Agile Project Management with Scrum

What is this course about?

This immersive course is based on an authentic Agile project simulation, providing you with the knowledge and practical skills to plan, estimate, track and control a software project. You gain a solid foundation in Scrum, an Agile framework for developing complex products. You learn Scrum roles, Scrum artifacts and timeboxes, and the rules for using them as described in The Scrum Guide. In addition you will learn to apply established techniques for successful Agile project management

What background do I need?

A working familiarity of project management concepts is helpful but not required.

Who will benefit from this course?

This course is valuable for technical or project managers, software architects, project leads and programmers who want to learn how to develop software using proven Agile principles.

Does this course teach me the skills I need to manage an Agile project?

Absolutely! Scrum provides a framework for project management through three key roles: the Product Owner, the Scrum Master and the Development Team. This course focuses on the different management responsibilities of these roles and the interactions between them. You practice the techniques and skills and use the necessary tools to successfully manage an Agile project.

What is Agile development?

Agile development is a software engineering approach that produces working software in a reduced timeframe and meets business requirements. Agile methods emphasize constant, open, honest and real-time communication between developers and their customers.

Why should my team adopt Agile development practices?

Agile stresses the need to build working software in frequent iterations to minimize risk. Each iteration-called a Sprint in Scrum-acts as a fully contained software project and includes the tasks needed for a product release: planning, requirements, analysis, design, coding, testing and deployment. The Scrum team has full authority to decide how to perform these tasks within a Sprint. Each Sprint ends with a demonstration of functionality to interested stakeholders. The frequency of iterations emphasizes the core principle of Agile development, which is the ability to react and adapt quickly to change and shift directions with minimal or no interruption to the project.

What is Scrum?

Scrum is an iterative, incremental and fully scalable Agile process for delivering business-relevant software. It is typically used to manage software development projects, often 'wrapping,' or including engineering practices of other Agile practices such as XP. While Scrums's roles, timeboxes, artifacts and rules are constant, the techniques for applying them vary in different contexts e.g., large-scale or geographically distributed projects. This course teaches both the framework and techniques for its application.

Is this course in line with the Agile Manifesto?

Yes. Published in 2001, the Agile Manifesto forms the foundation for Agile development. Together with the twelve principles of Agile Development, it provides the guidance that distinguishes Agile approaches from "Masterplan" or traditional software development methodologies. Agile is as much a development philosophy as anything else, focusing on customer satisfaction by rapid, continuous delivery of useful software and the close, daily collaboration between the business and the developers. Since the Agile Manifesto is intrinsic to this approach, it is intrinsic to this course. Its principles are woven through every phase of the course and are highlighted to emphasize the relationship between principle and practice, whether you are using Scrum or another Agile method.

How much time is spent on each topic?

How is this course structured?

The course is structured around a dynamic style of learning created by Learning Tree called Reality Plus^TM-an immersive experience that engages you in authentic tasks within a simulated real-world context. Through simulation, role-playing and team-based tasks, you are immersed throughout the course in an evolving scenario where the decisions you make affect the outcome of the simulation. The Reality Plus learning method is presented in a safe environment where you gain new skills and practice the most effective techniques to bring back to your job. At the end of the course, you are prepared to immediately and successfully apply these new skills within your organization.

What kinds of activities does this course include?

Approximately 40 percent of class time is spent in immersive activities. This course is built around an authentic Agile development simulation with Scrum. Experiential activities include:

• Identifying candidates for the Product Owner role
• Simulating a three-iteration project including prioritizing requirements, estimating effort, tracking progress and adjusting plans as required
• Interpreting data to establish the team's velocity and plan accordingly
• Simulating typical scenarios a Scrum Master must handle
• Building the Scrum Team'sd knowledge and experience through Sprint Retrospectives
• Coordinating multiple teams and dealing with feature interdependencies in large projects
• Responding to the concerns of the wider organization raised by the cultural changes implied by Agile adoption

Programming tasks are not included in the activities, but implementation is simulated as closely as possible within the case study.

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

The course is one of a number of Learning Tree courses that address Agile methodologies. In particular, it complements the following courses:

• 933: Introduction to Modern Software Development 

The following courses may also be of interest:

• 340: Project Management for Software Development 
• 218: User and System Requirements for Successful Software Development 

US Dates