Adopting An Agile Approach To Project Management
Tags: PMI-ACP
Agile Certified Practitioner Certification Program (PMI-ACP) - Course 2 of 8 - Adopting an Agile Approach
Last updated 2022-01-10 | 4.4
- understand agile project management- determine whether your organization should adopt agile practices
- identify factors to consider when deciding whether to adopt agile practices
What you'll learn
* Requirements
* project management basic knowledge is desirable* but not absolutely necessary
Description
This course provides guidance on how to take steps towards adopting an agile project management approach for those who currently use a traditional, plan-driven methodology.
It discusses some common myths and misconceptions about agile development approaches, identifies factors to consider when deciding whether to adopt agile practices, and explains the general agile practices that a company may want to adopt.
The Adopting an Agile Approach to Project Management Course provides project leaders with general guidelines on how to develop an agile way of thinking, one of the first steps in transitioning a team. The course also looks at some guidelines for obtaining buy-in from organizational stakeholders so they also embrace agile practices.
Adopting an Agile Approach to Project Management is intended for project managers, program managers, or anyone who wants to efficiently participate in projects that experience frequent change in the project requirements.
After completing this topic, you will be able to:
- understand and correct common misconceptions about agile project management;
- determine whether your organization should adopt agile practices;
- identify factors to consider when deciding whether to adopt agile practices; and
- recognize and apply the key principles of agile practices.
You will be also able to:
- develop and champion an agile mindset; and
- facilitate the buy-in of stakeholders in implementing agile practices.
The course duration is not more than 3 hours and you will have video lectures, written materials, quizzes, examples and exercises, to lear and practice, but also a small optional course project if you are interested in getting the most out of this course.
Thank you for considering my course. If you are interested, please register now. Or, just try some sample videos and make a decision after you have a better picture.
Who this course is for:
- Managers and members of project teams who currently use or plan to adopt agile techniques
- All interested in learning about project management and agile project management practices
- aligned with the Agile Certified Practitioner exam objectives developed by the Project Management Institute® and Certified ScrumMaster learning objectives
- will entitle you to claim 5 PDU’s for the PMI certification exams and to maintain your PMI certification
Course content
8 sections • 54 lectures
Course Overview Preview 03:06
Wise project leaders are able to examine their own situations and determine which agile practices to adopt given the nature of their projects, organizations, and teams.
Program Overview Preview 10:26
This video will help you understand better the content of the other courses that will form this Agile Project Management - The PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner) Certification Program.
Course Guidelines Preview 03:23
Practical advice on using Udemy for a better learning experience
Introduction
Learning, objectives, course content, course structure and course delivery.
The Agile Manifesto and Agile Principles Preview 00:01
The Agile Manifesto
Common Misconceptions about Agile Preview 02:37
Organizations across the world are using agile project management to get superior results. But this doesn't mean that the move from traditional to agile project management will be easy. One of the main challenges is overcoming the various myths and misconceptions about what an agile approach involves.
Combining Traditional and Agile Models Preview 05:10
The approach you adopt doesn't have to be purely agile or purely traditional. Instead of viewing different project management methodologies as black and white, you should view them as points along a continuum, with many shades of gray.
Contrasting Historical Project Management with Agile Project Management Preview 00:00
Contrasting Historical Project Management with Agile Project Management
Agile Documentation Preview 04:37
Agile development requires just enough documentation. Creating unnecessary documentation is considered a waste of valuable development time.
Identifying Useful Documentation Preview 00:18
Identifying Useful Documentation
Applications for Agile Preview 03:31
Although agile methodologies were first geared towards software development projects, they're not just development methodologies. Instead they're project management methodologies.
Agile Project Planning Preview 04:31
Planning in Agile looks very different. In agile development, there's no work breakdown structure or time-phased and resource-assigned task list. Instead Agile uses just-in-time planning.
Agile Project Management Preview 01:50
Various misconceptions about agile methodologies may prevent or hinder their adoption. Learn agile project management to apply it effectively.
Understanding Agile Project Management
Learn agile project management and correct common misconceptions.
Factors to Consider Preview 01:28
Using an agile methodology may have a tremendous impact on a project. It can shorten development cycles, improve quality and efficiency, lower costs, and result in better customer satisfaction.
Alignment of the agile transition team Preview 00:06
Alignment of the agile transition team
Project Type Preview 06:37
Some project types are more suitable for agile development than others. An agile approach is especially suitable when a project is characterized by a high level of internal uncertainty, a scope that isn't well- defined at the start of a project, and a product that benefits from ongoing customer feedback.
Organizational Structure and Culture Preview 07:21
The structure of an organization is one of the key factors that determines how easily it will be able to transition into using an agile methodology.
Agile Pain Points and Troubleshooting Possibilities Preview 00:01
Agile Pain Points and Troubleshooting Possibilities
Existing Processes and the Team Preview 05:26
The nature of the existing project management processes in an organization will help determine how easily a team can adapt to using an agile methodology. Generally, the more flexible and informal these processes are, the easier a team will find the transition.
Industry and Customer Preview 05:59
The nature of your organization's industry is an external factor that may affect the suitability of an agile approach. Industries that are relatively stable tend to focus on updating or improving products that have already been tried and tested. They have a steady customer base and know their product and competition.
Adopting Agile Practices Preview 04:27
Which characteristics indicate that agile practices may be appropriate for this company and project?
Application of Agile in PMBOK Knowledge Areas Preview 00:01
Application of Agile in PMBOK Knowledge Areas
When to Adopt Agile Practices
Determine whether your organization should adopt agile practices and identify factors to consider when deciding whether to adopt agile practices.
