Episode 60: Robin Yeman and Dr. Suzette Johnson

Robin Yeman is a results-focused leader and author with over twenty-eight years of expertise in systems and software engineering. Currently, she serves as the Executive Space Lead at Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute, where she focuses on integrating cutting-edge technologies into government space programs. During her tenure as a senior technical fellow at Lockheed Martin, Robin's leadership in Agile transformation drove significant modernization and cost savings across various technical initiatives from submarines to satellites. Her dedication to advancing the field is demonstrated by her role as a visiting professor at the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), teaching DevSecOps applied to safety-critical cyber-physical systems. In addition to her professional roles, Robin is actively involved in several industry groups, serving as co-chair for both the Incose Agile Systems Engineering and the NDIA Systems Engineering Agile Delivery for Agencies, Programs & Teams (ADAPT) group. She is committed to continuous learning, holding numerous certifications such as SAFe Fellow, SPCT, CEC, PMP, PMI-ACP, and CSEP. In addition, she is a Systems Engineering PhD candidate at Colorado State University, with research in delivering large-scale, safety-critical cyber-physical solutions using Agile and DevSecOps.

Dr. Suzette Johnson works for Northrop Grumman Corporation. As an NG Fellow for Lean Agile and Digital integration, she works for Space Systems fostering operational and program excellence to achieve mission and business outcomes. She has led the adoption of Lean Agile across the enterprise and has supported over 100 internal projects and government programs on their Lean Agile journey. She is a Scaled Agile Fellow and SPCT and holds several certifications including Certified Enterprise Coach, PMP, and PMI-ACP. She has received a Doctorate of Management Technology at the University of Maryland with a dissertation focused on investigating the Impact of leadership styles on software project outcomes in traditional and agile environments. Most recently she completed a certificate program at MIT in Digital Transformation.

Suzette Johnson and Robin Yeman have co-authored multiple papers on Industrial DevOps through IT Revolution and has recently published a book, Industrial DevOps: Build Better Systems Faster, which outlines how to expand Lean, Agile, DevOps, and Digital outside of software and into cyber-physical systems.