Q1 2026: A Quarter of Growth, Certification, and Strategic Alignment

 As I look back on the first three months of 2026, I am incredibly proud of the progress I’ve made. This quarter has been dedicated to sharpening my technical skills and ensuring that my professional contributions are in full alignment with industry and organizational standards.

Professional Certifications & Continuous Learning

My primary focus this quarter was staying at the forefront of emerging technologies. I am thrilled to share that I successfully passed several key exams:

• AB-900: Microsoft 365 Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals: I participated in the beta exam on January 2nd and officially passed on January 29th.

• AB-731: AI Transformation Leader: I achieved this certification on February 13th, further solidifying my leadership capabilities in AI-driven environments.

• ITIL 5 Foundation Bridge: On March 5th, I completed this bridge exam, ensuring my service management expertise remains current with the latest ITIL principles.

• PMP Renewal: I also successfully renewed my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification on February 11th, which is now valid through 2031.

Strategic Administrative Leadership

Beyond certifications, I have been deeply involved in high-level administrative oversight. A major highlight was conducting a comprehensive Q1 Administrative Review & Performance Management Alignment for the CPP Engineering team. This initiative was crucial for:

• Ensuring full compliance with City of Cleveland HR standards.

• Aligning payroll authority with performance oversight to position the team for success in the coming quarters.

Career Trajectory & Future Goals

This quarter also involved active engagement in the federal application process, where I’ve been applying my specialized experience in IT and statistics to pursue GS-14 level opportunities in Washington, D.C.. My commitment to public service remains a driving force, and I am eager to use my skills in project management and AI to improve government efficiency.

Looking Ahead to Q2

With a solid foundation laid in Q1, I am ready to tackle the challenges of the second quarter. My goal is to continue bridging the gap between advanced technology and effective project management.

I Passed My SAFE 5.0 Scrum Master Certification Exam!

 

                Hey everybody! I passed my SAFE 5.0 Scrum Master certification exam retake on Memorial Day! I was so happy that this was over because it was a much harder retake exam than I expected.

I scored a measly 13% on my experiencing program increment (PI) section the first time so I spent a lot of time reading that. I also researched the swim lane, product owner, product management, DevOps CALMR and wrote down the Agile Manifesto every single day to retain that information. And STILL it was hard!

                As an economics major, Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Project Management Professional (PMP), I will tell you that SAFe is NOT an entry-level scrum certification. I would recommend that you take the CSM first and work in a SAFe environment. If you cannot do those things, I would recommend taking an introductory SAFe course first to learn the concepts independent of the pressure to pass the exam!

                I am very happy to end the month of May on a very high note. I went from having a very weird interview with a lady who had a major attitude, was all over the place but peaked my interest combining lean with project management to my learning that this combination was scaled agile framework (SAFE) to finding a 50% off exam prep course on Eventbrite to failing my first time to earning this SAFe Scrum Master certification!

SAFE 5.0 - Day 4

 

                I took the official Scrum Master certification exam Thursday morning right after midnight and failed scoring 31/45. It stung because I had scored 82% on the official practice test. I also scored a measly 13% on the Experiencing the PI Planning section which I felt did me in. I knew that I was in trouble off the bat when the first question was talking about program board and a swimlane (which I associated with business analysis but later learned that Kanban also used swimlanes.).

                Failing was the best thing that ever happened to me because I got to take all of my feedback and experiences to the instructor. He answered all of my questions, learned about the new score reporting structure and went through the official practice exam again pointing out the trick words. Had I taken the certification exam either during or after the fourth day of class, I would not had been able to have access to the instructor. It would had been anti-climatic. However, by learning from my mistakes it helped matters. I see myself passing the SAFe Scrum Master retake this weekend.

                On a much happier note, my attending this week’s scaled agile training helped me during my scholarship interview. Thursday I had a scholarship interview to win money to sit for the Certified Scrum Product Owner training. Before this scaled agile training, I thought that the Product Owner role only existed in traditional scrum. However, now I learned that the Product Owner existed in scaled agile too. I felt that from the interviewer’s body language that I won the scholarship.

