Course Outline
Grasping Agile: The Mindset Shift
- The Agile Manifesto: its four values and twelve principles.
- Transitioning from plan-driven to value-driven working methods.
- The relevance of Agile for teams beyond software development.
- Exercise: Aligning current work challenges with agile principles.
Scrum Overview: The Big Picture
- The Scrum framework at a glance: roles, events, and artifacts.
- The three pillars: transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
- How empirical approaches minimize risk and waste.
- Activity: Spotting opportunities for transparency in your daily work.
Scrum Roles: Clarifying Responsibilities
- Product Owner: Holding the vision and prioritizing value.
- Scrum Master: Facilitating the process and resolving impediments.
- Developers: Self-managing to deliver completed increments.
- Exercise: Role-playing to clarify accountability boundaries.
The Sprint Cycle: Scrum Events in Practice
- The Sprint as the container for all other events.
- Sprint Planning: Defining the goal and selecting work items.
- Daily Scrum: Reviewing progress toward the Sprint Goal.
- Sprint Review: Inspecting the increment with stakeholders.
- Sprint Retrospective: Planning improvements for the next Sprint.
Scrum Artifacts: Ensuring Work Transparency
- Product Backlog: The single source of upcoming tasks.
- Sprint Backlog: The plan for the current Sprint.
- Increment: A step toward the Product Goal.
- Workshop: Creating a sample Product Backlog based on a real scenario.
Kanban Basics: Visualizing Your Work
- The origins of Kanban and the flow-centric mindset.
- Designing a Kanban board: columns, cards, and workflow stages.
- Making invisible work visible across the team.
- Hands-on: Mapping your actual workflow onto a Kanban board.
WIP Limits and Flow: Focus on Completion
- Understanding WIP and the importance of limiting it.
- Comparing pull systems versus push systems.
- Recognizing and addressing bottlenecks.
- Exercise: Establishing and testing WIP limits on a team board.
Kanban Metrics: Measuring Key Indicators
- Explanation of cycle time, throughput, and work item age.
- Interpreting a Cumulative Flow Diagram.
- Using metrics to foster better discussions rather than judging individuals.
- Activity: Reviewing sample flow data and suggesting improvements.
Feedback Loops and Continuous Improvement
- Kanban cadences: replenishment, delivery planning, and service reviews.
- Defining explicit policies and evolving them over time.
- The approach of evolutionary change: starting from your current state.
- Practice: Formulating explicit policies for a sample workflow.
Scrum and Kanban Combined: The Scrumban Approach
- How the two frameworks complement and strengthen each other.
- Utilizing a Kanban board to visualize the Sprint Backlog.
- Applying WIP limits within Sprints for smoother delivery.
- Discussion: Selecting the most suitable practices for your context.
Practical Simulation: Executing a Sprint with Kanban
- Multi-round simulation: Planning a Sprint, building a board, and setting WIP limits.
- Processing work items through the board while tracking flow metrics.
- Holding a Sprint Review and Retrospective using actual data.
- Debrief: Insights from the simulation regarding real-world teamwork.
Integrating Agile into Daily Work
- Identifying low-risk starting points in your specific environment.
- Practical techniques applicable from the very next week.
- Steering clear of common pitfalls when adopting agile practices.
- Action Planning: One specific change to implement after the course.
Requirements
- No prior experience with agile methodologies is necessary.
- A basic understanding of collaborative team environments is beneficial.
Target Audience
- Professionals from any department eager to grasp agile fundamentals.
- Team members seeking to enhance project management skills and workflow visibility.
- Individuals looking for practical tools to improve day-to-day work organization.
Testimonials (5)
workshops, practical cases
Joanna Nowak - LKQ Polska Sp. z o. o.
Course - Introduction to Agile Testing
Jim's real life experience was evident and the fact that he is still working with teams keeps him current with the problems encountered. The activities were interesting and we appreciated the frequency of breaks. Delivery of the course was confident and good humoured too.
Leanne - Welsh Revenue Authority
Course - Professional Scrum Master I | PSM I (accredited training course with Scrum.org exam and certification)
team exercises
Dan
Course - SAFe® for Teams
Friendly, plenty of breaks to think about what we have learnt and lovely guy.
Leanne - Welsh Revenue Authority
Course - Agile Business Analysis
I really enjoyed the mix of practical with theory. The trainer was also exteremly knowledgable and answered all our questions perfectly
