Course: Agile Best Practices for Tech Leaders

As a tech leader in your organization, it is important that you have a good understanding of the fundamental concepts of Agile. In this course, you will explore the key drivers for organizations to become more agile, the benefits of doing so, and the key characteristics of agile organizations. Next, you will examine the characteristics that distinguish traditional and agile organizations and focus on the foundational building blocks of agile. Finally, you will discover practical ways that organizations demonstrate agility, some challenges of becoming agile, as well as the key characteristics and benefits of an Agile mindset as a tech leader in your organization. Upon completion, you will be able to describe the fundamental concepts of Agile for tech leaders.

As a tech leader in your organization, it is likely that you will play a key role in your organization's Agile transformation. Therefore, it is vital that you have a solid understanding of core Agile concepts and best practices. In this course, you will explore Agile values and principles. Then, you will examine the impacts Agile can have on the organization, and how it can be applied to much more than just software development. Finally, you will investigate the tech leader's critical role in driving organizational Agile, and key considerations and best practices for Agile adoption. When you have completed this course, you will be able to describe the key values and principles of Agile and outline appropriate situations for adopting Agile in an organization.

As a tech leader, you should have a fundamental understanding of Agile frameworks. In this course, you will learn about the characteristics and benefits of some of the most common Agile frameworks including Scrum, Lean, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), Crystal, the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Feature Driven Development (FDD), and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). You will also learn about the applicability of each of these frameworks, and best practices for selecting the most appropriate one for your organization's initiatives. Upon completion, you will be able to identify common Agile frameworks and recognize best practices for selecting an appropriate framework.

The Scrum framework is one of the most popular and widely used of all the various Agile frameworks. As a tech leader, you should have a solid understanding of key Scrum framework concepts. In this course, you will learn about the principles and pillars of Scrum, including practical ways to apply them. Next, you will explore the roles, artifacts, and events - or activities - used in Scrum. Finally, you will learn about the difference between Scrum and Agile, as the two are often mistaken for each other. Upon completion, you will be able to recognize key characteristics and best practices of the Scrum Agile framework.

As a tech leader, you may not be involved in carrying out the day-to-day work on Scrum initiatives, but you should have a solid understanding of how that work is carried out to effectively lead IT initiatives within your organization. In this course, you will discover the key benefits of applying the Scrum framework to organizational initiatives. You will explore the five phases of the Scrum framework and the key processes in each. Finally, you will learn about key challenges that you and your teams may face when using Scrum and practical ways to overcome them. When you have completed this course, you will be able to recognize the phases of Scrum, including their purposes and key processes.

If your organization is using or considering using Scrum for key IT initiatives, as a tech leader you'll likely be either leading or participating directly in at least some of the Scrum activities. In this course, you will explore the sprint planning event, including the key characteristics of sprint planning and the best practices for conducting a sprint planning event. Next, you will learn about the daily scrum, one of the most important ways your team will communicate throughout a scrum initiative. Then you will examine the distinguishing features and best practices of the sprint review and retrospective events. Finally, you will focus on the product backlog refinement event and both team-related and meeting best practices. Upon completion, you will be familiar with the key events used in the Scrum framework and best practices for carrying them out

It is a common misconception that Scrum is only suitable for software development. While this is where it started, the fact is that Scrum is a framework that can be applied to all kinds of projects and initiatives. As a tech leader, you should be familiar with Scrum artifacts and how they are useful in Agile initiatives in your organization. In this course, you will learn about the product vision and backlog, including their purpose for guiding Agile work in your organization. Next, you will learn about the importance of the sprint vision and backlog. Finally, you will explore the key characteristics, benefits, and value of Definition of Done, product increments, and using burndown charts. Upon completion, you will be able to recognize key characteristics and best practices when involved in or overseeing Agile initiatives as a tech leader.

