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Agile for Managers (1 day workshop)

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This one-day course will give you hands-on experience with techniques for managing Agile teams. Explanatory lectures with demonstrations, combined with practice exercises will provide you with the experience needed to lead teams in Agile environments.

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  • The benefits of working in an Agile environment

  • The Agile Framework, including an overview of methodologies, principles, terminology, and ceremonies

  • How to classify organizational cultures and leadership styles

  • How to foster change acceptance and Agile adoption

  • The role of managers in an Agile environment and how to become a servant leader

  • How to build and support Agile teams

  • Jurgen Appelo's Management 3.0 Model

  • How to motivate teams for continuous improvement

  • How to apply what you have learned to real life scenarios within your own organization

  • How to lead a high-performing Agile team

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I. Introductions, Class Objectives

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II. Making the Case for Change

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  • Defining the Challenges of Software Development

  • What is the Problem Agile is Trying to Solve

  • What is Lean? What is Agile?

  • Agile versus Waterfall

 

III. The Agile Framework

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  • Agile Framework and Methodologies

  • Agile Manifesto and Principles

    • Team Exercise: Teams will discuss which principles would be easy to implement and which would be difficult and share reasoning with the group.

  • Terminology and Ceremonies

  • Prioritization

    • Team Exercise: Teams discusses prioritization techniques and considerations for their industry and shares with the group.

 

IV. Organizational Culture and Leadership Styles

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  • What is Organizational Culture?

  • Organizational Culture Models

  • Schneider's Culture Model

  • Mapping Agile Values into the Four Quadrants (Team Exercise)

    • Team Exercise: Map Agile Values into the Four Quadrants from Schneider's Culture Model

  • What's Your Organization's Culture (Team Exercise)

    • Team Exercise: Map Agile Values into the Four Quadrants from Schneider's Culture Model

  • Agile and Lean Methodologies, including Scrum and Kanban

  • Matching Agile Practices to Organizational Culture (Team Exercise)

    • Team Exercise: What are ways to help Agile Adoption taking into account Organizational Culture?

 

V. Agile Adoption and Change Acceptance

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  • Barriers to Agile Adoption

  • Agile and Change

  • Kubler-Ross Model of Change

  • Change Acceptance

  • Characteristics of a Change Agent

  • Reasons Teams Have Difficulty With Agile Adoption

    • Team Exercise: Teams do role playing with a difficult change with one member of team acting as change agent practicing techniques learned.

 

VI. Building and Supporting Agile Teams

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  • Definition and Characteristics of an Agile Team

  • Supporting an Agile Team

    • Team Exercise: Teams execute a self-organization exercise

  • Agile Teams aligned to an Organizational Hierarchy

 

VII. Management 3.0 (Jurgen Appelo)

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  • Energize People

  • Empower Teams

  • Align Constraints

  • Develop Competence

  • Grow structure

  • Improve Everything

 

VIII. Continuous Improvement

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  • Retrospectives

  • Knowledge Sharing

  • Principles of Systems Thinking (Complex Adaptive, Chaos)

  • Continuous Improvement Processes

  • Self-Assessment

  • Tips for Successful Continuous Improvement

    • Team Exercise: Teams start with a problem to solve and take baseline measurements. Then, after practicing continuous improvement techniques, try again and measure for improvement.

 

IX. Becoming an Agile Leader

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  • Mental Models

  • What is Agile Leadership?

  • Servant Leadership

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