At Greyamp Consulting, our strength lies in the remarkable individuals who drive impactful change for our clients. In this edition of our Employee Spotlight, we feature Gayathri Selvaraj, a Senior Consultant who has played a pivotal role in transforming client engagements with her strategic thinking, collaborative approach, and expertise in Agile practices.
With her extensive experience in enabling Agile ways of working, Gayathri has been instrumental in driving successful transformation initiatives. In her recent engagement with a leading NBFC's Business Intelligence Unit (BIU), Gayathri's efforts contributed to improving visibility, collaboration, and structured delivery. Her dedication to enhancing stakeholder engagement, refining processes, and implementing innovative solutions has made a lasting impact.
Read on to learn more about Gayathri's journey, her problem-solving approach, and the skills that have enabled her to excel in her role at Greyamp.
Q: What client engagement have you recently been involved in, and what were the primary goals of the project?
Gayathri: I played a key role in an agile transformation initiative for the Business Intelligence Unit (BIU) of a leading NBFC, focusing on improving visibility, collaboration, and structured delivery. I actively contributed to stakeholder discussions, identified inefficiencies, and facilitated visioning workshops. My involvement extended to enabling agile adoption through governance structures, backlog management, and standardized planning practices. I also worked on configuring JIRA for better tracking and ensuring alignment with business objectives. The program successfully introduced a product-platform approach, improved sprint cadences, and established key success metrics—value focus, rapid delivery, quality, and alignment—driving long-term efficiency and scalability.
Q: Could you describe your role in this engagement and the key responsibilities you held?
Gayathri: As a Senior Consultant at Greyamp Consulting, I contributed to the Nipun – Agile Ways of Working for BIU transformation program at Piramal Housing Finance, supporting strategy, execution, and enablement across multiple phases.
Key Contributions:
Discovery & Assessment
- Supported one-on-one interviews with ~20 stakeholders, including Data Product Managers, BIU leadership,Data Engineering leads, and Data Scientists to map the end-to-end value delivery process
- Synthesised insights to define key transformation focus areas —Planning & Tracking, Requirements Management, and Delivery Effectiveness
- Facilitated problem framing to align transformation efforts with operational needs
Design & Visioning
- Collaborated on a 2-day visioning workshop with BIU leads, introducing Agile ways of working through interactive exercises.
- Contributed to co-creating new ways of working and configuring JIRA workflows to support early adopter teams.
Implementation & Enablement
- Supported Agile adoption for early adopter pods by establishing sprint cadences, backlog structures, and governance practices.
- Enhanced workflow visibility through JIRA tracking dashboards, improving sprint progress tracking and dependency management.
Measuring Impact & Continuous Improvement
- Contributed to defining key success metrics—Value Focus, Rapid Delivery, and Alignment— while embedding tracking mechanisms for continuous assessment
- Facilitated retrospectives and stakeholder showcases, ensuring continuous feedback and adaptability
Q: What specific challenges related to cross-functional delivery did you encounter in this project?
Gayathri: Cross-functional delivery was impacted by fragmented workflows, unclear ownership, and limited visibility into dependencies. The absence of dedicated teams and product/platform owners, coupled with ineffective capacity planning, forced team members to juggle multiple priorities across pods, leading to execution delays and misalignment.To address these challenges, I was part of the team that:
- Established Agile governance, introducing structured backlog prioritisation, sprint planning, and retrospectives to enhance coordination.
- Redefined workflows in JIRA, improving tracking for dependencies and capacity planning.
- Implemented real-time tracking systems, providing visibility into sprint execution and proactively managing risks.
- Institutionalised Agile ceremonies, streamlining collaboration and ensuring clearer ownership across teams.
Q: What innovative solutions did you implement to address these pain points and streamline their workflows?
Gayathri: One of the key solutions in this engagement was introducing a structured product-platform approach by clearly defining product, platform, capability, and journey in the client’s context. Without this distinction, the organisation faced overlapping functionalities, fragmented development efforts, and limited scalability.
By implementing a modular framework, we ensured that platforms provided core, reusable capabilities, allowing products to leverage these shared services without duplication. Additionally, by establishing clear ownership at both product and platform levels, we improved efficiency, governance, and adaptability, enabling the client to scale solutions seamlessly and drive long-term innovation.
Q: What was the most rewarding aspect of this experience for you personally?
Gayathri: Phase 1 of this engagement has been an incredibly rewarding experience, both in terms of learning and the sense of impact my work has created. Being involved end-to-end—from deep-diving into client pain points and conducting a visioning workshop to developing hypotheses, defining new ways of working, and coaching clients through the transition—has significantly enriched my experience. Clients have shared how these new ways of working have streamlined their processes, enhanced collaboration, and provided greater clarity in decision-making. Such feedback has been deeply motivating, reinforcing my commitment to continuously improving and delivering even greater impact in future engagements.
Q: What skills or qualities do you believe are essential for success in a role like yours at Greyamp?
Gayathri: To succeed as a Transformation Consultant at Greyamp, being a self-starter is essential. The role demands a deep understanding of how transformation and Agile initiatives unfold in real-world scenarios, including enablement, adoption challenges, and making metrics actionable. A strong problem-solving mindset, adaptability in ambiguous situations, and the ability to navigate practical complexities are crucial. Success is driven by the ability to influence teams, foster alignment, and continuously refine processes for impact. Above all, the focus is on progress over perfection—driving meaningful, sustainable change for clients.