Certified ScrumMaster

Agile thinking: In order for us to understand the benefits of Scrum and the nuances behind its framework, we begin with the history of agile methods and how relatively new thoughts in software development have brought us to Scrum.

• How manufacturing has influenced software development
• The origins of agile thinking
• The Agile Manifesto
• The complexity of projects
• Theoretical vs. empirical processes overview
• The “Iron Triangle” of project management

The Scrum framework: Here we'll ensure that we're all working from the same foundational concepts that make up the Scrum framework.

• The different Scrum roles
• Chickens and pigs 
• Iterative and incremental delivery vs. waterfall
• Self-management concepts
• Full disclosure and visibility
• The Scrum framework overview

The ScrumMaster explored: It’s easy to read about the role of the ScrumMaster and gain a better understanding of their responsibilities. The difficulty comes in the actual implementation. Being a ScrumMaster is a hard job, and we’ll talk about the characteristics of a good ScrumMaster that go beyond the overly simplistic and incorrect comparison to a project manager.

• Being a servant leader beyond the development team
• ScrumBut
• Agile facilitation
• Agile coaching

Exercise: The 59-minute Scrum Simulation. This popular exposure to Scrum gets you working on a Scrum Team to deliver a product in just 59 minutes! We’ll add more time as we walk through all the key aspects of the Scrum framework in great detail.

Scrum roles: Who are the different players in the Scrum game? Understanding roles and responsibilities are key to transforming project management into product delivery.

• The team member
• The product owner
• The ScrumMaster
• The "agile manager"

Implementation considerations: Moving beyond Scrum’s foundational concepts, we’ll use this time to dig deeper into the basics of implementing Scrum. We’ll also use this time to begin a discussion of integrity in the marketplace and how this relates to software quality.

• Traditional vs. agile methods overview
• Scrum: the silver bullet?
• The agile skeleton
• A Scrum launch checklist

The Scrum team explored: Since the ScrumMaster is looking to protect the productivity of the team, we must investigate team behaviours so we can be prepared for the various behaviours exhibited by teams of different compositions. We’ll also take a look at some Scrum team variants.

• The agile heart
• Bruce Tuckman’s team life cycle
• Patrick Lencioni’s five dysfunctions of a team
• Team ground rules
• Getting human resources involved
• The impact of project switching
• The Scrum of Scrums
• Large Scale Scrum (LeSS)
• The importance of knowing when software is “done”
• Dispersed team consideration

Exercise: agile estimating and planning. Anyone can plan out the next week or two of work, but how do you plan months of work and maintain your agility? Work with your Scrum team with the agile alternative to traditional estimating and planning that includes decomposition, estimation, and schedule projection.

• Product backlog features
• Relative weighted prioritisation
• User stories
• Relative effort
• Velocity
• Planning poker and story points
• Projecting a schedule
• Why plan in an agile environment

Live long and prosper: Some final recommendations of things to be aware of as you head out into the brave new world of Scrum.

• The ScrumMaster aura
• A day in the life of a ScrumMaster
• Characteristics of a ScrumMaster candidate
• The Importance of listening
• Management’s role as part of a Scrum implementation
• Common sense

Closing topics: We’ll wrap up with direction on where to go next with your Scrum experience, some recommended reading and Scrum reference sites.