Agile For Teams (with Scrum) Training

Agile for Teams with Scrum is about more than simply learning a checklist of practices. Knowing how the tactical aspects of Scrum works are important and included in this class, but understanding why they are valuable creates more lasting value. You will examine the difference between the agile mindset and just “doing an agile routine,” why it matters if you want results, and the types of situations agile works in and why. You will focus on what Scrum means in practice and what good practices are necessary to succeed. You will have the opportunity to work alongside your peers, teammates, and others in your organization who need to work together to deliver results. If you are interested in using Kanban instead of Scrum, please take a look at Agile with Kanban, or contact us for help evaluating which one is a better fit (or if Scrumban – a combination of the two approaches – would work better).

Students work on engaging exercises and a simulation (to keep things fun and interesting) throughout the class. These activities provide opportunities to think and experience Scrum concepts by working on them in small groups. Throughout the course, we dig into real-life situations and tackle tough questions. Our approach is reality-based, and we expect students to push back and challenge concepts that don’t work in their organization. In fact, on the last day of the class, we ask you to bring all of the reasons why Scrum won’t work in your organization! Expect to work in various groups and be engaged throughout the course. We never use slides – so if you planned for a nap, this is the wrong class for you.

What is Scrum

Scrum is an agile framework used to get work done. Scrum works in a variety of situations, but it thrives when either the work or the environment is complex and not as predictable as we would like. Scrum focuses on delivering incrementally in small chunks, to allow us to learn more and adapt, rather than just continuing to deliver things that are no longer needed or perhaps never were.

Scrum is based on the principles of inspection, adaptation, and transparency. These three principles are the foundation to being successful in the face of complexity. Transparency allows people to see issues, challenges, and places that can be improved. Inspection and adaptation focus on continuous learning and improvement. Scrum consists of a number of events, artifacts, jobs to be done, and practices.

This course is designed for anyone who

  • Wants a clear, no-nonsense understanding of how Scrum and agile work and what it will actually take to be successful
  • Is looking for ways to improve how they deliver for customers and how the organization can focus on the right work
  • Wants to get team members more involved in decisions and tap into their knowledge
  • Enjoys learning, challenging themselves, and has an interest in finding ways to improve

Learning Objectives

  • Identify what agile is, why it is useful, and in what contexts in your organization it can have the most impact.
  • Discuss how complexity and empiricism influence our business decisions and our success.
  • Analyze agile principles and values – as well as lean principles – to understand which are most valuable to you and how you could apply them in real life.
  • Learn the differences between doing agile practices and being an agile organization.
  • Practice using Scrum with a simulation where you work as a small team (3-6 people) to create a product.
  • Learn the ins-and-outs of the Scrum events: sprint, sprint planning, daily scrum, sprint review, sprint retrospective.
  • Learn how Scrum artifacts and supporting practices help you be successful as well as tips and tricks for doing them well (product backlog, sprint backlog, sprint goal, product goal, definition of done, definition of ready, product increment, etc.).

  • Understand what each of the three jobs (not titles) in Scrum are, how they work together, what they are accountable for, and what to avoid.
  • Explore why Scrum values mean little without focusing on the behaviors that support them.
  • Discuss true leadership, servant leadership, and what it mean to lead.
  • Uncover the role of the ScrumMaster regarding impediments and how to first ask the team to solve issues then make the costs transparent!
  • Review additional approaches such as facilitation and professional coaching to understand new ways to engage people and teams.
  • Challenge both your instructors and your assumptions by asking the tough questions and bringing up situations where you don’t think Scrum can work for you.
  • Discuss reality. We don’t tell you to “trust us” or include “agile is cool” as a reason to use agile. We EXPECT you to ask hard questions, as long as you are open to digging into the answers. Scrum is NOT a silver-bullet, nor is agile. They still require hard work.

Who Should Attend

This course should be attended by anyone who wants a foundational knowledge of Scrum and what Scrum is in practice. An ideal class consists of groups who share responsibility for delivering some part of the same product or service. A single class can include multiple groups, addressing several products and services. This may consist of teams from IT operations, HR, sales, marketing, customer support, sales, and other groups delivering products and services specific to your organization.

  • Your entire agile team (or soon-to-be team!)
    • For software organizations, this could include architects, business analysts, database administrators, software developers, operations and support, quality assurance testers, usability specialists, stakeholders, etc.
    • For anyone outside of software and IT, this could include any roles, positions, or titles involved in delivering your products (including services). While the role may vary (if you are working on company operations, marketing, finance, talent, research, delivery, sales, procurement, etc.), the most important aspect is that all of the people who are involved in delivering are engaged in the class. 
  • ScrumMasters, agile coaches, product owners, product managers
  • Managers, directors, and others tasked with helping teams succeed with Scrum and agile (because that’s hard to do if you do not understand it!)

What if we want to use agile but are not a software organization? Great! Our classes cover topics, scenarios, and examples we have specifically designed for non-software applications of agile (as well as software ones). We work with clients who use agile outside IT and software, so we build our classes so you don’t have to translate software examples into your domain. This course, Agile with Kanban, Product Owner-Product Management, and our Certified ScrumMaster training were all designed for any organization that wants to use agile, whether they build software or not. Contact us to discuss this course and others and how using an Agile Lean Organization approach can work for any part of an organization.

What to Expect

We take training and learning seriously. We respect the investment of both time and money that you are making to advance your skills. As such, we use the latest training approaches and techniques. We also bring energy and fun to ensure you have the best possible experience and learn as much as possible. In this course, you can expect:

  • Brain-friendly training to dramatically increase learning and retention (instructors are Certified Training from the Back of the Room Trainers).
  • Opportunities throughout the course to focus on your real-world situations.
  • In-depth engagement with your instructors and fellow attendees. If you are looking for a dry lecture (we use zero slides), this class is NOT for you!
  • Interactive, fun, and experiential learning — increasing safety and retention — laughing helps learning.
  • Challenging work with others that focuses on your real organizational issues.

Virtual Training:

  • Our training is currently happening virtually in most cases. We use extremely interactive tools, learning canvases, and methods to boost the fun and learning. If you are looking for in-person training at your location, please contact us to discuss options.
  • We have specifically designed all of our training for live-instructor, virtually led classes. We know there are (still) virtual training skeptics. Some have tried virtual training and just watched piles of videos or listened as people clicked through slides (we never use slides).
  • We work through in-depth and fun (really) exercises throughout the course in small groups.
  • But don’t just take our word for it – we are 100% glad to take you through a live lesson and show you how we teach. If it works for you, great! We can see about moving forward. If not, we can point you to someone that is a better fit based on your needs – no joke!
  • Additionally, we send every student (direct to their home or shipping location) a color, in-depth course workbook and materials. We considered just sending some electronic files, but we have had way too many students reach out to thank us for something “real” in a virtual world.

Details

Length & Level

  • Length: 2 to 2.5-Days + pre-work (contact us for shorter versions that cover an overview of the topics)
  • Level: Introductory to Intermediate (ask about more in-depth versions)

Course Credit

  • 16-20 PMI PDUs
  • 16-20 Scrum Alliance SEUs

Prerequisites

  • An interest in learning and discovering new ideas

Next Steps

Contact us to set up a time to answer your questions or to see a sample of how our virtual training works! Or feel free to download a PDF of the Course Brochure to review or share with someone.

Related Content & Info