A product vision acts as a guiding star in any Agile initiative. As a tech leader, you'll likely be involved in or directly responsible for helping define your product vision, no matter what your initiative is. In this course, you will explore the key benefits and value of a product vision in Agile initiatives. You will learn how to define the product purpose by asking key questions. Next, you will examine empathy maps and find out how they help drive an effective product vision. Then, you will focus on the steps to define your product vision and effective product vision formats. Finally, you will discover the common challenges to look out for and best practices for overcoming them. Upon completion of this course, you will be familiar with the best practices in defining a product vision as a tech leader.

As a tech leader, one of the key differences you may encounter between traditional IT approaches and Agile is the shift to focusing on the customer. User-centered design is a method that can be applied in alignment with Agile, to refocus your IT initiatives to the customer. In this course, you will explore the purpose, key principles, and benefits of user-centered design. Next, you'll learn about the user-centered design process, including user research methods, that you can use as a tech leader. Finally, you'll learn about the similarities and differences between user-centered design and Agile, best practices for aligning the two, and some common challenges to look out for when doing so. After course completion, you'll be able to recognize benefits and best practices for aligning user-centered design and Agile.

As a tech leader, you're accountable for ensuring initiatives are successful, and a key requirement for Agile initiatives is understanding how to measure the value of them. In this course, you'll learn what business value is, and key factors that contribute to it. You'll also learn about the types of value and common challenges measuring value in Agile. Finally, you'll explore best practices for measuring value as a tech leader, including common Agile metrics and key performance indicators for tracking success. After course completion, you'll be able to recognize best practices for measuring business value as a tech leader.

No matter where your organization is in its transition to Agile, tech leaders must have a solid understanding of effective Agile team structures. An Agile team structure is fundamental for promoting flexibility and collaboration within teams. In this course, learn about the key characteristics of Agile teams, how they compare to traditional teams, and the various team structure types available to choose from. Next, explore key considerations for choosing an Agile team structure and its benefits. Finally, discover best practices for establishing an effective Agile team structure and ways to overcome common challenges you'll likely encounter along the way. After course completion, you'll be able to outline Agile team structure types and best practices.

Your organization's transition to Agile isn't just about changing how work gets done. People roles also shift, sometimes dramatically, in an Agile organization. As a tech leader, you need a sound understanding of the roles in an Agile team. In this course, you will learn about the characteristics of effective Agile team members. Then, you will explore the responsibilities of various Agile team roles, including the Team Lead, Product Owner, Stakeholder, and Team Member. Finally, you will learn about other roles you may need on your Agile teams, such as testers and subject matter experts. After completing this course, you'll be able to recognize Agile team roles and responsibilities.

Transitioning to an Agile approach benefits you and your team's work in many ways. At the same time, it requires a shift in work approach, the way you lead, and the ways you and your team think. In this course, discover the importance of developing an Agile mindset and practical ways to do so within yourself and your teams. Next, learn about role and management style shifts for tech leaders who are moving to an Agile approach. Finally, explore best practices for developing team trust, collaboration, communication, and Agile maturity, which are critical to a successful Agile transition for the people you lead. After course completion, you'll be able to identify Agile tech leader characteristics and best practices for people leadership.

As a tech leader, you are responsible for not only your team's work, but also for supporting and leading your organization's goals and objectives. As such, you are a critical part of your organization's Agile transformation. In this course, you will discover the key drivers of organizational Agile, the characteristics of an Agile organization, and why it's so important in today's environment. Next, you will explore considerations for designing agility into your organization at every level. Finally, you will focus on best practices for assessing your organization's skills readiness for Agile and common challenges and best practices for helping lead an organizational transformation to Agile. After completing this course, you will be able to recognize characteristics of and best practices for working in and supporting an Agile organization.

As a tech leader, your involvement in Agile transformation initiatives in your organization is critical. Even if you're not directly involved in setting the strategic direction for the transition, you will need to have a solid understanding of the impacts, characteristics, and best practices of roadmap options so you can lead the team through the transformation. In this course, you'll explore the purpose and impacts of Agile transition roadmaps. Next, you'll learn about some of the most common roadmaps as well as considerations for each of these options. Finally, you'll discover best practices for measuring your organization's Agile transition, which will help you pivot as required and identify areas where you need to provide more support to your teams.