Agile and Fundamentals of Product Ownership Training in St. Louis

Enroll in or hire us to teach our Agile and Fundamentals of Product Ownership class in St. Louis, Missouri by calling us @303.377.6176. Like all HSG classes, Agile and Fundamentals of Product Ownership may be offered either onsite or via instructor led virtual training. Consider looking at our public training schedule to see if it is scheduled: Public Training Classes
Provided there are enough attendees, Agile and Fundamentals of Product Ownership may be taught at one of our local training facilities.
We offer private customized training for groups of 3 or more attendees.

Course Description

 
This course explores the fundamentals of effective Product Ownership on an Agile team. Agile Training course provides extensive knowledge and understanding of the principles of Agile, demonstrates how to use the product backlog as a tool for driving successful product outcomes, instructs in the ways of working in partnership with the development organization, and provides a context for how to affect change across the entire organization.
 
Objectives for Training. Upon successful completion, students will be able to:
 
  • Express the value of the Product Owner role and why it is critical for an Agile team’s success
Describe the responsibilities of the Product Owner role
Leverage techniques for gathering proactive input from stakeholders outside of the Agile team
Develop a shared understanding of vision, goals, and objectives among Agile team members
Articulate the needs of users in the form of User Stories and Acceptance Criteria
Apply multiple approaches for elaborating details about User Stories
Distinguish between prioritization and ordering within the Product Backlog
Represent the team’s forecast and progress using information radiators that manage stakeholder expectations 
Express continued opportunities for improvement, based on insights gained during class
Course Length: 2 Days
Course Tuition: $790 (US)

Prerequisites

Experience in software development, project management, or business or systems analysis is desirable, but not mandatory.

Course Outline

 
1. Iterative Development
The Iterative Philosophy
Structure of a Typical Iteration
The Business Case for Iteration
 
2. Agile Development
Agility – What Does it Mean?
The Agile Manifesto
The 12 Agile Principles
Agile Practices
 
3. The Project
Best Practices
Structure of an Agile Project
Work Products
Project Roles
What are they
Responsibilities of each
Team self-organization
Who should play the roles
Sharing the Vision
Working with Stakeholders
Using a Roadmap
Creating a Release Plan
Project Meetings
 
4. User Stories & Requirements
What is a User Story?
What Does a User Story Look Like?
Where Do User Stories Fit in Scrum?
 
5. Planning an Agile Project
The Product Backlog
Mapping Features to
Product Backlog Items
Writing and working with User Stories
Understanding and creating Acceptance Criteria
Prioritizing your stories
Grooming your Product Backlog
Accepting or Rejecting the work
Identify User Stories from Features
Estimating Effort for User Stories
 
6. Agile Estimation
Story Points & Ideal Days
Estimating Actual Effort
Velocity
Velocity & Actual Time
Estimating with Planning Poker
 
7. Planning a Sprint
Mapping a Sprint Backlog to Tasks
The Spring Planning Meetings
Velocity-driven Planning
Commitment-driven Planning
 
8. Executing a Sprint
The Task Board
The Daily Scrum
Accumulating the Burndown
Team Self-Management
Aborting a Sprint
Finishing Early or Late
Testing with the Sprint
Bugs in an Iteration
Ending the Sprint
Deploying the Software
 
9. Effect on Stakeholders
Business Analysts
Developers
Project Managers
Testers
Documentation Writers
 
10. Scaling
Planning for Dependencies
Planning for Multiple-Team Projects
11. Appendix A – Agile Alternatives
Extreme Programming
Agile Unified Process

Agile/Scrum Uses & Stats

Agile/Scrum is Used For:
Project Management Processes Maintenance Iteration
Difficulty
Popularity
Year Created
2001
Pros

Faster Deployment of Solutions
Because there is a continuous collaboration between stakeholders and teams, the focus on the essentials speed up the delivery process.

Gives Every Team Member a Purpose
People own and are expected to deliver on their responsibilities.

Keeps the End Goal in Mind at Every Level
With the end-goal in mind, teams stay focused and unite in their efforts

Promotes Flexibility in Order to Adapt
Close team and customer contact prompts acceptance of change, and frequent deliverables.

Faster Detection of Issues and Defects
Scrum methodology incorporates daily meetings, which helps to identify problems and resolving them in time.
 

Cons

Can Act As a Band-Aid to Bigger Problems
Agile has been the go to cure-method for larger issues that most of the time organizations are not able to deal with because they don’t have a neutral party to facilitate their corporate patterns, practices, policies and culture.

Can Create a Micro-Managed Environment
Practiced incorrectly, a project manager may not want to give up control and neutralize any real decision making from the team.

Not Everyone Is On Board
Although project teams may be ready for agile development, the rest of the company may not always be easily absorbed within larger more traditional organizations where there are significant amounts of rigidity or flexibility within processes, policies, or teams.

Push for Higher Performance
The push for a higher performance is even more relentless than in traditional, procedural organizations that have rigid processes or operating methods.

Not Well-Suited for Every Project
Agile may not work as intended if a customer is not clear on goals, the project manager or team is inexperienced, or if they do not function well under significant pressure.

Agile/Scrum Job Market
Average Salary
$89,553
Job Count
n/a
Top Job Locations

Agile and SCRUM methodologies are practiced mostly in larger organizations that have cross-platform teams that need to be on the same page. Adoption rates vary in different industries. 

 

Industry                       Agile Adoption Rate

Software (ISV)               23 percent

Financial services          14 percent

Professional services     12 percent

Insurance                        6 percent

Healthcare                      6 percent

Government                    5 percent

Telecoms                         4 percent

Transportation                 4 percent

Manufacturing                 4 percent

Complimentary Skills to have along with Agile/Scrum

Agile Methodologies and Frameworks include:

ASD - DevOps - DAD - DSDM - FDD - IID - Kanban - Lean - SD - LeSS - MDD - MSF - PSP - RAD - RUP - SAFe - Scrum SEMAT TSP UP XP

The Standards and Bodies of Knowledge Include:

BABOK - CMMI - IEEE standards - ISO 9001 - ISO/IEC standards - PMBOK - SWEBOK - ITIL

Interesting Reads Take a class with us and receive a book of your choosing for 50% off MSRP.