Introduction to Agile

About This Course

Grasp the concepts, principles and methods of Agile development and become empowered to execute on your plans for incorporating Agile practices and techniques into your organization. This workshop will give you the foundation of knowledge and experience you need to begin. It is a starting point for you to acquire the techniques, skills and tools that enable you to build Agile discipline.

In addition to defining Agile principles, we will cover the advantages and disadvantages of Agile development. Get first-hand experience by organizing and participating in an Agile team. Put the concepts you learn to practice instantly in the classroom project. Understand and learn how to take advantage of the opportunities for Agile. Finally gain an understanding and practice the collaboration and communication needed between customer and developers for Agile to succeed. Agile methods include Scrum, Extreme Programming, AgileUP, Feature Driven Development, Lean Development, and the Dynamic Systems Development Method.

Course Audience

• Project Managers
• Program Managers
• Analysts
• Developers
• Programmers
• Testers
• IT Manager/Directors
• Software Engineers
• Software Architects
• Customers/Stakeholders
• Product Managers

Course Objectives

• This information packed course will expose you to an array of ideas, techniques, tools and practices that you can incorporate immediately — all offered to help you successfully integrate Agile development techniques into your SDLC.
• Appreciate the history of Agile and how the collection of principles and practices came together to enable customer success
• Examine Agile methods, including: Scrum, Extreme Programming, AgileUP, Feature Driven Development, Lean Development and DSDM
• Draw best practices from the various methodologies that will contribute to your team success
• Talk the talk: learning the Agile terminology, roles and forums with their context
• Walk through the processes that support Agile principles to enable the delivery of great products
• Begin to map the transition of your existing team or enterprise-level processes, artifacts and forums to Agile
• Discover the power of Agile teams through communication, collaboration and cadence
• Uncover the pitfalls that teams will encounter in an Agile transition and understand how to overcome those challenges
• Lay the foundation upon which you can build a learning team and organization

 *Delivered by ASPE, ICAgile Member Organization

Course Outline

I. Agile Overview — In this section we will explore the motivating factors for teams adopting Agile practices.  Further we will examine the various Agile methods and the principles and practices they embrace.  Agile success with real-world examples across many industries will be shared to highlight the benefits that Agile can bring to teams.  Finally, we will explore the power behind Agile teams and how they differ from traditional project teams.

1. What is Agile?
2. Agile Methods — Principles and Practices
3. Agile Benefits — what you can expect
4. Why Agile works
5. Agile Teams

Exercise: Understanding the Agile Team — in this exercise we will explore the unique factors of why Agile teams work and learn to recognize the key factors for successful Agile implementation.

II. Agile Basics & Practices — In this section we will establish a foundation of the basic roles, artifacts and forums utilized by Agile teams. Agile terminology will be reviewed and we will review the complete “process” or framework which Agile teams utilize to achieve success. For many teams, Agile merely means having Daily Stand-up Meetings and conducting a Retrospective every two weeks… but this is far from truly being Agile.

1. User Roles and Personas
2. Definition of Agile Methods
3. Agile Practices
4. Sprinting: Agile Practices in Motion
5. Product vision, roadmap and planning
6. Product Backlog and User Stories
7. Prioritization techniques
8. Relative Estimating
9. Agile's iterative approach

Exercise: Transition to an iterative approach — teams will engage in a fun exercise that will highlight the benefits behind why iterations work.

III. Becoming Agile — In this section, we will review the information you need to know to begin your journey to “Becoming Agile.” Many organizations/teams try to implement Agile without knowing the roadblocks they will face and what it takes to become an Agile team. In this section of the course, you will cover key focus areas to becoming successful with Agile:

1. The Top 10 Agile Myths How to “Become Agile”
2. Ten Pitfalls when Implementing Agile Setting your Course Forward

Exercise: Working through Roadblocks — As with any implementation, the implementation process itself should not be a distraction. So it is with the implementation of Agile in a development environment. In order to achieve that desired state of agility, a plan is needed, team members must know what to expect, and how you plan to get there. This exercise will help you understand the roadblocks you must faces — and how to address them — as you move forward with your Agile implementation.