Agile Project Management

Agile Project Management

by Paul Ashun
Released August 2022
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781804615799

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Video description

The course starts with an in-depth overview of Scrum with examples and advice on each Scrum practice such as Daily Scrum, Sprint Planning, Sprint Retrospective, and Sprint Review. It Includes overviews of Agile practices such as the kick-off meeting and releases planning meeting.

Next, we will get a concise overview of Agile user stories—including how to write a user story description, acceptance criteria to capture the detail, the purpose of epics and themes in dealing with large or vague requirements, and how to split stories along with the reasons why user stories are favored over traditional methods of capturing requirements. This includes lectures on the principles that underpin user stories, such as the INVEST principle and the Three Cs formula.

This will be followed by checklists for all events, roles, rules, and artifacts used to deliver a project. We will also discuss product backlog and user stories at length; short stories/case studies based on real industry experience and research, and the correct methods for improvement and dealing with difficult situations is essential to mastering Agile Scrum.

Finally, we will wrap up with a concise overview of Kanban, which will include Origin, how to use the Kanban Board, Workflow, Work in Progress Limits, Priority setting, and the Pull System. By the end of the course, you will become an expert in understanding and implementing all the best industrial practices of Agile project management.

What You Will Learn

  • Understand what a root cause analysis is
  • Learn what a user story is and why they are so powerful for capturing requirements in complex projects
  • Understand the concepts behind the 3 Cs, DEEP, and INVEST with respect to Agile Scrum
  • Learn how checklists can be used to help deliver project value on time
  • Understand the concepts behind empirical process control theory, definition of done, and continuous improvement.
  • Understand the concepts behind the “pull system” and who sets priority within the Kanban method

Audience

This course is for Product Owner, Scrum Master, Business Analyst, Business Owners, Support Teams, Maintenance Teams, Service and Sales Teams, and Development Support Teams. Anyone who wants answers to frequently misunderstood points within Agile/Scrum or an expert candidate who wants a concise, quick refresher on Agile or Scrum.

About The Author

Paul Ashun: Paul Ashun is the CEO, MD, and chief consultant at Pashun Consulting Ltd., specializing in Scrum coaching and leadership within major global organizations. They are the authors of over 10 books on Scrum such as The Power of Scrum in the Real World, Confessions of a Scrum Master as well as the upcoming Agile User Storybook.

He started as a software developer and over ten years later, he became an Agile portfolio manager. He is a certified Scrum Master and a PMO manager. He has led projects for the BBC, General Electric, Oracle, BSkyB, HiT Entertainment, and Razorfish. He has been coaching product owners and business analysts in international blue-chip companies dating back to 1999, in Agile and Scrum practices such as writing user stories.

