Practitioner & Researcher

I think
in systems
& ask why.

Keelan Sears

I'm a Scrum Master and analyst who can't stop at the surface of a problem. Whether I'm facilitating a sprint or digging through a century of neighborhood land records, I bring the same instinct: follow the evidence, map the system, communicate what matters.

I'm moving toward forward deployed engineering and technical product ownership — roles where deep curiosity and clear thinking are the job.

Scrum Master Data Analysis Historical Research Systems Thinking Technical PM
How I think — writing & analysis
Featured Research
A Century of Decisions: Tracing Zoning Change in [Your Neighborhood]
How one block's land use history reveals the full arc of urban planning policy — from post-war single-family mandates to present-day density debates. I pulled primary records, mapped parcel histories, and found patterns the official history missed.
Independent Research · Ongoing · Maps, primary sources, data
What this demonstrates
  • Research design from scratch
  • Primary source navigation
  • Pattern recognition in messy data
  • Writing for a general audience
  • Sustained independent initiative
Workplace Analysis
What our sprint metrics were actually telling us
A structured look at six months of velocity and cycle time data — and what it revealed about team dynamics that weren't visible in the standup.
Internal analysis · Anonymized
Essay
On being the person in the room who reads the footnotes
A short piece on intellectual curiosity as a professional skill — and why going deeper than required is a competitive advantage, not a distraction.
Personal essay · 900 words
The zoning research project

When I got curious about my neighborhood, I built a research project.

Most people wonder why their block looks the way it does. I decided to find out. I pulled parcel records, variance filings, city council minutes, and historical maps — stitching together a story that spans generations of policy and people.

This project has no professional mandate. It's pure inquiry. Which is exactly the point: I research because I can't not.

The process taught me how to navigate bureaucratic archives, reconcile conflicting records, and turn a jumble of primary sources into a coherent narrative. That's a portable skill set.

Parcel change map — [your neighborhood]
Replace with your actual map
Zoned R-1
Variance granted
Rezoned post-2000
Work history — the arc
Analyst · [Your company]
[Years]
Structured data, surfaced insights, and translated findings for non-technical stakeholders. Built the habit of asking what the numbers were actually saying — not just what they showed.
Scrum Master · Current
[Your company] · [Year – present]
Facilitate team delivery, remove blockers, run retrospectives, track metrics. Sitting at the intersection of process, people, and product — which is exactly where I want to be, just closer to the technical edge.
Forward Deployed Engineer / Technical PM · Target
What I'm building toward
The role where systems thinking, writing, curiosity, and technical fluency converge. I want to be in the field, working directly with users to solve problems with real constraints.
Now — what I'm learning & reading
Reading
[Book or article title]
A note on why you're reading it and what you're pulling from it. 1–2 sentences is plenty.
Learning
[Skill or topic]
What problem or curiosity is driving this. What you're hoping to understand or build.
Thinking about
[An open question]
The question you keep returning to. Could be professional, civic, or entirely personal.
Let's think together.