Join this event, preferably with your whole project team, to understand how and why Scrum works and to start applying the theory on your project, as a team. The only thing that you need to do after leaving the event is to keep going.
Based on the experience of many Scrum coaches and trainers, this is the best way to start adopting Scrum. The whole team gets together, understands the theory and the reasons behind Scrum during the Certified Scrum Master class and then applies it under supervision on their real project during the Workshop. More coaching sessions are recommended after this event, but many teams find this extremely useful.
Certified Scrum Master – 2 days
The CSM course was formulated to train and certify ScrumMasters and is used worldwide for ScrumMaster training. This class has to cover a specific syllabus provided by Scrum Alliance, but each instructor creates his or her own material, allowing courses to differ based on the strengths, interests, and experiences of the instructor. However, an in-house Scrum workshop (without certification) is more appropriate if you need answers to questions related to the context of your organization.
All CSM courses are taught by Certified Scrum Trainers. Taking a CSM course and the corresponding evaluation designates you as a Certified ScrumMaster, which indicates that you have been introduced to the basic concepts you need to perform as a ScrumMaster or team member on a Scrum team. This course also satisfies two elements of the CSD track: Scrum Introduction and Elective. Participants will receive Certified ScrumMaster designation from the Scrum Alliance upon completion of an on-line exam. Participants will also receive a one-year membership in the Scrum Alliance, where additional ScrumMaster-only material and information are available.
Participants Will Learn:
- Practical, project-proven practices
- The essentials of getting a project off on the right foot
- How to write user stories for the product backlog
- Why there’s more to leading a self-organizing team than buying pizza and getting out of the way
- How to help both new and experienced teams be more successful
- How to successfully scale Scrum to large, multi-continent projects with team sizes in the hundreds
- Tips and tricks from the instructors’ years of using Scrum in a wide variety of situations
Learn more about the Certified Scrum Master class.
Scrum Workshop – 1 day
This is a very practical exercise applied on your real project, so the whole team should be present (including the Product Owner and even someone with financial information about the project). You can still get value from this exercise if you cannot do that (see below).
Each Workshop is a little bit different. But the focus is on two things:
- Complete a good (decent) Release Planning for the real project or effort that the team is working on. It is best if the team is just starting the effort. And it is best if the team has access to all the people and resources to make the Release Planning effective. Release Planning includes (over-simplified): Vision, Product Backlog development, Business Value (points), Story Pointing, Risks-dependencies-other, Ordering the work, Deciding the scope-date trade-off, Budget. We also talk about infrastructure, architecture, and design (IAD)
- Complete a version of Sprint Planning. Over-simplified, this includes: Agreeing on the PBIs (product backlog items, or user stories) to commit to in the Sprint, and breaking the Stories into tasks. And fully committing. (I define this as: “We believe, 9 times out of 10, with the usual “stuff happens” around here, we can get all these stories done, in our best professional judgment. And maybe do more.”)
Why is the Workshop so important?
Because it takes the “theory” of the course, and puts it into practice. So that the stark and real meaning of the ideas becomes so much clearer in the real world of the team’s real work.
The Workshop is done under the guidance of typically two very experienced coaches, who offer as much coaching as it’s appropriate, keeping in mind that too much advice can actually hurt beginners more than help them.
FAQ
1. What if I am not attending with my own team?
We can form a Team of people, and you can participate with that Team. Or you can join a real team, for the Workshop, as a consultant (with their permission). If you are partly of an ad hoc team, then we want the Product Owner of that team to be working on his real project or product or effect. So, at least for him or her, it is very real. And that person is responsible for making it real for you.
Is it less effective? Yes, probably somewhat. Is it still useful? Yes. We have had no-one in this category say it was not useful.
2. How many teams are you coaching at a time?
In the workshops, we think it is best to have about two teams per coach, maybe three. So, if there is a large group, there typically will be two coaches.
3. Do we need to prepare?
Yes! As much as you can. It will still be useful even if you do not prepare at all. But the more the Product Owner is prepared with all the information the team will need to do Release Planning, the more effective will be the use of your time. This ideally and typically means including the other key business stakeholders (SMEs) in the workshop team. If you can.
But “if you wait for perfection, you might wait too long.” Do what you can before the Workshop, then, wherever you are, do the Workshop.
Learn more about the Scrum Workshop.
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