ICAgile - Agile Fundamentals (ICP) Training

The purpose of this highly immersive, two-day course is to help delegates to understand the principles of Agile and in particular, Scrum. They will work in teams to produce a piece of work over a series of sprints. In addition to understanding the rules of Scrum, the team will also appreciate how Scrum can be blended with other complementary practices such as Kanban. Students will experience the value of cross-functional teams and the benefits that agile frameworks such as Scrum provide.

In order to succeed with agile, teams and organisations should focus first on “being agile” as a foundation for success in “doing agile.” ICAgile's fundamentals learning objectives delve into key concepts such as adaptive planning, value-driven development, team collaboration and frequent feedback for continuous improvement. The course also covers the history of agile, the agile manifesto, the agile principles, and some widely applied frameworks and practices. Delegates come away with a solid understanding of core concepts as they prepare to embark on their agile journey.

This course is suitable for anyone with no prior knowledge of agile who is considering, evaluating or involved in a move towards working in (or with) an agile team.

Pre Course Reading

Delegates should be familiar with the content and rationale in the agile manifesto (http://agilemanifesto.org/) and the Scrum Guide (http://scrumguides.org/).

Accreditation

By the end of this course, delegates will have participated in a number of team-based activities and demonstrated an understanding of agile sufficient to be awarded the ICAgile Certified professional - ICP certificate.

Upon earning this certification, the delegates will understand the history of agile, the importance of “being” as well as “doing” agile, key aspects of value-driven development, adaptive planning techniques, and how to cultivate collaboration with customers, within organisations and within teams. Delegates will also have gained the vocabulary to discuss the benefits of agile and how to avoid common pitfalls with fellow agile practitioners. In addition, accredited ICP courses focus on helping the participant understand the value of continuous feedback, learning, and adaptation for products, processes, teams, and organisations.

As a result of participating in the course, delegates will be able to answer the following questions:

• What is agile?
• What are the benefits of using agile?
• What are the values and principals of agile?
• What is Scrum?
• What are the Scrum events, roles, artefacts and values?
• What is Kanban?
• How do Scrum and Kanban differ?
• Can agile teams use a combination of agile frameworks and methods?
• How can agile teams estimate effectively?

Agile Overview

• The origins of Agile and the problems it was created to address
• Traditional (predictive) approaches compared with Agile (adaptive) ways of working
• Overview of common Agile frameworks and practices
• Understanding the difference between being Agile and doing Agile

Agile Values, Principles and Mindset

• The Agile Manifesto values and what they mean in practice
• The twelve Agile principles and how they influence behaviour and decisionmaking
• Characteristics of an Agile mindset
• Applying Agile values and principles in different organisational contexts

ValueDriven Development

• Understanding value from both customer and business perspectives
• Delivering value incrementally and iteratively
• Prioritising work to maximise outcomes
• The role of feedback in improving value delivery

Customer Collaboration

• The importance of early and frequent customer involvement
• Techniques for incorporating customer and stakeholder feedback
• Building shared understanding with customers and users
• Balancing stakeholder needs with team focus

Introduction to Scrum

• Overview of Scrum and its purpose
• Scrum roles and accountabilities
• Scrum events and why they exist
• Scrum artefacts and transparency
• Experiencing Scrum through teambased activities

Agile Planning and Adaptation

• Adaptive planning versus detailed upfront planning
• Planning at different horizons
• Managing changing requirements effectively
• Using inspection and adaptation to respond to change

FlowBased Working and Kanban

• Introduction to flow and workinprogress (WIP)
• Key Kanban principles and practices
• Comparing Scrum and Kanban
• Blending Scrum with complementary practices

Team Collaboration and Continuous Improvement

• The importance of crossfunctional teams
• Collaboration, communication and trust in Agile teams
• Continuous improvement through feedback and reflection
• Using retrospectives to improve ways of working

Applying Agile in the Workplace

• Common challenges when adopting Agile
• Applying Agile beyond software delivery
• Practical next steps for individuals and teams
• Preparing for further Agile learning and development

QA reserves the right to improve the specification and format of its courses for the benefit of its customers without notice to the customer.

Certification

Certification is gained through attendance and full participation throughout the event. The trainer will ask for an email address to be passed to ICAgile so that an electronic questionnaire about the event can be provided. Filling in this questionnaire is a prerequisite to receiving your accreditation.