PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) - 1. Defining valuable deliverables

Hi! I recently started a course on Agile Certified Practitioner offered by PMI from LinkedIn learning. I found Agile to be a very effective framework when it comes to different projects, where you fail fast and learn fast. So thought I’d dig more into it and learn about the Agile practices!

The full course can be accessed here

Model agile values

• Learn and adapt as you go.
• You welcome change and focus on short, value-driven delivery cycles
• You learn through discovery
• You continuously deliver so you can obtain feedback and improve your product and processes.
• You empower your customers and teams to maximize efficiency and quality.
• Finally, you encourage others to think and behave in the same way.

Agile Methodologies

• From Agile family members such as Scrum and Extreme Programming, you can be more flexible and adaptable
• Scrum’s three pillars: transparency, provide visibility to the people responsible for the outcome.
  • Work in short, time-boxed iterations known as sprints.
  • The Scrum master, your process owner who’s responsible for ensuring that the Scrum methodology is followed and applied effectively.
  • Backlog refinement or grooming - everyone gathers to discuss new or changed items in the backlog.
  • Sprint planning meetings - everyone gets together to discuss the work items that will be committed to for an upcoming sprint.
  • Daily Scrum, or standup meeting - where all the team members report on what they did the previous day, what they’ll do today, and ask for help when they’re stuck.
  • Sprint review meeting - where the development team, the PO, and Scrum master meet to demo what’s been accomplished in the current sprint.
  • Product Backlog - defined set of the work items needed to be done to deliver the full valuable product, the Sprint backlog, which is a set of the work to be completed in a single Sprint and is therefore, a subset of the product backlog and represents the highest value items first whenever possible.

Create a safe environment

• Creating a safe environment within a team is all about establishing and maintaining trust → an environment where it’s safe to make mistakes
• When issues arise, demonstrate your willingness and ability to address them directly
• Keep every commitment you make and if you can’t keep one, give the earliest possible notice that you can.

Transparency and information radiators

• Regular interactions with your customers are critical to maintaining alignment and building partnerships with them.
• Use information radiators, also known as Big Visible Charts, and make sure your iteration, or sprint commitments, are displayed.
• Sprint burndown chart: to. advertise how you are progressing towards that goal to PO and team to build trust
  • e.g. Sprint burndown chart – how the team Is doing, accomplishing the current goal
  • Product burnup chart – Instead of burning down to a finite commitment, sprint scope is locked for the sprint, this is a burn up to a shifting goal. Here, the backlog will fluctuate as we learn more and our PO makes decisions about what’s most valuable
• By openly sharing this information, both the team and your customers are aware of your progress.
• And when an issue arises, these charts will demonstrate the impact.

Collaboration and self- organized teams

• Three layers:
• Foundational layer: establish a safe environment based upon trust. Then maintain the trust full time -> through video calls and face to face
  • Ask for help and tell the trust if you can’t handle it.
• Collaboration layer: the team works jointly to complete the work. Encourages open communication and highlight the needs
• Self-organising layer: for leaders step back and allow team the freedom to define the right solution to their challenges themselves.