Knowledge United

Course Description

The goal of this two day course is to convey the power and value of adopting agile principles and practices in an organization. Current management practices are based on the theories and ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor, Alfred Sloan, and Henry Ford. These ideas were created for the industrial age when assembly lines ruled. Today, work is different and we need a different way to work. A way that values individuals, that gives people control over the work they do, and that provides visible measures of progress. Agile is that way.

Participants in this class will gain a deep appreciation for and understanding of agile principles and practices. Participants will learn how companies, such as Google, Toyota, and Zappos, implement agile practices and principles and how they benefit.

The class begins with a description of the key principles that underlie an agile organization. Then, the three roles, the three ceremonies, and three artifacts of Scrum are explored through several exercises. The class then applies their newfound Scrum knowledge to create a product backlog for a new software program. The Nokia test is introduced as way to encourage participants to think about how agile might be implemented in their organization. The class ends with a description of the business benefits of transitioning to Scrum.

This course is highly participatory. Attendees will engage in a series of activities that illustrate agile principles. Participants should come prepared to discuss, work, and think during the course. After each participatory exercise, the entire group will participate in discussions that tease out the key lessons of the exercise.

This course can be delivered in two versions, one provides certification and the other does not. The course content is identical.

Course Outline

• 1. History of Scrum
  • a. Agile Manifesto

    The course begins with a description of the four key principles in the Agile Manifesto. These four key principles are:

    • Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
    • Working software over comprehensive documentation
    • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
    • Responding to change over following a plan

    Through a class exercise and discussion, participants gain an appreciation for these principles and an understanding of how agile software development differs fundamentally from traditional software development.

  • b. Agile Wars

    Scrum is one approach to agile software development. In this section, the class briefly explores other agile approaches, such as XP and DSDM.

• 2. Three roles, three ceremonies, three artifacts

  In this section of the course, participants learn about the day-to-day activities of a Scrum team by exploring the three roles, the three ceremonies, and the three artifacts of Scrum.

  • a. Roles
    • i. Scrum Master
    • ii. Product Owner
    • iii. Team
  • b. Ceremonies
    • i. Sprint Planning
    • ii. Daily Scrum
    • iii. Demo/Retrospective
  • c. Artifacts
    • i. Sprint Backlog
    • ii. Product Backlog
    • iii. Burndown chart
• 3. Scrum Planning

  During the Scrum Planning session, the class breaks into Scrum teams and each team creates a product backlog for a new software product or service.

  • a. Product Backlog
  • b. Sprint Backlog
  • c. Estimation
• 4. Nokia Test / Your IT Environment

  The Nokia test asks eight questions of a team. If all of the questions are not answered in the affirmative, the team may not be doing Scrum. In this session, participants use the Nokia test to analyze their current software development framework and compare it to Scrum. The class discusses how the organization may transition to a Scrum environment which does pass the Nokia test.

  • a. Sprints are no more than 4 weeks
  • b. Software is done at the end of each sprint
  • c. Requirements do not need to be done before start of sprint
  • d. There is a Product Owner
  • e. There is a product backlog prioritized by business value
  • f. The team estimates backlog items
  • g. The team creates burndown charts / knows velocity
  • h. The team is not interrupted
• 5. Scrum ROI / Business Case

  The class ends with a description and discussion of the business benefits of transitioning to Scrum. The class divides into groups which engage in a debate about the advantages and disadvantages of adopting Scrum.

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Onsite / Private Class

We can provide this class onsite to your team as a standard class or customized to meet your specific needs. Request a quote today.

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