Agile Project Management

Join a cohort of learners in learning the frameworks, planning, innovation, leadership, and management techniques you need to run effective Agile teams. Deliver innovative solutions and unlock your team's potential with scrum, Kanban, rolling wave planning, design thinking, test-driven development, TRIZ, facilitation, servant leadership, and controlling with a strong definition of done.

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What You Will Learn

  • Learn Scrum mechanics and how to translate other Agile frameworks such as SAFe, Disciplined, and LeSS
  • Gain a deep understanding of Agile principles and how to apply them in any industry, with case studies in Software, Aerospace, Finance, and Construction
  • Reduce risk of project failure by adopting agile results-based controls to close projects more effectively
  • Increase speed using lean / agile work management techniques proven to deliver faster
  • Improve project benefits with innovation and leadership approaches that unlock your team’s potential

About This Short Course

In this professional short course you will learn the mechanics of how to design and facilitate projects using “pure” Agile Scrum and Lean Kanban techniques. You will also learn the trade-offs of using hybrid techniques such as Lean Startup, Scaled Agile For the Enterprise (SAFe), and Disciplined Agile Development.

We will then go beyond these frameworks to the science and essential principles you’ll need to ensure you get the greatest benefits of Agile Project Management methods: Speed, Innovation, Leadership, and Control.

After completing this course series, you will be able to clearly explain how Agile techniques address faults in traditional project management techniques, the tradeoffs (benefits and risks) of these approaches, and when it’s best to apply them to maximize value to the organization.

Engineers, managers, designers, writers, creators, and executers of all types will benefit from learning these principles of Agile. Whether you’re delivering a small part of a project or portfolios of large multi-million-dollar government works; these principles scale and apply to all industries to achieve delivery success. This is why companies that are embracing these principles continue to set record earnings and stock prices (e.g. AMZN, APPL, TSLA); and those that ignore them find themselves unable to compete.

Upon successful completion of this program, learners can earn 36 Professional Development Unit (PDU) credits, which are recognized by the Project Management Institute (PMI). PDU credits are essential to those looking to maintain certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP).

At A Glance

  • 7 Sessions, 1 per Week Up to 5 hours per week
  • Online Working Sessions Personally connect with instructor and other students
  • App Development Project Practice Agile and Learn with Low-Code / No-Code Apps
  • Course Materials Review short videos, take quizzes, and be ready for a great class!
  • 3 one-hour personalized career coaching sessions Schedule time that works for you
  • Earn a UMD Completion Certificate plus 36 PDUs Support from staff and faculty
  • edX Professional Certificate Learn More, Go Further Optionally take this workshop with the edX Professional Certificate: Agile Project Management
Your Instructor

John Johnson

I'm passionate about what works as both scientific principles and best practices in project and product management. Teaching is leading leaders, so my first goal is to engage with compelling reasons to change their thinking. Our shared goal is to empower their teams to delight customers while also serving the organization and society that supports them.

Syllabus

Week 1
Orientation
  • Welcome to the Course
  • Learn Gather.town - Our Virtual Classroom
  • What is Agile? What is Agile to You?
  • Goals for the course
  • Challenges you want to overcome
Week 2
  • Why Agile is taking over: history, case studies, and proof Agile works better
  • Who uses Agile based on industry scale, stakeholders, and engineering
  • How to run a successful Scrum team for speed, innovation, leadership, and control
  • Scrum team makeup, user story writing, sprint planning, execution, and retro tools
  • What Scrum looks like at scale, its alternatives, and how to avoid pitfalls over time
Week 3
  • Kanban boards to limit work-in-progress (WIP) in a timebox
  • Time boxing activities to eliminate delays and gain schedule advances and ensure team capacity
  • Application and iteration of the Pareto Principle for product backlog refinement
  • Rolling Wave Planning and to ensure you deliver on the big picture
Week 4
  • How Agile manages solution risk and return more effectively
  • Accurate, effective requirements gathering that avoids delusional "perspective taking"
  • Paradox of structure, aka "how constraints drive creativity and luck!"
  • Test-driven development for faster, better solutions in complex systems
  • How to target scope to meet Performance Objectives via the Theory of Constraints
Week 5
  • Overview of agile and the key roles: scrum master, product owner, and agile team member.
  • Building self-organizing teams for agile projects
  • Facilitating leadership and the power of play
  • Decision science and human mind heuristics
  • Negotiation styles and techniques
  • Managing bias through mindfulness and emotional intelligence (EQ)
Week 6
  • Agile systems engineering to ensure valuable, integrated solutions
  • Controlling projects through actual measurements vs. estimates (e.g. EVM)
  • Essential methods for managing People, Process, and Product on empowered teams
  • How to always be closing (ABC) with every project increment using a definition of done
  • Enterprise alignment: how and why strategic plans, portfolio optimization, and project management canalign with simple metrics, with facilitative leadership
Week 7
  • Demo your projects
  • Explore Advanced Topics
  • Discussion of Future Trends - Product management and Disciplined Agile
  • Feedback and Thank You!