General Agile Practices Preview 01:55
It's not always appropriate to adopt a fully agile approach to project management. Organizations might not be ready to commit to the level of change and training that this requires.
Requirements Definition Preview 06:02
Different agile methodologies use different techniques for defining requirements, and project teams may customize these to suit their needs.
Iterative Development Preview 05:28
Another general agile practice you can adopt is iterative development with incremental delivery. Instead of completing all project work and then delivering the result to the customer for review, you focus on completing regular, short bursts of work and delivering the results to the customer at the end of each cycle.
Team and Customer Communication Preview 05:24
A final agile practice that can benefit most organizations and projects is frequent, open communication among project team members, and between the team and the project customer.
Agile Practices for Initial Adoption
Recognize the key principles of agile practices.
Lean Principles Preview 08:02
Agile methodologies don't generally prescribe exactly how you should manage a project. Instead they define principles that you can interpret and implement in your own way. By introducing these principles gradually into your workplace, you can transform the way your project teams operate.
Using Additional Agile Principles Preview 09:33
Although lean principles can form the basis of an agile mindset and are generally easy to implement, they're not the only core principles used in an agile approach. Once you've introduced these principles and your team is familiar with them, you can begin introducing other agile principles.
Developing an Agile Mindset
Understand the principles behind an agile mindset.
Getting Buy-in from Stakeholders Preview 03:05
An important step in the process of adopting agile practices is to obtain buy-in from stakeholders in your organization. Switching from a traditional approach to project management to an agile one involves making significant changes – and change can be difficult for people to accept.
Communicating the Need for Change Preview 05:36
When communicating the need for change to stakeholders, you should focus on explaining the weaknesses of the traditional – or waterfall – model your organization currently uses.
Explaining Benefits Preview 06:05
The next step in convincing others of the need to move from a traditional approach to a more agile one is to explain the potential benefits for the organization. When doing this, you can focus on three main benefits – reduced risk, improved control, and improved communications.
Agile Practices Statistics Preview 00:22
Statistics that prove the effectiveness of Agile practices to review some statistics you can use when explaining the benefits of adopting an agile approach.
Explaining Risks Preview 04:51
When you tell stakeholders about agile project management, you should be open about the risks or pitfalls involved. This gives the message that you're not trying to convince them to use agile practices, but that the organization's interests are a priority and that you want them to make an informed decision.
Getting Stakeholders to Adopt Agile
Obtain buy-in from stakeholders to implement agile practices.
Course Project (Optional) Preview 00:35
A project covering the main steps in adopting agile project management.
Adopting Agile Management Preview 00:54
Course wrap-up, learning objectives review and next steps.
Next Steps
Course project and conclusions.
Section Overview Preview 02:10
This course covers the key exam concepts of Kanban, work in progress or WIP, lead time, cycle time, and Little's Law. You'll also learn about Agile Team Spaces, sharing the product vision, and identifying and reducing defects.
Waste Types Preview 05:51
In Lean project management waste, or the Japanese term Muda, is defined as any activity or process that doesn't add value to a product but does add cost. Lean's original Seven Forms of Waste include transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, overprocessing, overproduction, and defects. The new eighth form of waste is skills or non-utilized talent.
The Kanban Pull System Preview 06:14
In a Pull-based system, the customer demand creates what is called pull. Production or development relies on pull rather than on complicated market forecast to determine how many products to deliver.
Kanban Boards Preview 05:36
A Kanban board is a tool that agile teams often use to visualize workflow through a system. While Kanban principles are often used in IT and software development, they can be helpful in any industry.
Determining Lead Time and Cycle Time Preview 05:59
In lean project management, one of the key concepts is process improvement. Lead time and cycle time are two important metrics that help determine how lean a process is. In other words, how much of the time dedicated to creating a product is value added.
Process Cycle Efficiency Preview 06:53
Lean manufacturing is a management philosophy that focuses on reducing waste and implementing a flow-based production line rather than a batch and queue method. It's aimed at reducing costs and improving overall customer value.
Little's Law Preview 07:17
In order to maintain a stable process with minimal chaos organizations should attempt to minimize work in progress or WIP in their processes. One way to do this is by setting WIP limits. WIP limits help to reduce bottlenecks, improve the rate of throughput, and control the workload levels of project team members.
Communicating the Product Vision Preview 06:03
Stakeholder engagement is a fundamental part of project management. It's important to be able to express the product vision to stakeholders in order to gain support in common understanding about the product requirements. The product owner often collaborates with other key stakeholders to develop a product vision.
Defining the Agile Team's Physical Space Preview 06:01
With today's modern technology there are a variety of tools to bring teams together virtually.
Exercise - Key Agile Exam concepts Preview 05:09
Agile teams achieve efficiency by leveraging many of the tools from Lean Management, but also by valuing individuals and interactions.
In this exercise, you'll demonstrate that you can identify characteristics of waste recognize the relationship between PCE variables identify characteristics of Agile environments
Agile Key Exam Concepts Preview 01:52
This course covers the key exam concepts of Kanban, work in progress or WIP, lead time, cycle time, and Little's Law. You'll also learn about Agile Team Spaces, sharing the product vision, and identifying and reducing defects.
Agile Key Exam Concepts
This course covers the key exam concepts of Kanban, work in progress or WIP, lead time, cycle time, and Little's Law. You'll also learn about Agile Team Spaces, sharing the product vision, and identifying and reducing defects.
Bonus Lecture Preview 00:05
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