Agile in Action

Software Development without the Stress

A crash course on Agile Methodologies with Mona Shokrof, Agile Coach

 

Building great websites and apps isn’t simply about learning to code. Software projects require the right approach to project management. For many years developers were building products that didn’t truly capture the needs of their users because they captured requirements from the outset and delivered a product months later.

The Agile approach to software development, on the other hand, ensures constant communication with the customer to ensure the product meets user needs, leading to happier developers and happier customers.

To learn more about the Agile approach to project management and how to overcome the challenges of transitioning to this approach, join us in our fun, hands-on workshop on Agile and its most popular framework: Scrum.

Participants will learn about the main practices used with Scrum for handling requirements and planning by working on a sample agile project and practical group exercises.

Workshop Outline:

– Introduction to Agile principles and practices
– The Scrum Framework (Roles, Artifacts, and Events)
– Agile Requirements
– Agile Planning

What will I gain by attending this workshop?

By developing and adopting an Agile mindset, you and your company will be able to streamline processes, build and deliver better products and services, and reduce your costs. You’ll be able to lead a skilled and motivated team to react to market and clients’ changing decisions.

Workshop Agenda:

Day 1:

  • What is Agile?: From the perspective of the pioneers who started the Agile movement and signed the Agile Manifesto
  • What it means to have an Agile Mindset: The value and idea behind Agile practices and frameworks
  • Growth and Fixed Mindset: Importance of mindset when dealing with uncertainty, risk, and learning opportunities
  • Agile Methodologies: An overview on the most popular Agile frameworks, Scrum, Extreme Programming, and Kanban
  • What is Scrum?: Frameworks, and how it speeds up delivery
  • Scrum artifacts: Backlog and Done Definition
  • Scrum Roles: Team, Product Owner and Scrum Master
  • Scrum Meetings: Their value and rules and how to run them
  • Scrum Role Playing Workshop: Where participants will assume different scrum roles for a sample project, and will practically conduct Scrum meetings for different situations

Day 2:

  • User Story Writing Technique: Used in conveying requirements to the delivery team, focus on user needs and benefits, and upon the conversation between business people and delivery team to reach a state of shared understanding
  • Relative Estimation: Preferred over accurate estimation when working with Agile, especially when vagueness and uncertainty are present
  • Planning Poker: Applying relative estimation concepts to estimate user stories for an Agile project, this technique also leverages the shared understanding between the team about the requirements and how they will be delivered
  • Adaptive Planning: Since software projects encounter a lot of changes, risks, and challenges, we have to adapt our plans to respond accordingly. Agile Planning techniques mainly focus on adapting to be able to deliver the most value, despite the circumstances that affect the initial plan
  • Workshop Exercises: Where participants will apply user story writing and planning poker techniques for the requirements and planning of a sample project, as well as setting a release plan for this project

Who should attend?
Software engineers (developers, testers), graphic designers, managers and team leaders working in development, project management and delivery.

When and where is it?
6-10 PM, Dec 18 & 19 (Monday & Tuesday) at Sirdab Lab

How much is it?
65 KD per person (120 KD for teams of two. 50 KD for students)

Sweet. Where do I sign up?

Right here. 

If you’d like to register as a team of two, click here.

And if you’re a student, sign up here.

 

About the instructor:

Mona is an Agile Coach in Agile Arena, the company she cofounded to fulfill her passion about spreading the knowledge about Agile methodologies, and to enable more people in MENA region to work in more successful ways. She is a big believer in the Agile mindset being the most suitable for working in the software field. She blogs on www.shokrof.com.
 
She has coached and trained teams in several companies on how to develop an agile mindset, how to provide real value from the software they are delivering, how to work in teams and get along with each other in a productive way. She has also coached team leaders on how to lead agile teams.
 
An advocate of of learning and self-improvement, she got certified as a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) from Scrum Alliance and from ICAgile in Fundamentals of Agile, Business Value Analysis, and Agile Team Facilitation.