BCS Agile Foundation Certificate Training in Kazakhstan

BCS Agile Foundation Certificate is a two-day foundation-level certification course designed for professionals who want a structured understanding of Agile values, principles, roles, techniques and common ways of working.

Agile has become widely adopted as organisations seek to respond to change more effectively, reduce time to market, minimise unnecessary work and remain closely aligned with customer needs. Agile, however, is more than a collection of meetings or techniques. Compared with traditional Waterfall approaches, it introduces a broader way of thinking about teamwork, customer involvement, product development and response to change.

The course begins with the Agile Manifesto and explores empirical working, Agile culture, team roles and frequently used techniques and practices. Participants are also introduced at a high level to approaches including Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), DSDM Atern, Kanban, Lean Software Development and Lean Startup.

Rather than training participants to implement one specific Agile methodology, the programme establishes the broad foundation required to understand Agile across different environments.

There are no mandatory experience requirements.

Previous experience as part of a project team—for example as a tester, business analyst, software developer, project manager or release manager—can be helpful, but is not required.

This course is particularly suitable for:

• Professionals seeking a foundation-level understanding of Agile
• Individuals beginning to work in Agile environments
• Leaders and managers who want to understand the organisational value of Agile
• Project, product and software development team members
• Professionals seeking to understand the differences between traditional and Agile ways of working
• Candidates preparing for the BCS Agile Foundation Certificate

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Recall the origins and development of Agile methods
• Understand and apply the core values and principles associated with Agile
• Distinguish between defined processes and empirical processes
• Explain issues commonly associated with traditional Waterfall approaches
• Recognise common myths surrounding Agile
• Understand empirical approaches to improvement and change
• Explain the business culture and economic case supporting Agile
• Recognise the implications of Agile practices for individuals, teams and organisations
• Explain how customers are engaged within Agile projects
• Understand how Agile teams respond to changing requirements
• Describe common Agile roles, techniques and practices

1. The Agile Manifesto

Explore the foundations that underpin Agile thinking.

• The four Agile values
• The twelve Agile principles
• Understanding the intent behind the values and principles

2. Rationale and Benefits of Agile

Examine why Agile emerged and how it differs from traditional approaches.

• History of Agile
• Empirical and defined processes
• Pillars of the empirical process
• The Waterfall approach
• The Iron Triangle of project constraints
• Working with uncertainty and volatility
• Common Agile myths
• Empirical models for improvement and change
• Business culture and Agile
• The economic case for Agile
• Product development lifecycles

3. Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools

Explore the importance of people, collaboration and team organisation.

• Motivated and talented individuals
• Self-organising teams
• Emergent design
• Effective team interaction

4. Working Systems over Comprehensive Documentation

Consider the balance between documentation and delivering usable results.

• Satisfying customers through continuous delivery of value
• Delivering working systems frequently
• Working systems as a measure of progress
• Technical excellence
• Good design

5. Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation

Understand the role of active customer and business involvement.

• Business people and developers working together
• Customer engagement
• Face-to-face communication
• Regular reflection and adjustment

6. Responding to Change over Following a Plan

Explore how Agile approaches uncertainty and evolving requirements.

• Embracing change
• Sustainable pace
• Responding to changing needs
• Simplicity
• Maximising the amount of work not done

7. Common Agile Roles

Review key responsibilities found within Agile environments.

• The Customer
• The Team
• The Agile Leader
• Stakeholders
• The Agile Mindset

8. Common Agile Techniques

Explore practical techniques used to describe, prioritise, estimate and validate work.

• User Stories
• Acceptance Criteria and Scenarios
• MoSCoW Prioritisation
• Story Point estimation
• Agile quality assurance
• Agile testing

9. Common Agile Practices

Examine practices that encourage transparency, feedback and continuous improvement.

• Short feedback loops
• Focus on quality
• Emergent documentation
• Visual boards
• Team synchronisation meetings
• Show and Tells
• Retrospectives
• Continuous improvement

10. Relevant Methods and Approaches for Agile Teams

The course concludes with a high-level introduction to several established Agile approaches.

• Scrum
• XP — Extreme Programming
• DSDM Atern
• Kanban
• Lean Software Development
• Lean Startup

The objective is not to develop implementation expertise in one particular method, but to understand how these approaches relate to the wider Agile landscape.