Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams, a global paint and coatings industry leader, is renowned for its commitment to innovation and quality. As part of their continuous improvement journey, Sherwin-Williams partnered with Dev3loper.ai to enhance their technical and agile practices within the Color Lab's Mosaic team. From May 2019 to December 2019, I worked as a Senior .NET Engineer and Agile Technical Coach, contributing to a team of six engineers within a larger group comprising three other teams.
The Mosaic Color Lab team had already started adopting Extreme Programming (XP) principles, but many practices were not fully realized and were somewhat superficial. I brought a fresh perspective and interpretation of XP, emphasizing the genuine adoption of practices such as Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Pair Programming.
As an individual contributor leading from the ground, I participated in pair programming daily, collaborating closely with the engineers to enhance their implementation of XP, TDD, and agile methodologies. My role also involved implementing and advocating for SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) principles while fully integrating XP methodologies. By leveraging my expertise, I facilitated process improvements, introduced technical best practices, and drove initiatives to enhance team performance and product quality.
The focus was on aligning the team's practices with SAFe expectations, meaningfully integrating XP methodologies, and promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Working within a traditionally waterfall-based organization, my contributions helped bridge the gap and foster a more agile environment. This transformation aimed at achieving higher efficiency, stability, and alignment with the best practices in modern software development.
We delivered comprehensive solutions throughout the engagement that empowered color technicians and scientists, improved product quality, optimized resource usage, and enhanced operational efficiency. My work encompassed a range of critical projects, from integrating color math matching into Elastic Search to improving build pipeline health with information radiators.
Key Projects and Contributions
Programming and Technical Solutions
Successful .NET Contributions for Color Technicians and Scientists
Project Overview
Delivered comprehensive solutions that allowed color technicians in factories and car shops to match colors more closely. Developed methods for these individuals to formulate colors using different pigments based on what was explicitly available in their shops. I quickly adapted to the .NET stack and front-end development with React TypeScript to deliver high-quality solutions.
Technologies and Applications:
- Backend: .NET C#
- Frontend: React TypeScript
- Integration: Digital Scale API, Elastic Search
Outcomes
Provided practical tools and solutions that empowered color technicians to achieve more accurate color matching and formulation: this improved product quality and optimized resource usage in various production environments. The ability to work with available pigments reduced delays caused by pigment shortages. It allowed technicians to maintain high standards in color production under different conditions, enhancing customer satisfaction with the end products. It successfully delivered high-quality solutions within the .NET ecosystem, demonstrating versatility and the ability to quickly learn and adapt to new technologies.
Implementing Color Math Matching in Elastic Search
Project Overview
Integrated advanced color math matching in Elastic Search using Painless scripting. This feature was critical for improving the accuracy and efficiency of the color-matching process within Sherwin-Williams' product formulations.
Technologies and Applications:
- Backend: .NET
- Search Integration: Elastic Search
- Scripting: Painless
Outcomes
Implementing color math matching significantly enhanced the precision of the color matching algorithms, improving product consistency and customer satisfaction. Collaborated closely with color scientists to develop and write tests for the "color math," ensuring accuracy. This advancement allowed for faster search and retrieval of color formulations, reducing technicians' time on manual matching processes and increasing overall productivity.
Device Client Integration with Digital Scale
Project Overview
Integrated the device client with a digital scale to formulate paint products accurately. This integration facilitated precise measurements, contributing to overall quality control in paint production.
Technologies and Applications:
- Backend: .NET
- Device Integration: Digital Scale API
Outcomes
This project ensured precise formulations, reducing errors and waste in the production process and improving the quality and consistency of the final product. By providing real-time integration with digital scales, color technicians could achieve exact pigment measurements, leading to more consistent color results and reducing the likelihood of batch rejections. This significantly improved Sherwin-Williams' efficiency and reduced costs associated with wastage.
Information Radiators and Build Pipeline Health
Project Overview: Scraped data to create information radiators that displayed build pipeline health, an initiative to increase pipeline stability and reduce build times.
Technologies and Applications:
- Data Scraping and Visualization: [Specify Technologies]
Outcomes
This project significantly improved pipeline health by providing clear visibility into build statuses and trends, enabling the team to address issues and maintain high standards of build quality proactively. The information radiators facilitated real-time monitoring and alerting, allowing for quicker resolution of pipeline failures and ensuring continuous delivery standards were met. As a result, there was a noticeable reduction in build and deployment times and an increase in the overall reliability of the software delivery process.
