Certified ScrumMaster Course PLUS

Overview

3 days

The standard, basic Certified ScrumMaster Course is two days; this CSM PLUS is a three-day in-depth seminar on the art of serving as an effective ScrumMaster, and on the Scrum method. In addition to all standard CSM content, you will learn -- through hands-on practice – more key concepts and skills in Scrum and agile methods, including Large-Scale Scrum, how to do agile estimation, splitting large requirements into smaller customer-centric requirements, Product Backlog prioritization, how to facilitate a Scrum Retrospective, how to coach a Sprint Review, and more.

Surveys show that Scrum is by far the most popular agile method worldwide -- and with good reason.

There are three roles in Scrum: Team(s), Product Owner, and ScrumMaster. This latter role is NOT a project manager in any traditional sense. The ScrumMaster is a process coach -- someone who is a master of the Scrum method and helps the teams and product owner apply it and maximize value with it.

Agile management is as radically different from traditional project management as agile processes are different from traditional methodologies. Rather than plan, instruct and direct, the agile coach facilitates, coaches and leads. This person is called a ScrumMaster in the Scrum agile process to denote the difference and remind the person filling this role of the new responsibilities. Accepted participants learn how to be a ScrumMaster and how to make a development team, a product group, or an organization agile. Exercises, case studies, and examples used to bring home the realization of how to be a ScrumMaster instead of a project manager.

Methods of Education

Discussion, presentation, Q&A, workshop exercises

Audience

Anyone interested in adopting Scrum should take CSM PLUS as a foundation -- including potential Product Owners, and the leadership team. And certainly, anyone wishing to serve as a ScrumMaster.

Level

Introductory: This course assumes no prerequisite skills, other than the readings listed in the Prerequisites section. Students will learn and apply skills (both "hard" and "soft") during the session.

Prerequisites

Unless otherwise arranged, every participant is required to have read the following chapters from Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Thinking and Organizational Tools for Scrum (Larman & Vodde), before the course:

• Chapter 2: Systems Thinking
• Chapter 4: Queuing Theory
• Chapter 7: Feature Teams
• Chapter 8: Teams
• Chapter 12: Scrum Primer

Participants must also read, before the course:

• The Scrum Guide
• Scrum Primer or from Chapter 12 of Scaling Lean & Agile Development
• Feature Teams
• ScrumBut
• Kicking ScrumBut

Objectives

Through education and practice, a ScrumMaster should be able to:

• Remove the barriers between development and the customer so the customer directly drives development;
• Teach the customer how to maximize ROI and meet their objectives through Scrum;
• Improve the lives of the development team by facilitating creativity and empowerment;
• Improve the productivity of the development team in any way possible; and,
• Improve the engineering practices and tools so each increment of functionality is potentially shippable

In addition to the above, PLUS objectives include ability to coach or advise more in-depth agile and Scrum practices, including retrospectives, agile engineering practices, and estimation sessions.

Outline: Core CSM

• Agile and Scrum Overview
• Scrum Background
• Scrum Overview
• Scrum Roles and Responsibilities
• Scrum Artifacts
• Scrum Events
• Sprint Planning Meeting
• Sprint
• Daily Scrum
• Sprint Review Meeting
• Backlogs and Burndown Charts
• Release Planning
• The Art of the ScrumMaster
• Tools for Fostering Self-Organizing Teams
• Introducing Scrum into the Organization

Outline: PLUS Topics Include...

• many more exercises
• agile estimation with relative point estimation, estimation poker, monte carlo simulation, and more
• retrospectives with system dynamics analysis, root cause analysis, collaboration exercises, and more
• Large-Scale Scrum for large, multisite, and offshore development
• visual management tools
• lean thinking and Scrum
• splitting large requirements into smaller customer-centric requirements
• the 3 Cs of user stories: card, conversation, confirmation
• details of facilitating parts 1 and 2 of a Sprint Planning Meeting
• agile requirements analysis
• acceptance test-driven development
• design workshops

Graduation/Certification/Exam

Not everyone who attends may achieve certification; it depends on demonstration of values and knowledge consistent with Scrum, and at least fulfilling the course prerequisites. Certified ScrumMasters will be recorded at www.scrumalliance.org.

There is an online exam to take, at the ScrumAlliance, to complete the certification process. For more, see here.

Maximum Participants

35

Environment - Room, Tools, Texts

Read this: Course Environment - Workshop Style1

Text and Notes

• THESE MUST BE SUPPLIED FOR THE ATTENDEES BY THE CLIENT *BEFORE* the course: Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Thinking and Organizational Tools for Scrum (Larman & Vodde), so that the PREREQUISITE READINGS can be completed (unless otherwise agreed). It can be ordered from Amazon here. It is also possible that other colleagues at your company have copies, and people can borrow or share one. Or, perhaps the company has a Safari account with access to the digital version.

• There is a course PDF for the presentations. We may decide to give the students a file copy to view on a laptop or a paper copy, depending on situation.