Planning and Monitoring Iterations in Agile Projects


Overview/Description
Target Audience
Prerequisites
Expected Duration
Lesson Objectives
Course Number

Overview/Description
Agile projects are characterized by the use of short work iterations and incremental development of products, made possible by focusing on business priorities and customer value. This course focuses on the activities performed during the planning and execution of a project iteration, or sprint. During release planning - the previous phase in the overall Agile planning process - the team creates an ordered list of project features in the form of the product backlog. Iteration planning is the process of creating an iteration (sprint) backlog that contains more specific detail regarding work items that have been assigned to the upcoming iteration. This course provides a look at the iteration planning process and the creation of the iteration backlog. It also explores how to create a schedule and use principles of buffering. The course goes on to cover key tools and methods used by Agile teams to monitor and report project progress, both at the iteration level and at the overall project or release level. It also covers Agile risk management, testing quality processes and continuous integration. This course is aligned with the Agile Certified Practitioner exam objectives developed by the Project Management Institute®.

Target Audience
Managers and members of project teams who currently use or plan to adopt Agile techniques

Prerequisites
None

Expected Duration (hours)
1.9

Lesson Objectives

Planning and Monitoring Iterations in Agile Projects

  • start the course
  • identify the main considerations for Agile iteration planning
  • identify the main activities in Agile iteration planning
  • identify the steps in creating an iteration backlog
  • describe the process of breaking up Agile stories into tasks
  • describe the process of estimating the duration of Agile tasks
  • describe the use of work in progress (WIP) limits in an Agile project
  • identify the types of Agile scheduling buffers
  • describe how to calculate a buffer for an Agile project
  • describe the considerations for iteration planning for complex projects
  • describe how to monitor iteration progress with daily standups
  • describe the purpose of backlog grooming and the role of backlog grooming meetings
  • identify how Agile release plans may need to be updated during and after iterations
  • describe the tools that can be used to chart iteration and project release information
  • describe how to measure earned value management (EVM) and use Agile KPIs for an Agile project
  • describe the purpose of retrospective meetings at the end of iterations
  • describe how the five whys can be used for root cause analysis in retrospective and describe its limitations in Agile projects
  • describe the use of fishbone diagram analysis for root cause analysis in Agile projects
  • describe Agile product feedback loops
  • describe risk management in Agile iterations
  • describe the use of pre-mortems to avoid potential problems occurring in Agile projects
  • describe the use of variance and trend analysis to assess an iterations
  • describe how introspectives can be used periodically to assess current state and steps for improvement
  • describe the use of value stream mapping in Agile projects
  • identify the Agile quality processes used throughout development
  • describe how testing is incorporated into Agile development
  • describe how continuous integration is used in Agile projects
  • identify the considerations for planning and monitoring iterations in an Agile project

    • Course Number:
    ib_apmf_a03_it_enus