Agile Project Management

INTRODUCTION

Agile project management is a method of software development that focuses on quick rollouts from an efficient and flexible team.  Iterations are based on a continuous inflow of feedback, but instead of trying to solve everything in a few updates, a team has shorter phases in the development cycle to cover only a few updates at a time in order to constantly release a steady, elevated level of quality incremental improvements.

Agile was originally developed for the software industry to streamline and improve the development process in an effort to rapidly identify and adjust for issues and defects.  It provides a way for developers and teams to deliver a better product, in a faster manner, through short, iterative, interactive sessions/sprints.  In the era of digital transformation, with many companies migrating to a digital workplace, agile is a perfect fit for organizations looking to transform how they manage projects and operate as a whole.  Agile can help ensure company-wide process and methodological alignment.  In terms of business benefits, both the digital workplace and agile provide:

• Increased flexibility
• Increased productivity
• Increased transparency
• Higher quality deliverables
• Decrease risk of missed objectives
• Increase stakeholder engagement and satisfaction

COURSE OBJECTIVE 

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand Agile Project Management, its values and principles
2. Understand what governance is expected in an Agile Project
3. Be a scrum master
4. Know how to plan & manage an agile project
5. Know about the tools that are available to help manage an Agile Project
6. Be able to apply best practices in agile

COURSE STRUCTURE

Module 1

Agile Project Management & Agile Values & Principles 

• What is Agile Project Management?
• The 4 Values of Agile Manifesto
• Agile Project Management Principles
• The Benefits of Agile
• Advantage of Agile for Project Management
• The Drawbacks of Agile
• Combining Agile with other methodologies
• Popular Agile methodologies
• Agile Project Management & Scrum
• Organizational hurdles to Adopting Agile
• Key Agile Skill

Module 2

Agile Project Management Principles

• Principle 1: Attain customer satisfaction through continuous delivery of software
• Principle 2: Don’t be afraid to make changes
• Principle 3: Deliver working software with a preference to the shorter timescale
• Principle 4: Developers and management must work together
• Principle 5: Build projects around motivated individuals
• Principle 6: Face-to-face interactions are most efficient & effective modes of communication
• Principle 7: Working software is the primary measure of progress
• Principle 8: Agile processes promote sustainable development
• Principle 9: Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility
• Principle 10: Simplicity is essential
• Principle 11: The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams
• Principle 12: Inspect & Adapt
• Begin with the Basics

Module 3

Project Management Overview

• Defining a Project & Its Roles
• Project Constraints
• Project Phases
• Initiating Phase
• Planning Phase
• Executing Phase
• Controlling Phase
• Closing Phase

Module 4

Documentation in an Agile Project

• What kind of documentation are we talking about?
• Best Practices for increasing the agility of documentation
• Best Practices for simplification
• Best Practices to determine what to document
• Best Practices to determine when to document

Module 5

Scrum

• Definition of Scrum
• Uses of Scrum
• Scrum Theory
• Scrum Values
• The Scrum Team
• Scrum Events
• Scrum Artifacts
• Artifact Transparency

Module 6

Agile Management Practices

• Planning and Managing the Project
• Agile Development Release Planning
• Agile Development Sprint Tracking
• Measuring the Velocity of your Agile Scrum Team
• Tracing Agile Development Project Progress

Module 7

Tools to help Support your Agile Management

• Lean and Kanban Software Development
• Extreme Programming (XP)
• Crystal
• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
• Feature-Driven Development (FDD)

Module 8

Agile Programming Best Practices

• Keeping the Code Agile
• Best Practices become Agile Software Programming
• Test-First Programming
• Code Refactoring
• Continuous Integration
• Simple Code Design
• Pair Programming
• Common Code Base
• Agile Coding Standard
• Collaborative Workspace

Module 9

Requirements Analysis and Risk Assessment

• Analyzing Project Requirements
• Analyzing Program Requirements
• Analyzing Business and Functional Requirements
• Understanding Risk Assessment

Module 10

Creating a Project Plan

• Understanding the Basics of a Project Management Plan
• Developing a Project Schedule
• Estimating Costs
• Understanding Quality Management

Module 11

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in an Agile Project

• Planning the Iteration
• Creating a workable WBS
• Setting Milestones
• Finalizing Project Plan Components
• Developing the Project Plan steps and closing out the planning phase

Module 12

Managing Budgets, Schedules and Estimates

• Managing the Project Budget
• Managing the Project Schedule
• Estimate-Tracking Basics

Module 13

Controlling the Project

• Tracking an Active Project
• Managing and Documenting Budget Overruns
• Managing Project Delays
• Managing Waffling Project Sponsors
• Managing Schedule Overruns

Module 14

Change Control

• Managing Scope Deviations
• Managing Change Control
• Managing Scope Creep

Module 15

Managing Quality

• Understanding of How to Manage Quality
• Testing
• Turnover
• Helping to Meet or Exceed Expected Outcomes

Module 16

Project Closure

• Collecting Project Metrics
• Conducting a Review Process
• Preparing a Written Finalized Project Assessment Report
• Sign-Off