Table of contents

  1. Chapter 1 : Part 1 – Agile Project Management – Scrum Step by Step with Examples
    1. Promotional Video
    2. Introduction
    3. Agile Scrum Recap
  2. Chapter 2 : Kicking Off a Project
    1. How to Perform a Root Cause Analysis
    2. How to Communicate the Benefits of Scrum
    3. How to Host a Kick-Off Meeting and Definition of Done
    4. How to Improve from the Start
    5. The Importance of a Good Initiation
    6. Summary
  3. Chapter 3 : Establishing Stakeholders
    1. How to Establish Stakeholders
    2. Examples of Stakeholders
    3. Importance of Stakeholders at Sprint Review
    4. Summary
  4. Chapter 4 : Scrum Roles – Understanding the Characteristics of Each Role
    1. Introduction to Scrum Roles
    2. Characteristics of a Scrum Master
    3. Characteristics of a Product Owner
    4. Characteristics of a Development Team
    5. The Value of Knowing the Roles
    6. Summary
  5. Chapter 5 : Building the Product Backlog
    1. Introduction to User Stories
    2. How to Write User Stories and Acceptance Criteria
    3. How to Organize Stakeholder Meetings
    4. How to Find Common Ground on Requirements
    5. How to Manage Changing Requirements
    6. The Importance of Prioritizing the Backlog
    7. How to Capture Stories in Meetings
    8. Estimating Story Points
    9. Summary
  6. Chapter 6 : Sprint Planning
    1. Introduction to Sprint Planning
    2. How to Manage Impediments to Planning
    3. How to Prepare for Sprint Planning
    4. The Sprint Planning Meeting
    5. How to Prepare Artefacts Needed for Planning
    6. How to Craft the Sprint Goal
    7. First Half of the Meeting
    8. How to Estimate User Stories
    9. Second Half of the Meeting - The How
    10. How to Use Velocity
    11. What is the Outcome of Sprint Planning
    12. Summary
  7. Chapter 7 : Release Planning and Using Velocity
    1. Introduction to Release Planning
    2. How to Set a Release Goal
    3. How to Decide on Scope-Driven Versus Date-Driven Release
    4. How to Prioritize for the Release
    5. How to Use Average Velocity and Calculate the Number of Sprints in Release
    6. How to Run a Release Planning Meeting
    7. How to Use the Release Burn Down
    8. Summary
  8. Chapter 8 : The Sprint Lifecycle: Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Retrospective
    1. Introduction to the Sprint Lifecycle
    2. How to Choose Sprint Length
    3. What Is the Frozen Sprint Backlog
    4. Teamwork on Tasks
    5. How to Remove Impediments
    6. How to Carry Out Product Backlog Grooming and Estimation
    7. Avoiding Carry Over
    8. How to Run the Daily Scrum
    9. How to Use the Sprint Burndown
    10. How to Run the Sprint Review
    11. What Is the Potentially Shippable Increment
    12. How to Run the Sprint Retrospective
    13. Summary
  9. Chapter 9 : Part 2 – User Stories for Agile Scrum, Product Owner, and Business Analysis
    1. Welcome to Your Agile User Stories Training
    2. Agile Recap
  10. Chapter 10 : The World Before User Stories
    1. Learning Objectives
    2. The History: Traditional Requirements Documents
    3. The Birth of User Stories
  11. Chapter 11 : User Story Principles
    1. Learning Objectives
    2. The INVEST Principle
    3. The Three Cs Formula
  12. Chapter 12 : User Story Basics (Capturing a Requirement)
    1. Learning Objectives
    2. How to Write a User Story Description
    3. How to Write Acceptance Criteria
  13. Chapter 13 : Epics and Themes
    1. Learning Objectives
    2. What Is an Epic
    3. What Is a Theme
  14. Chapter 14 : Splitting and Combining User Stories
    1. Learning Objectives
    2. When to Split User Stories
    3. How to Split User Stories
  15. Chapter 15 : Final Words
    1. Learning Objectives
    2. Course Wrap Up
  16. Chapter 16 : Project Delivery with Project Management Essentials
    1. Welcome to Project Deadline Training – Project Delivery with Agile Scrum
  17. Chapter 17 : Meeting Project Deadline with Agile Scrum
    1. Learning Objectives: Project Deadline Concepts
    2. Table of Contents - How to Meet a Project Deadline with Scrum
    3. How to Meet a Project Deadline
    4. Importance of Requirements Being Ready
    5. Importance of Committing with Confidence
    6. How to Use the Concept of Buffer to Deliver Tasks on Time
    7. How to Use Empirical Evidence for Timely Delivery
    8. How to Improve Communication to Deliver on Time
    9. How to Improve Delivery by Getting a Kick Out of Delivering on Time
    10. How to Use the Retrospective to Deliver on Time
  18. Chapter 18 : Pro Tips for Meeting Project Deadline with Agile Project Management
    1. Learning Objectives: Project Deadline Pro Tips
    2. The Importance of the Scrum Guide
    3. How These Scrum Rules Help You with Project Delivery
    4. How to Leverage the Scrum Framework
    5. Use the Concept of the Agile Toolkit
    6. How to Leverage the Team
    7. How Respect Helps You Deliver on Time
    8. How Common Sense Helps You Deliver on Time
  19. Chapter 19 : Scrum Checklists for Quality Agile Project Delivery and Meeting Project Deadlines
    1. Learning Objectives: Project Deadline Checklists
    2. Introduction – How to Improve Project Delivery with Scrum Checklists
    3. The Scrum Master Checklist
    4. The Product Owner Checklist
    5. The Development Team Checklist
    6. The Kickoff Meeting Checklist
    7. The Product Backlog Grooming Checklist
    8. The Sprint Planning Checklist
    9. The Daily Scrum Checklist
    10. The Sprint Review Checklist
