Malcolm Bastien
Mapping the intersection of high-trust human systems and technical throughput.
I'm an Agile Coach from Toronto, Canada, who helps teams and organizations improve their agility and performance through structural precision and cultural alignment.
Experience
Senior Agile Coach
Agile by Design — Toronto
As a Senior Agile Coach, I drive Agile transformation and cultural change using a complex systems perspective to deliver exceptional outcomes. I specialize in advanced Lean and Agile software development practices to optimize value delivery and improve organizational flow.
Organizational Agility & Prioritization
- Designed and implemented Agile Flight Level Systems and Team/Portfolio Kanban systems to achieve end-to-end organizational agility
- Enhanced prioritization by introducing Cost of Delay and pay-off functions, enabling understanding of the financial impact of initiatives
- Developed custom risk assessment frameworks to support strategic decision-making
- Trained Managers on effective OKRs for strategic alignment
- Introduced "Ready Options" to teams to help stabilize backlog replenishment
Flow Optimization & Continuous Improvement
- Applied Team Topologies and Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles to manage dependencies and design effective team interactions
- Led value stream mapping initiatives to improve code deployment processes and customer onboarding
- Coached teams using advanced Agile Metrics to identify bottlenecks and sources of delay
- Facilitated deep dive retrospectives across delivery teams and leadership to resolve systematic issues
- Experienced with specialized online Kanban service providers (LeanKit, Kanbanize)
Discovery, Modeling & Coaching
- Coached teams using Story Mapping and Impact Mapping to maximize valuable outcomes and trim scope
- Facilitated EventStorming and Domain Storytelling workshops for collaborative system modeling
- Led multi-day Agile workshops for Developers, Delivery Leads, and Product Owners
- Coached teams on effective story writing and acceptance criteria with an emphasis on Spec by Example
- Guided teams in adopting fully remote work systems, including virtual Kanban and remote ceremony facilitation
Data Analyst
Chango — Toronto
Chango delivers a powerful platform for marketers to engage with premium audiences and target valuable individuals online. Its Intent Marketing solution applies customer intent data to programmatically drive results.
- Learned about the real-time bidding and programmatic advertising space
- Managed display advertising campaigns for various small to large clients
- Performed advertising optimization and analysis to improve campaign performance and offer insights
- Wrote map/reduce jobs to analyze large amounts of advertising, customer, demographic, and search data
- Used SQL extensively to pull and join different data sets and uncover trends
- Used Python for writing map/reduce jobs, processing data, and scripts for various purposes
- Worked with Hustle, a next generation distributed, column oriented, relational OLAP Database
- Created ad-hoc client reports and used Pandas for data analysis
Chango was acquired by Rubicon Project in April 2015
Coach
West Toronto CrossFit — Toronto
As a part-time coach, I led fitness coaching and community building, helping members achieve their health and wellness goals through personalized training programs. Beyond coaching, I helped develop the West Toronto CrossFit brand, coordinated website SEO, and managed Google AdWords and Facebook advertising campaigns.
CrossFit Certifications
- CrossFit Strongman Trainer Certificate
- CrossFit Weightlifting Trainer Certificate
- CrossFit Defense Trainer Certificate
- CrossFit Endurance Trainer Certificate
Marketing Specialist
Microsoft — Canada
Responsible for organizing customer workshops across Canada focused on educating and training customers, as well as promoting the adoption of Microsoft's database, data warehousing, and business intelligence products. Worked with Microsoft partners, external agencies, and internal stakeholders to plan and execute workshop targeting, communications, and logistics. Also responsible for organizing the Canadian BizTalk Roadshow.
Education
Toronto Metropolitan University
Bachelor's Degree in Business Technology Management
Professional Development & Certifications
📈 Agile & Lean Practices
- Kanban Management Professional Kanban University — 2017
- Enterprise Services Planning Professional Kanban University — 2022
- Independent Value Streams with DDD Team Topologies Academy — 2022
- Specification By Example Workshop Avanscoperta — 2022
🏗️ Systems Architecture & Design
- Flight Level 2 Design Flight Levels Academy — 2022
- Flight Levels Systems Architecture Flight Levels Academy — 2021
- Introduction to Flight Levels Flight Levels Academy — 2021
- Awareness in Wardley Mapping GCATI — 2021
⚖️ Value & Dependency Management
- Dependency Management — capture, fix, and avoid Focused Objective LLC — 2022
👥 Leadership & Facilitation
- Accelerated Performance Program Online Meeting Magic Dan Roam's Napkin Academy — 2020
- Executive Presence on Video Conference Calls LinkedIn — 2020
- Managing Virtual Teams LinkedIn — 2020
- Level 1: Empathy Toy Training Twenty One Toys — 2018
Areas of Interest
♻️ Agile & Lean Methodologies
📦 Product Management
🗺️ Planning & Project Management
🧩 Team Building & Leadership
🤝 Coaching & Facilitation
🕸️ Systems & Complexity Thinking
🏰 Domain Driven Design
🎯 Strategy & Leadership
⚖️ Value & Dependency Management
📚 Knowledge Management
💻 Technology
Testimonials
I had the pleasure of working with Malcolm on a large-scale transformation initiative, and I can confidently say he is one of the most skilled and inspiring Agile Coaches I've had the opportunity to collaborate with.
— Management Consultant
Malcolm brings a rare combination of deep Agile expertise, strong leadership, and genuine empathy. He has an exceptional ability to connect with teams, meet them where they are, and guide them toward higher levels of agility and collaboration. His coaching style is both practical and empowering - he doesn't just teach Agile principles; he lives them every day.
What stood out most about Malcolm was his patience, active listening, and his talent for fostering trust and psychological safety within teams. He continuously encouraged transparency, adaptability, and continuous improvement, helping teams not only deliver better outcomes but also enjoy the process.
Beyond his technical and coaching capabilities, Malcolm is simply a pleasure to work with - positive, insightful, and consistently supportive. Any organization would be lucky to have him leading their Agile journey.
I had the pleasure of working with Malcolm several years ago. He played a key role as an Agile Coach, helping guide the team through priorities, sprint ceremonies, and cross-functional collaboration.
— Senior Product Manager
Even after many years, I still remember his calm presence and thoughtful facilitation style. I'm happy to recommend him to any team looking for strong agile support and collaborative delivery leadership.
I was fortunate to work with Malcolm as our Senior Agile coach, and his impact on our team was remarkable. He brought not only deep expertise in Agile practices but also a genuine ability to coach, mentor, and empower individuals to grow. His facilitation skills, leadership, and focus on continuous improvement helped our team deliver with higher efficiency and stronger collaboration. Beyond process, he built trust and created a safe environment where everyone felt heard and motivated. Malcolm is an exceptional Agile Coach and a true asset to any organization.
— Tech Lead
I had the pleasure of working with Malcolm at ..., where his guidance as an Agile Coach made a big impact on our team. He brought clarity, patience, and practical insights that helped us improve collaboration and deliver better outcomes. I'd highly recommend him to any organization looking to strengthen their Agile practices.
— Developer
I had the pleasure of working with Malcolm at ..., he was always a pleasure to work with, good for a joke or two but also an insightful discussion. Whenever I collaborated with Malcolm he instilled confidence into what I was doing and highlighted different perspectives on the task at hand, which I greatly appreciated. His consultation always left me thinking about ways to improve the approach we were taking. Aside from helping with deliverables, Malcolm was also a culture catalyst and made the work, dare I say, fun at times! I highly recommend Malcolm to any team looking for an Agile coach.
— Technical Navigator