Agile Project Management Fundamentals for Non-Technical Projects and Teams

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

OVERVIEW

Agile, when you look it up, shows two definitions, one “able to move quickly and easily’ and the other “relating to or denoting a method of project management, used especially for software development, that is characterized by the division of tasks into short phases of work and frequent reassessment and adaptation of plans.”

It is a time boxed, iterative approach to software delivery that builds software incrementally from the start of the project instead of trying to deliver it all at once near the end.

Agile has been a buzzword in today’s fast paced, uncertain and complex environment and although Agile was created with software development in mind, its success has stirred a lot of interest in employing agile in different fields. Hence, more non-technical and non-IT practitioners have started adopting the Agile framework in the execution of their projects.

DESCRIPTION

This 2-day course will provide guidance on how Agile can be used by non-technical teams, including how it differs from traditional project management. There will be a discussion of the Agile Manifesto as well as an overview of the Scrum management framework. Through practical learning activities, demo workshop and case studies, the learners will be provided with skills, principles, concept and tools that they can use to implement applicable Agile practices in their current or future projects.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

  1. Learn and experience the Agile Project Management methodology and practices to improve the execution of your projects.
  2. Learn and understand Scrum and how Scrum applies to Agile practices
  3. Learn some tools used in the Agile Project Management approach and apply those that are relevant to your work.
  4. Identify scenarios where Agile Project Management approach is suitable to be applied within your teams and projects.

LEARNER’S BENEFIT

By the end of the training, learners will be able to:

  1. Break tasks into manageable size and focus on outcome instead of output
  2. Make work visible and be able to track progressProduct and Process Knowledge
  3. Understand how to implement and manage changeReinforcement
  4. Work in a self-organizing team that can manage daily meetings to identify accomplishments, plans and obstacles
  5. Eliminate waste and come up with continuous improvement plans

TARGET AUDIENCE

This course is for non-technical, non-software development practitioners who are responsible for managing, leading, coordinating, and working on different projects and would like to have experience or knowledge of practical and formal Agile Project Management methods such as:

Architects and Site Engineers

Business Development Managers, Business Planning Coordinators, Business Analysts

Risk Managers, Project and Program Managers

Data Center, Network, and System Administrators

Technical Service and Support staff

LEARNING OUTLINE

Module 1: What is Agile and Agile Project Management?

Agile History

Agile Project Management

Agile Methodologies for non-IT teams and projects

Agile Manifesto Mapping Agile Roles to Traditional Roles

Agile Stages:

Product Vision

Road Map

Release Plan

Sprint Planning

Daily Meetings

Sprint Review

Sprint Retrospective

What should Retrospectives Consider?

Activity 1: Identifying Organizational Challenges


Module 2: Plan-Do-Act-Check (PDCA) Process

Types of Waste at work

What is PDCA?

PLAN: Develop an Action Plan

DO: Implementing Solutions

CHECK: Validation of Results

ADJUST/ACT: Make necessary Adjustments

When to use PDCA?

Activity 2: Identifying and categorizing the types of wastes in the workplace


Module 3: Developing an Agile Mindset for Non-Technical Teams

Definition of an Agile Mindset

Positive Attitude

Thirst for knowledge

Goal of team success

Pragmatism

Willingness to fail


Module 4: Planning the Adoption of Agile Practices

When to adopt Agile Practices

Transitioning to Agile

Sharing the Vision

Organizational Management

Change and Transition Management

Implementing the Change

Activity 3: Drafting a high-level roadmap for your Team/Organization


Module 5: Agile Tools and Retrospective Exercises for the Team

Effective Team Retrospectives

Using Meister Task and Mind Meister tools

DEMO: Meister Task and Mind Meister online tools

Activity 4: Sensei Retrospective online tool


Module 6: Agile Monitoring and Controlling Using DMAIC

Tracking Quality and Efficiency

Tools and Techniques in staying Agile

DEMO: Burndown and Burnup charts

Activity 5: Plotting a team Burndown chart


Module 7: Agile Best Practices


Module 8: Training Summary

What have you learned?

OUR PARTNER’S PROFILE

  • Certified Scrum Trainer (STAC), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP),
  • Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Product Owner (CSPO),
  • Lean-Agile Project Manager, Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP),
  • Over 5 years practicing Agile Project Management and Scrum Methodologies, Change Management, and Process Improvements,
  • Over 15 years in Software Development, Technical Project Management and Consultancy, Software Design and Architecture, Managing IT Teams for companies based locally and overseas.

UPCOMING PUBLIC TRAINING SCHEDULE

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