|
Our course contains the following program:
History and Origins of Agile Development
Software development is sometimes called a
wicked problem. Like predicting weather,
or the stock market, accurate project estimates and acceptable project outputs continue
to be a challenge for the average software project. In 2001 the Agile Manifesto
was signed, and so began the Agile Development movement. Various flavors of Agile
exist today, with Scrum being the most widely-adopted practice.
How Agile Maps to the PMBOK
- Initiating
- Planning
- Executing
- Monitoring & Controlling
- Closing
Agile Tools & Techniques
- Communications
- Planning, monitoring and adapting
- Agile estimation
- Agile analysis and design
- Product quality
- Soft skills negotiation
- Value-based prioritization
- Risk management
- Metrics
- Value stream analysis
Domain I - Agile Principles and
Mindset
- Organizational Impact
- Maintaining a Healthy Agile Environment
- Encouraging your Agile Team
Put first things first. In order to create and maintain a healthy
team-empowered Agile environment, your must ensure your leadership model is
correct, and your practices align with core Agile values.
Domain II - Value Driven Delivery
- Define Positive Value
- Incremental Development
- Avoid Potential Downsides
- Prioritization
Instead of process-driven
delivery, Agile Development is based on a value-driven approach. Teams are
encouraged to work with project stakeholders to prioritize the most valuable
features that can be packaged and delivered to paying customers in successive
increments. An emphasis is placed on targeting specific user-types, or value
thresholds so that the products can be placed in front of real customers
who can then in-turn provide quicker product feedback.
Domain III - Stakeholder Engagement
- Stakeholder Needs
- Stakeholder Involvement
- Stakeholder Expectations
Involving stakeholders throughout the project development process is essential in
succeeding with value-driven delivery. Communicating about stakeholder objectives,
customer value, project progress, and changes in the environment are an ongoing
necessity. We'll explore brainstorming techniques, feedback channels, prototyping,
simulation, product-demos, facilitation, participatory decision models, globalization,
and cultural awareness practices that are helpful with engaging stakeholders effectively.
Domain
IV - Team Performance
- Team Formation
- Team Empowerment
- Team Collaboration
The team is the engine in an agile project. Value is delivered as fast as the team
can perform. The team is only as fast as the slowest member, and gains velocity as each
member focuses on the same target. We'll explore ways to create and support self-governing
teams through empowerment, knowledge sharing, motivation, rewards & recognition,
and innovation games. We'll discuss ways to measure the teams progress and continuously
improve performance. Finally, we'll examine the team as a corporate asset and discuss
ways to maximize the business value of a high-performing team.
Domain V - Adaptive Planning
- Planning Levels
- Adaptation
- Estimation
- Velocity, Throughput, and Cycle Time
In an Agile project, planning happens at multiple levels. We'll explore strategic,
release, iteration, and daily planning. Agile is commitment-based. Commitments are
made during these planning junctures based on a balance of priorities vs. team capabilities.
The team quickly learns to adapt to whatever mechanisms work best in their unique environment. Project progress is tracked, as well as velocity, throughput, and cycle-time.
A closed-loop feedback process is used to continuously improve team and individual
estimations.
Domain VI - Problem Detection and Resolution
- Risk Management
- Supportive Environment
- Issue Tracking
Risk are identified and explored early in what agile practitioners call 'spikes.'
An open and safe environment is encouraged to surface team and workplace issues
early, before they become showstoppers. Team members are encouraged to publicly
display progress impediments so that management can escalate accordingly. Risk status
is communicated regularly to stakeholders so that their expectations are managed
effectively.
Domain VII - Continuous Improvement
Agile philosophies transcend individual projects. A fully functional agile team
is considered an asset to the corporation. Teams perform retrospectives after each
sprint to brainstorm how they could have performed more effectively. They use this
insight to improve future performance. Similarly, individual retrospectives and
product retrospectives are tools which improve individual progress and product value,
respectively.
Additional Agile Knowledge and Skills, separated into three levels of importance:
Level 1
- Active listening
- Agile Manifesto values and principles
- Assessing and incorporating community and stakeholder values
- Brainstorming techniques
- Building empowered teams
- Coaching and mentoring within teams
- Communications management
- Feedback techniques for product
- Incremental delivery
- Knowledge sharing
- Leadership tools and techniques
- Prioritization
- Problem-solving strategies, tools and techniques
- Project and quality standards for Agile projects
- Stakeholder management
- Team motivation Time, budget and cost estimation
- Value-based decomposition and prioritization
Level 2
- Agile frameworks and terminology
- Building high-performance teams
- Business case development
- Colocation/distributed teams
- Elements of a project charter for an Agile project
- Facilitation methods
- Participatory decision models
- PMI's Code of Ethics and Professional
Conduct
- Process analysis techniques
- Self assessment
- Value-based analysis
Level 3
- Agile contracting methods
- Agile project accounting principles
- Applying new Agile practices
- Compliance
- Control limits for Agile projects
- Failure modes and alternatives
- Globalization, culture and team diversity Innovation games
- Principles of systems thinking
- Regulatory compliance
- Variance and trend analysis
- Variations in Agile methods and approaches
- Vendor management
Agile Adoption Within Your Organization
Finally, we'll discuss successful approaches for adopting Agile practices within
your organization.
|