by: Tom McGraw, CSM – ASPE Training Advisor, Team Lead

A: With the variety of ‘flavors’ of Agile available, the numerous certifications, and the multiple certifying bodies it can be quite difficult for someone relatively new to Agile to find the best place to start.

When considering your starting points for Agile, there are a couple of important questions to consider that will help you to make the best possible decision.

Are you interested in an Agile certification, or skills-based training only?

If you are interested in receiving a certification, the Scrum Alliance provides a foundation-level Agile designation for anyone who attends the Certified Scrum Master Workshop.  The two day class teaches everything you need to pass the assessment and receive the certification.  This is a great class to introduce you to Agile/Scrum terms and techniques through hands-on training, in addition to providing you with the ‘CSM’ credential.

If certification is not necessary, or would not add additional value to you, then you can save slightly on the cost of training and attend an ASPE non-certified Agile class from our Agile Curriculum.  This curriculum was built with the intent to best prepare individuals to implement Agile on their projects.  The courses are built based on traditional SDLC roles (i.e., Project Manager, Business Analyst, Software Tester, etc.) providing the necessary skills and knowledge through hands-on activities for the individual to succeed in an Agile environment.  Courses such as the Agile Project Management, Agile Requirements, Agile Testing, and Business Analysis in Agile Projects would certainly be candidates for those individuals.  The Agile Boot Camp is our immersion program and most popular privately delivered class, incorporating all of the various traditional team roles into one true Agile team.

Is your company, or team, adopting a specific flavor of Agile you should learn? Click to continue »