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Leading Agile Teams

Solidify the coaching skills to strengthen teamwork and improve the overall results of an organization.

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8-Week Course
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8 Continuing Education Units
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44.75 PDUs
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80 Military Clock Hours

About the Course

The final course of the Certificate in Agile, Leading Agile Teams complements the first two courses and rounds out your Agile expertise with important guidance on team building, change management and other crucial topics.

This eight-week course includes four weeks of instructional content, four weeks of exam prep and an additional 12 weeks of access to a dedicated test preparation classroom.

Prerequisites for this course:

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Curriculum
8 Week Course
Week 1
Scaling Scrum
  • Identify tools and techniques for scaling Scrum
  • Discover techniques and approaches to scale your roles and ceremonies
  • Examine the most common way of scaling teams, known as Scrum of Scrums
  • Employ a framework for setting up a Scrum of Scrums methodology
  • Define Agile scaling patterns to scale the Product Owner
  • Explain how to scale the product backlog
  • Discover how to apply the patterns of scaling ceremonies at the Scrum team level
  • Explore common challenges for distributed teams
Week 2
Scaling Scrum Advanced Topics
  • Identify stakeholders to ensure the requirements gathered are accurate
  • Discuss effective ways to ensure your project is balanced
  • Define how to implement Scrum for multiple Scrum teams
  • Determine if you can locate your entire team into one location
  • Discuss tools of communication for colocated teams
  • Explore how the triple constraint model is used in stakeholder communication
  • Explore effective ways to implement team fixes
  • Examine methods of receiving independent verification
  • Describe contract negotiation within an Agile framework
  • Explain how to engage in effective customer collaboration
  • Discover how to obtain the greatest mutual value between the team and stakeholders
  • Describe contract negotiation within an Agile framework
  • Define the Shu-Ha-Ri method of mastery and continuous improvement
Week 3
Scrum, Kanban, and Advanced Topics
  • Explore the similarities and differences between Scrum and Kanban
  • Describe the importance of self-organizing teams
  • Analyze how Scrum and Kanban use prioritization to increase business value
  • Discover how Scrum and Kanban use transparency to drive process improvement
  • Explore the concept of blending Scrum and Kanban boards
  • Distinguish the difference between being a coach vs. a trainer
  • Explain the mentoring aspect of being an Agile coach
  • Discuss the role of the coach as a teacher, problem solver, conflict navigator, collaboration conductor and facilitator
  • Identify the behaviors that need to be embraced to become and stay Agile
  • Discuss the behaviors Agile PMOs need to embrace and avoid
  • Analyze Agile contracts and how they differ from traditional ones
Week 4
Agile Coaching
  • Explore how the coaching role works in Agile
  • Analyze the culture and leadership needed for Agile to truly work
  • Discover the relationship between leadership and culture
  • Discuss the difficulty of change and how Agile transitions work despite this difficulty
  • Examine what part the coach plays in making Agile transitions successful
Week 5
Advanced Product Owner
  • Explain the importance of the Product Owner in the Scrum process
  • Describe how to plan the backlog
  • Discuss how good grooming supports teams for successful sprints
  • Advocate using the definition of ready and the ready checklist
  • Identify warning signs of projects in trouble
  • Facilitate effective meetings
  • Discuss the importance of organizational alignment in Agile
  • Analyze standard frameworks used to align an organization
  • Discuss how to gather requirements
  • Review the importance of prioritization
  • Explore methods of storing and acting upon requirements once they are gathered
Week 6
Value Management
  • Examine the two levels of focus for value management
  • Discuss the use of value management inherent within Agile
  • Discuss how value management is used within teams
  • Explore the different skills and behaviors involved in value management
  • Recognize the diverse skill sets required to deliver effective value management
  • Explore the roles and organizational structures responsible for seeking value
  • Examine the discovery process within value management
  • Review the benefits of the continuous discovery of value
  • Explain the levels and approaches inherently found in the continuous discovery of value
Week 7
Problem Detection and Resolution
  • Discuss the critical role of problem detection and resolution in successful Agile projects
  • Examine the role of an open and safe environment for successful Agile teams
  • Discuss how the mindset of personal safety and “fail fast” supports risk reduction
  • Discuss the importance of identifying threats as part of initiating the iteration
  • Explain why information radiators play an important role in the issue resolution process
  • Discuss the powerful influence of visualization for threat management
  • Explore why workflow modeling plays an important role in successful issue resolution
  • Define the critical requirements to effectively communicate threat status to stakeholders
Week 8
Continuous Improvement
  • Discuss the power of continuous improvement in successful Agile organizations and projects
  • Describe the power of applying continuous improvement to project processes
  • Evaluate how Agile leverages processes to create tailored, targeted and integrated cultural change
  • Examine how Agile leverages retrospectives and spikes to improve team processes
  • Discuss using the power of Agile to improve product value by reducing IKIWISI
  • Describe how Agile relies on incremental development to acquire important feedback
  • Discuss Agile’s dependence on continued learning for the team
  • Review PMI’s code of ethics and professional conduct
  • Determine why the four values are important to Agile leaders
  • Discuss tips for passing the PMI-ACP® exam
Learning Objectives
Skills Learned
Agile Scrum Team Leadership Project Management Process Improvement Prioritization
What You’ll Study
  • Scaling Scrum Teams for Larger Complex Projects
  • Building Agile Coaching Skills
  • The Many Facets of Value Management
  • Effectively Managing Change
  • Identify the Behaviors That Need to Be Embraced to Become and Stay Agile
  • Analyze the Culture and Leadership Needed for Agile to Work
  • Must-Know Tips for Passing the PMI-ACP® Certification Exam
Related Certificate Programs

Agile & Scrum Master Certification

24 Weeks
3 Courses
$6,059+

Learn to create quality deliverables faster and more efficiently while preparing for Agile and Scrum certification.

Certification Prep
Skills Learned
Agile, Scrum, Lean, Process Improvement, Project Management, Team Leadership
Program Details

Who Should Register

If you’re a professional working in any level of government or in healthcare, finance or other business sectors, you can benefit from earning a Certificate in Agile and the Villanova Professional Certification in Agile designation. The program also helps you prepare for certifications including PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® from PMI and Professional Scrum Master™ (PSM) from Scrum.org. Any organization aiming to increase teamwork and improve overall results is also encouraged to consider this process improvement training for its workforce.

PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) and PMI-ACP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Tuition & Payment

Total Course Cost

$2,495

Request Information

Course offerings and associated prices are subject to change without prior notice. Pricing for multi-course certificate programs varies depending on course selection. View the Professional Education Catalog for more information on the courses and programs.

Payment Options

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