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Exploring Identity with Andrew Skeels

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by Rebeka Wellmon

May 3, 2020

In this interview, we sat down with Andrew Skeels, Regatta’s Senior Scrum Master. Skeels earned his M.S. in Management Information Systems from the University at Buffalo and is now one of the leading project managers for Regatta’s high-profile clients. Learn more about Andrew including his lasting lessons, challenges and advice for working in the Identity field below.

What does Regatta mean to you?

 A team of extremely hard-working and dedicated individuals who continue to go above and beyond for our customers.

Describe your role at Regatta. 

I’m the Sr. Scrum Master for Regatta, so I’m essentially the project manager for our current engagement with a large manufacturing company. I’m responsible for things such as: 

o   Implementing our trademarked differentiator and secret sauce, “Identity FastTrack”

o   Managing our project’s timeline to ensure we meet our delivery goals

o   Ensuring that our team is as agile & productive as possible for our customers

o   Communications with our customers

o   Documentation (e.g. team policies, process improvement)

o   Escalating blockers that our development team might encounter and facilitating their resolution

o   Running our daily scrum call with our development team

o   Leading weekly progress updates to executive management

What did you major in during college? 

I attended the University at Buffalo for my undergrad and graduate schooling where I earned a B.S. in Accounting and an M.S. in Management Information Systems.

How did you get involved with Regatta?

I was brought on as an intern in March 2020 to help support one of our largest customers. I was working part time while wrapping up my grad school program for my Master’s degree in Management Information Systems. Once I graduated in May 2020, I was hired on as a full-time employee with Regatta.

 

What is the most interesting part about your role at Regatta? 

Definitely my current role with RSG. Things change daily, and we get to interact with a variety of different people with our customers. Never a dull moment!

 

What is your favorite part of your job?

I enjoy helping to keep our team focused and productive in addition to keeping our customers happy. I also enjoy working with such awesome co-workers with their diverse levels of experience/knowledge.

  

What are the challenges of working in the Identity field? 

From my perspective, communication is a significant challenge. Generally on these SailPoint Identity IQ application integration / on-boarding projects, there are numerous roles/parties at play (e.g. our development team, our management, myself, our primary stakehodler/customer, application team scrum master/project manager, application team development team, application team manager/product owner, etc.). It is imperative that all parties are kept in the loop and are aligned with critical information such as: delivery dates, requirements, what to expect from the product once the project is complete, blockers/issues that occur and their impact on the delivery schedule, etc.

 

What do you find the most interesting thing about IAM? 

The audit/compliance implications are interesting. More specifically, the Identity IQ integrations are most interesting due to the level of complexity it can involve based on the customer’s requirements for a particular application. 

 

What lasting lesson have you learned from working with Regatta? 

Teamwork makes the dream work.

 

What are you most proud of?  

I am most proud of how much I have learned and the experience I have gained while working for the past year with Regatta. One might say I was on the FastTrack! ????

 

What is the best advice you have ever received? 

Hard work pays off.

What do you like to do in your spare time outside of work?

I love to see live music, travel, ski, and hike.

 

Do you watch any sports? If so, who is your favorite team? 

Yes, GO BILLS!

What is something you cannot live without? 

Music.

 

What’s something many people fear that doesn’t scare you at all? 

Driving in the snow.

 

What is Regatta doing right now that excites you the most? 

Everything about Regatta excites me!

Navigate a Winning Identity Strategy

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