SAFE 5.0 - Day 3

 

                Once again, I am having issues. This time Windows 10 is kicking out my wi-fi forcing me to constantly restart my computer. Next I have to find instructions to do an online repair of my Microsoft 365 because (you’ve guessed it!), Windows 10 has messed that up too. However, it is day 3 of my SAFe Scrum Master training and you WILL get this story!

                Okay so I ask the instructor if the certification exam was an open book or closed book exam. When he says closed book exam, out of nowhere the same person who texted the group that it was an open book texted saying that ‘This is my fourth exam prep course. No one is monitoring your camera or you work’. Um, that can have your certification exam snatched and banned by the accreditation body. Some people are just lazy I tell you! Anyway, I am very happy that I have stayed consistently throughout the whole thing because I am ready to pass my exam tomorrow night!

I have even taken the practice exam furnished by Scaled Agile. I have to give a course review where I detail the whole Scaled Agile meetup out of nowhere and not being able to log back in because the instructor is hosting another Zoom meeting escapades. After completing the course survey, I take the practice exam scoring 82%. This fuels my fire to pass my exam tomorrow night.

                I admit that during the second half of class, I have skimmed through some things (I know that the Dot review will NOT be on the exam!). However, I have learned how to save the Zoom meting chat. I have saved them on my red laptop so I will transfer these chat transcripts via email. My goal is to be SAFe Scrum master certified by Thursday. Not even the instructor saying that the actual exam is harder than the practice exam scares me. I have been preparing for this moment for over 2 weeks! I am getting my certification!

SAFE 5.0 - Day 1

                 I am chronicling my SAFE (scaled framework) training here because I chronicled my Certified Scrum Master (CSM) training adventure here. In 2016, it was in person. In 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic, I am online. This does not mean that there aren’t any less plot twists.

Scaled agile framework (SAFE 5.0) is a type of agile project management. I am learning this because during an interview the interviewer mentioned lean and merging the scrum master with the product owner. I thought that was weird even though I knew some lean principles due to my statistics background. I later researched lean + scrum finding scaled agile.

                I started looking on Eventbrite (this site saved my bacon with finding an affordable certified scrum master exam prep course. You can check out the March2016 series here.). I found a course that’s 50% off and purchased it. I could save money and advance my career. I was game!

                I completed the pre-course content going through all of the courses. I also watched a lot of YouTube videos because scaled agile calling it iteration instead of sprints and saying that the agile team is scrum master and product owner vs. the scrum team which is scrum master and the developers threw me for a loop. I also managed to find some practice exams on Udemy and online because I wanted to know what the questions looked like before the exam.

 

Day 1

                I was back to my older computer because my newer one Internet (Chrome, Edge and Firefox) sporadically went out. Also I had to do was connect my Logictech webcam and BOOM I was back in business. Now this laptop wanted to act up 5 minutes before the start of class (I was not surprised!) so I ended up 10 minutes late.

                We spent the first hour introducing ourselves and doing some games. Then at the end of the second hour out of nowhere the instructor invited us to his scaled agile virtual meetup. I was like ‘plot twist!’. Though my doing the pre-course content saved me, I would admit that had I not taken the initiative to read the material beforehand, I would had been lost, frustrated and failed the exam at this stage (but I am passing my scrum master exam). At least he lets us leave early today. 

XD30 – Day 15 – The More You Know

                In the midst of my financial struggle (I awoke to a negative charge after seeing a positive balance the day before), I used the cash in my pocket to priority mail my order, changed clothes and rolled to the contracting conference. I had to get out of my space and keep my mind off of that craziness. I also wanted to see the former mayor of Cleveland who now ran a women’s public policy think tank. The free conference was literally right down the street; and, the same place I worked a couple of months ago. Immediately when I walked into there I thought ‘maybe I should had signed up for this’. However, they fed us which was good enough. I learned so much especially all of the free resources that were available for me looking for federal government contracting opportunities. The only drawback was no charging stations. I had to walk home to recharge my cell phone. I returned to the ending reception where I ate pina colada cotton candy but I still missed 2 sessions because of no charging stations.

                Attending this conference afforded me another opportunity to talk about something besides eBay and project management on Periscope. Look I love making money via livestream hawking my wares but talking about the conference that I attended is a breath of fresh air. People get to see what else I can talk about. I will check into another conference to hobnob and learn more about making money and new topics in the very near future.