COURSE 4945 | 2-DAY SESSION
Certified Scrum Product Owner Workshop

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Course Outline

Short exercises and case studies will be scattered throughout the two-day session. Longer exercises are detailed below. Time spent on each topic will vary depending on the composition of the class and the interest in particular areas.

Section I: 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

Exercise: The “Art of the Possible.” This is an opportunity to understand how small changes in behavior can have a large impact on productivity. This also turns our thinking towards new ideas and a willingness to change for the better.

Section II: 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 Development vs. Waterfall
• Self Management concepts
• Full disclosure and visibility
• The Scrum Framework Overview

Section III: 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

Exercise: The 59-minute Scrum Simulation. This popular exposure to Scrum asks us to work on a short project that lasts for just 59 minutes! We’ll walk through all of the key steps under the Scrum framework as we work in project teams to deliver a new product.

Section IV: Scrum Roles
Who are the different players in the Scrum game? We’ll review checklists of role expectations and discuss some difficult situations that we might encounter.

• The Team Member
• The Product Owner
• The Scrum Master

Exercise: establishing product expectations. This is a long-running exercise where we will discuss and practice various aspects of product and project planning in an agile Scrum environment.

Section V: The Product Backlog, Product Visioning, and Progressive Elaboration
The Scrum Team must have an understanding of our Product Vision so they can make good decisions. The Product Backlog is a reflection of that vision, and we’ll practice developing its content.

• Defining the Product Vision
• The Contents of The Product Backlog
• Prioritizing our Time Spent on the Product Backlog
• Using User Stories
• Bill Wake’s INVEST Model
• Product Backlog Granularity

Section VI: Velocity and Story Points
Since a Product Owner is responsible for monitoring progress, we’ll discuss and practice how to measure a Team’s progress in delivering product features.

• Relative Effort
• Planning Poker and Story Points
• Ideal Team Days
• Team Capacity
• Projecting a Schedule
• Project Management Variables and Velocity

Section VII: Prioritization Considerations and Methods
Prioritization is the Product Owner’s number one tool for maximizing return on investment. In this section we’ll review different techniques available to establish meaningful priorities..

• Bringing Prioritization Into a Project
• Themes and Relative Weighted Priority
• Prioritization Questions and Considerations
• The Value of Increasing our Understanding
• The Value of Risk Reduction
• Weighted Impacts
• Theme Screening
• Kano Modeling

Section VIII: Meetings and Artifacts
While most of this material was discussed in previous portions of class, more detailed documentation is included here for future reference, including sample agendas for each of the Scrum Meetings.

• A Chart of Scrum Meetings
• The Product Backlog
• Sprint Planning
• The Sprint Backlog
• The Sprint
• The Daily Scrum
• Gathering Metrics
• The Sprint Demo/Review
• Getting to “Done”
• The Retrospective
• Why Plan?

Section IX: Extracting Value
This section is reserved for reference material. Particular interests from the class may warrant discussion during our class time together.

• Fixed Date Contracts
• Product Backlog Refactoring (“Grooming”)
• Release Management
• The Impact of Project Switching
• The Impact of Continuous Forced Marches
• Earned Value in an Agile Environment

Section X: Advanced Considerations
This section is reserved for reference material. Particular interests from the class may warrant discussion during our class time together.

• The Meta-Scrum
• The Scrum of Scrums
• The Integration Scrum Team
• Scaling Scrum
• Developing Architecture

Section X: Closing Topics
We’ll wrap up with direction on where to go next with your Scrum experience, some Scrum reference sites, and our graduation ceremony.