Applying Agile / Scrum Practices in your Organisation

Course details

Scrum is an agile approach to software development. Rather than a full process or methodology, it is a framework. So instead of providing complete, detailed descriptions of how everything is to be done on the project, much is left up to the software development team. This is done because the team will know best how to solve the problem they are presented. This is why, for example, a sprint planning meeting is described in terms of the desired outcome (a commitment to a set of features to be developed in the next sprint) instead of a set of Entry criteria, Task definitions, Validation criteria, and Exit criteria (ETVX) as would be provided in most methodologies.

Scrum relies on a self-organising, cross-functional team. The scrum team is self-organising in that there is no overall team leader who decides which person will do which task or how a problem will be solved. Those are issues that are decided by the team as a whole. The scrum team is cross-functional so that everyone necessary to take a feature from idea to implementation is involved. This course intends to examine and present the dynamics of Scrum Master and the roles involved in working with Scrum.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course the learner will have everything necessary to guide the Scrum team. This will include how to establish and maintain a backlog and understand the roles and artefacts involved with Scrum. Real-world organisational challenges such as managing distributed teams, managing large or multiple projects, release planning, and metrics are also covered.

Course Programme

Session 1: - History of Scrum

• Overview of Scrum Master versus Project Manager
• Focus in on Waterfall versus Agile

Session 2: - Transition to Scrum

• How to use Scrum in IT – A Case-Study
• The Business Case for Scrum
• Scrum as an Agile Management Practice – How to manage the Sprint using Scrum

Session 3: - Agile Project Management – Principles & Practices

• Agile Manifesto & Basic Principles
• Introduce Agile model – Envision, Speculate, Explore Adapt, Close
• Simulation and Exploration of Agile in Practice

Session 4: - Practice of Agile

• Overview of XP core engineering practices
• XP planning aspects - Story based requirements
• Story based requirements & card based planning
• Agile estimation - Relative sizing / story points, velocity, wide band Delphi, planning poker
• Velocity – based estimation & planning
• Planning Game (for release and iteration planning)
• Agile Burn down / up charts
• Managing Agile – Definition of done

Session 5: - Role / Ceremonies and Artefacts

• The Roles in Scrum
• Sprints Planning, Daily Scrums, Sprint Reviews and Retrospectives
• Managing the Backlog

Session 6: - Using Scrum in an Agile Practice

• Practising Scrum in an Agile Environment