensuring that deliverables were of high quality and delivered on time.

2016-2017

Odigo by Capgemini

Junior Development Engineer

As a Junior Development Engineer, I developed a Windows-based Softphone using the C, C++ and C# .Net languages. I worked closely with senior developers to learn and improve my technical skills. I also took part in code reviews and testing to ensure the quality of the final product. This experience enabled me to develop my programming skills and understand the software development process in a company.

Let's work together!

Request my complete Skills File to find out more about my experience and skills.

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My latest Blog posts

“SAFe 4 Core Values diagram: alignment, transparency, respect for people, relentless improvement in scaled agile framework
SAFe
Ahmed BEN SALEM

Understanding the 4 SAFe Core Values

Explore the 4 SAFe core values: alignment, transparency, respect for people, and relentless improvement. Discover how these principles enhance program execution in the Scaled Agile Framework.

Read more >>
Diagram illustrating the three main Scrum artifacts: Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog and Increment.
Scrum
Ahmed BEN SALEM

Scrum Artifacts: Complete Guide

Discover the three main Scrum artifacts: Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog and Increment. Learn how these essential tools guarantee transparency, inspection and adaptation for your agile team. Maximize the efficiency of your Scrum method!

Read more >>