Certified Scrum Master

Course Topics

Part 1: 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.

1. How Manufacturing has Influenced Software Development
2. The Origins of Agile Thinking
3. The Agile Manifesto
4. The Complexity of Projects
5. Theoretical Vs. Empirical Processes Overview
6. 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.

Part 2: The Scrum Framework

Here we’ll ensure that we’re all working from the same foundational concepts that make up the Scrum Framework.

1. The Different Scrum Roles
2. Chickens and Pigs
3. Iterative Development vs. Waterfall
4. Self-Management Concepts
5. Full Disclosure and Visibility
6. The Scrum Framework Overview

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.

Part 3: 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.

1. Traditional vs. Agile Methods Overview
2. Scrum: The Silver Bullet?
3. The Agile Skeleton
4. A Scrum Launch Checklist

Part 4: Scrum Roles

Who are the different players in the Scrum game? We’ll review checklists of role expectations in preparation for further detail later in our session.

1. The Team Member
2. The Product Owner
3. The Scrum Master

Exercise: Understanding customer expectations. This exercise is the beginning of an extended exercise involving agile estimating and planning. During this first portion of the exercise, we’ll work with a fictional customer who has a very demanding schedule and understand how our assessment of project work plays a significant role in customer satisfaction.

Part 5: The Scrum Team Explored

Since the ScrumMaster is looking to protect the productivity of the team, we must investigate team behaviors so we can be prepared for the various behaviors 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

Part 6: Agile Estimating and Planning

Although Agile Estimating and Planning is an art unto itself, the concepts behind this method fit very well with the Scrum methodology an agile alternative to traditional estimating and planning. We’ll break into project teams that will work through decomposition and estimation of project work, and then plan out the project through delivery.

• Product Backlog Features
• Relative Weighted Prioritization
• User Stories
• Relative Effort
• Velocity
• Planning Poker and Story Points
• Projecting a Schedule
• Why Plan in an Agile Environment?

Part 7: The Product Owner

The driving force behind implementing Scrum is to obtain results, usually measured in terms of return on investment or value. How can we help ensure that we allow for project work to provide the best value for our customers and our organization? We’ll take a look at different factors that impact our ability to maximize returns.

1. The Priority Guide
2. Product Backlog Refactoring
3. Release Management

Part 8: 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 a simple job description.

1. The ScrumMaster Aura
2. Characteristics of a ScrumMaster Candidate
3. The Difficulties of Being a ScrumMaster
4. A Day in the Life of a ScrumMaster
5. The Importance of Listening
6. Common Sense

Part 9: Closing Topics

We’ll wrap up with direction on where to go next with your Scrum experience, some recommended reading, Scrum reference sites, and our graduation ceremony.

Meetings & Artifacts Reference Material

While most of this material was discussed in previous portions of class, more detailed documentation is included here for future reference.

• A Chart of Scrum Meetings
• The Product Backlog
• Sprint Planning
• The Sprint Backlog
• The Sprint
• The Daily Scrum
• The Sprint Review
• Why Plan?
• The Ideal Team Day
• Scrum Tools