Lesson 00: Introduction
Welcome to the course! In this lesson, we’re going to have a quick overview of the course.
2020 update notes
A few things have changed in the latest version of the Scrum Guide (2020), and the ASF exam is updated based on those changes. However, our videos are not updated yet; so, please note the following changes:
- There’s no “development team” anymore, but only Developers.
- The recommended team size is now “10 people or less” for the whole Scrum Team.
- It’s now called “self-managing” instead of “self-organizing” (same concept, different name).
- There’s a Product Goal now, which is part of the Product Backlog, and sets the overall direction for the product.
- The Sprint Goal is now considered as part of the Sprint Backlog.
- The concept of commitments is introduced for the artifacts:
- Product Goal is the commitment for the Product Backlog.
- Sprint Goal is the commitment for the Sprint Backlog.
- Definition of Done is the commitment for the Increment.
- The Definition of Done is created by the whole Scrum Team now, and not only by the Developers.
- Now, any time you finish an item (based on the Definition of Done), a new Increment is formed. It’s not about having just one Increment at the end of the Sprint.
- The guide doesn’t suggest 10% as the ceiling for the amount of time Developers spend on Product Backlog refinement.
- Sprint Planning has three topics now:
- Why? -> Sprint Goal
- What? -> Items from the Product Backlog
- How? -> Tasks created by decomposing the items
- “Estimating” is now called “sizing”. So, it’s the responsibility of the Developers to size the Product Backlog items.
- “Value” is no longer one of the mandatory attributes of the Product Backlog items. The mandatory attributes are description, size, and order.
- Instead of calling the Increments “potentially releasable”, the new guide calls them “usable” (more or less the same concept).
- 00:05 – Welcome to the course.
- 00:08 – In this course, we’re going to talk about Agile and Scrum and a few extra things.
- 00:13 – It’s aligned with the Agile Scrum Foundation certification program from EXIN, and in this certification program, the main topic is Scrum, as usual, because the most common thing, Agile system, that people use is Scrum, but still this is the structure that we have for the course, and I’m going to tell you quickly why it is formed like this.
- 00:36 – First we’re going to spend some time on the concept of Agility, what Agile is and how it works in general and what are the differences between the Agile systems and the things that are not Agile, and this is very important for us because when you have a correct understanding of this concept, you can answer many of the common problems that you will have in your projects and also questions in the exam.
- 01:04 – So, we will spend some time on that first section about Agility.
- 01:08 – Then, we will have a really long section about Scrum.
- 01:11 – We will learn everything about the Scrum framework, which is very simple, to be honest.
- 01:17 – It’s a simple framework, but we will still learn everything.
- 01:21 – We will go through different roles, events, artifacts, and we will have one sub-section at the end of that to talk about scaling Scrum for larger projects.
- 01:31 – Then, one part of this course, based on how it is defined in the certification program, is about Agile Practices.
- 01:39 – Practices are things like Planning Poker or Test-Driven Development or Pair-Programming, and I created that section about XP. XP is eXtreme Programming, that’s one of the first-generation Agile systems, frameworks.
- 01:57 – I created that section because most of those practices come from XP or have been popularized by XP, and in XP, they are not isolated ideas. They are all connected to each other and when we learn it through XP, through reviewing the way an XP project works, you can see how those practices can be connected to each other and that makes it more meaningful for you.
- 02:22 – I think that’s a good idea. Then, one extra section about DSDM, which is yet another methodology for Agile, one of the first-generation ones, and I’ve added that because that–s a good way of reviewing the way you can manage the scope of your project and think about the contracts, which is another topic that we have in this program.
- 02:44 – And finally, we will have the last section, which is about Kanban development, we will talk about that as well, and at the end of the course, when you’re done with the video lessons, you will have simulated exams to practice a little bit for your exam.
- 03:00 – Now, this course is created in a way that makes it possible for busy professionals to take it, because that’s what 90% of our learners are.
- 03:10 – Therefore, we’ve designed the whole course in a way that you don’t need to do homework.
- 03:16 – You just learn everything that you need throughout the course by taking the lessons, and there are a few exercises at the end of the lessons.
- 03:23 – So, you don’t need to worry about that. You don’t need to even worry about memorizing anything.
- 03:29 – If something is important, I will repeat it so many times that you will automatically remember it. Okay?
- 03:36 – So, your only responsibility is to just relax and take the course. The rest is my responsibility. Okay?
- 03:46 – Also, it would be very helpful if you take the lessons continuously.
- 03:51 – Don’t spend many hours in one day and then go and come back in a few weeks.
- 03:56 – Try to take at least one lesson per day.
- 03:59 – Most of the lessons are less than 10 minutes long and everyone can do it. Okay? That’s a great idea.
- 04:05 – So, we’re going to start with the Agility section in the next lesson, and in that lesson, I’m going to ask you a question about the different types of activities that you do in your project.
- 04:16 – Maybe you can think about it a little bit, what are the different types of technical things that you do in your project, and by the way, what you see here, that’s the sign.
- 04:27 – It means that when I ask you that question, I really want you to think about it and maybe you need to pause the video, think about the answer, and then go on. See you in the next lesson.
The last question was: What are the type of technical activities you do in your project? Try to create a simple, generic list. We’ll talk about it in the next lesson.
About your trainer, Nader K. Rad
Nader K. Rad has about 24 years of experience in construction, process plant, and IT projects. He’s an expert in the history, evolution, and nature of methodologies and their practical consequences, as well as the techniques and practices that accompany them.
He has been an official reviewer of PRINCE2® 6th edition, and PRINCE2 Agile®, and lead author of P3.express, and NUPP. He’s also one of the 12 core team members for developing the 7th edition of the PMBOK® Guide.
Nader is focused on helping project leaders improve their systems and get better results through coaching and training, with a focus on critical thinking and practical knowledge. He has designed many project management courses, prepared multiple eLearning courses, and written more than 40 books.
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