    11. The Sprint Retrospective Checklist
  20. Chapter 20 : Product Management – Agile Requirements Using Product Backlog
    1. Introduction
    2. Agile Scrum Recap
    3. Introducing User Stories and Product Backlog
  21. Chapter 21 : Creating a Product Vision
    1. What Is a Product Vision
    2. How to Create the Product Vision
    3. What Is a Vision Board
  22. Chapter 22 : Creating a Product Backlog Step by Step
    1. Product Backlog Management
    2. Introduction to User Stories and Acceptance Criteria
    3. Step 1: Convert All Ideas into User Stories
    4. About User Stories
    5. What Is DEEP?
    6. What Is the INVEST Principle
    7. Step 2 - Prioritization
    8. The Importance of Prioritizing the Backlog
    9. Step 3 -Estimate the Product Backlog
    10. How to Carry Out Product Backlog Grooming and Estimation
    11. Estimating Story Points
    12. Step 4 - Refining and Grooming Your Product Backlog
  23. Chapter 23 : Tips 1 -7
    1. Introduction: Tips and Strategies
    2. How to Capture Stories in Meetings
    3. Tip #1: PO Should Know that They Will Be Expected to Present Enough Work
    4. Tip #2: Avoid Scheduling Backlog Refinement
    5. Tip #3: The Backlog Items Must Be Fine-Grained and Properly Understood by the PO
    6. Tip #4: Treat Every Backlog Refinement Meeting Just Like the Beginning of Sprint
    7. Tip #5: Everyone Should Understand that Estimates Are Provisional
    8. Tip #6: Strive to Optimize Your Time During the Meeting
    9. Tip #7: Remember that Backlog Items Are Actually a Collaboration Between the PO
  24. Chapter 24 : Tips 8 -14
    1. How to Manage Changing Requirements
    2. Tip #8: Keep Your Eye on the Goals of the Meeting
    3. Tip #9: Get Volunteers for Action Items for Any Unknowns or Big Risks
    4. Tip #10: You are Definitely Free to Split User Stories During This Meeting
    5. Tip #11: Everyone Should Understand that Product Backlog Order Is Provisional
    6. Tip #12: Be Brave to Discuss a Couple of Items Farther Down the Backlog
    7. Tip #13: Let the Dev Team Review the User Stories to Be Discussed about 24 Hours
    8. Tip #14: Have a Mini Backlog Refinement Prior to Holding the Backlog Refinement
  25. Chapter 25 : Tips 15 - 21
    1. How to Prioritize for the Release
    2. Tip #15: Track Progress Using Release Burndown Charts
    3. Tip #16: Feel Free to Introduce Late Breaking User Stories.
    4. Tip #17: Use One Issue Tracker and One Backlog!
    5. Tip #18: Watch Out for Too Many Changes and Limit Your Scope
    6. Tip #19: Ensure to Experiment with the Amount of Refinement
    7. Tip #20: Ensure to Retrospect, Inspect, and Then Adapt
    8. Tip #21: Transparentize, Prioritize, and Stick to the Product Vision
    9. Conclusion
    10. Wrap Up
  26. Chapter 26 : Scrum Master Training – Case Studies and Confessions
    1. Confessions of a Scrum Master
    2. Introduction
    3. Scrum Introduction and Recap
    4. The Characters
  27. Chapter 27 : Case Studies Based on Real Project Experience
    1. Learning Objectives
    2. Confession 1: Tools Versus People
    3. Confession 2: Release-Planning Peril
    4. Confession 3: Introduction to Scrum Gone Bad
    5. Confession 4: Stand-Up Versus Sprint Review
    6. Confession 5: Taking the Team to Task
    7. Confession 6: Retrospective Regret
    8. Confession 7: The Bloated Bug Backlog
  28. Chapter 28 : Kanban Productivity and Efficiency of Agile Lean Project
    1. Kanban Guide – Learn How to Use Lean Kanban in Your Organization
    2. Opening Credits
    3. Overview
    4. Introducing Kanban
  29. Chapter 29 : Visualizing Your Workflow
    1. Learning Objectives: Visualizing Your Workflow
    2. The Kanban Board and Deciding on Your Workflow
    3. Determining Priority
    4. Understand the "Pull System"
  30. Chapter 30 : Limiting Work in Progress
    1. Learning Objectives: Limiting Work in Progress
    2. Establish Work in Progress Limits (W.I.P.)
  31. Chapter 31 : Measure and Manage Flow
    1. Learning Objectives: Measure and Manage Flow
    2. Measuring and Managing Flow
  32. Chapter 32 : Making Policies and Processes Explicit
    1. Learning Objectives: Making Policies and Processes Explicit
    2. Understand Toyotas Six Core Rules
    3. Example of Creating and Refining a Process
  33. Chapter 33 : Using Models to Recognize Improvement Opportunities
    1. Learning Objectives: Using Models to Recognize Improvement Opportunities
    2. Overview of Models for Improvement Opportunities
  34. Chapter 34 : Using Kanban with Scrum
    1. Learning Objectives: Augmenting Kanban with Scrum
    2. Scrum Recap
    3. Sprint Planning: Introduction to Sprint Planning
    4. Sprint Planning: The Sprint Planning Meeting
    5. Sprint Planning: First Half of the Meeting - The What
    6. Sprint Planning: Second Half of the Meeting - The How
    7. Sprint Planning: What Is the Outcome of Sprint Planning
    8. The Sprint: Introduction to the Sprint Lifecycle
    9. The Sprint: How to Choose Sprint Length
    10. The Sprint: Teamwork on Tasks
    11. The Sprint: How to Run the Daily Scrum
    12. The Sprint: How to Run the Sprint Review
    13. The Sprint: What Is the Potentially Shippable Increment
    14. The Sprint: How to Run the Sprint Retrospective
  35. Chapter 35 : Final Words
    1. Final Words and Next Steps
    2. Closing Credits

Product information

  • Title: Agile Project Management
  • Author(s): Paul Ashun
  • Release date: August 2022
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781804615799