Learning and Agile Initiatives
Technical Agile Coaching and Process Improvements
Project Overview
Served as a technical agile coach, conducting lunch and learn sessions on agile topics and making suggestions to align processes with the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). Facilitated the adoption of XP practices within the team.
Key Activities:
- Presented technical agile topics twice during lunch and learn sessions.
- Made process improvement suggestions to align with SAFe.
- Initiated a lean coffee lunch learning group focusing on "The Phoenix Project," business, lean, and DevOps principles.
- Measured team morale to create a leading indicator metric of team performance for the next iteration.
Outcomes
These initiatives promoted continuous learning and improvement, fostering a collaborative and efficient team environment. The team aligned with SAFe expectations, enhancing overall productivity and delivery quality. The lunch and learn sessions provided a platform for knowledge sharing and implementation of best practices, while the lean coffee group encouraged open discussions and innovative thinking. Measuring team morale helped identify areas for improvement, contributing to higher team satisfaction and better performance outcomes.
Impact and Practices
Agile and Extreme Programming Practices
Throughout my tenure at Sherwin-Williams, I emphasized using Test Driven Development (TDD) and Extreme Programming (XP) practices. This genuine adoption of XP principles, such as Pair Programming and Continuous Integration, ensured that the codebase remained highly reliable, maintainable, and covered by comprehensive tests. This practice improved code quality and facilitated continuous integration and delivery across the Mosaic Color Lab team.
SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) Integration
My role also involved implementing and advocating for SAFe principles and aligning the team's processes with scalable and sustainable agile methodologies. I made suggestions for process improvements that better fit SAFe guidelines, contributing to more efficient and predictable project outcomes.
DevOps Practices and Continuous Improvement
Introducing DevOps practices was crucial in transforming build and deployment processes at Sherwin-Williams. I implemented real-time integration with digital scales and automated build pipelines using FastLane for iOS and Android projects. Subsequently, GitLab pipelines were set up to automate the deployment process, ensuring all applications included unit testing at both the application and specific functional levels. This greatly enhanced the efficiency and reliability of the build process, leading to higher-quality applications.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Working closely with internal stakeholders, color scientists, and other teams, I fostered a culture of collaboration and shared responsibility. This cross-functional engagement was key to understanding different stakeholder needs and delivering solutions that effectively met their requirements. Initiating and conducting lunch-and-learn sessions on agile topics significantly contributed to reinforcing agile methodologies across the team.
Real-Time Data Management Enhancement
The project on scraping data to create information radiators significantly improved how the team monitored the health of the building pipeline. This real-time capability allowed the team to proactively address issues, maintain high standards of build quality, and ensure continuous delivery standards were met. This proactive approach fostered a culture of constant improvement and technical excellence within the team.
Outcomes and Reflections
The impactful solutions and process improvements delivered through this engagement consistently:
- Improved operational efficiencies and product quality for Sherwin-Williams.
- Enhanced team collaboration and alignment with SAFe.
- Promoted a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence within the team.
These contributions align with Dev3loper.ai's mission, which focuses on leveraging cutting-edge technologies and advanced practices to drive transformative change. My time at Sherwin-Williams reinforced the importance of agile methodologies, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration in delivering exceptional software solutions.
Conclusion
Partnering with Sherwin-Williams was a transformative experience that showcased the power of agile methodologies and advanced software practices in enhancing product quality and team performance. By actively participating in the Mosaic Color Lab team as a Senior .NET Engineer and Agile Technical Coach, I was able to drive meaningful change within a traditionally waterfall-based organization.
The adoption of Extreme Programming (XP) principles such as Test Driven Development (TDD) and Pair Programming, combined with the integration of SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) practices, significantly improved the team's efficiency and product quality. The collaborative efforts with color technicians and scientists led to the development of practical solutions that optimized resource usage and enhanced operational efficiency.
The introduction of DevOps practices further revolutionized Sherwin-Williams' build and deployment processes, ensuring higher quality applications and more reliable releases. Real-time data management enhancements provided clear visibility into build pipeline health, allowing proactive issue resolution and continuous delivery.
My contributions helped to create a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and technical excellence within the team. The successful outcomes of these projects demonstrate the value of Dev3loper.ai's approach to software development, driving innovation and excellence in the paints and coatings industry.
In summary, the engagement at Sherwin-Williams underscored the importance of agile methodologies, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous improvement in delivering high-impact solutions. This experience reinforces Dev3loper.ai's mission to harness the power of technology to drive transformative change across diverse industries.
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