Professional Scrum Foundations

get grounded with the fundamentals


Course Description

Scrum Teams succeed best with a solid foundation and this 2 day course prepares students to begin effectively using Scrum immediately. The Scrum framework, mechanics, and roles of Scrum are emphasized with emphasis on practical application.

This course is the perfect introduction to Scrum for anyone new to the framework. Whether your team needs a flawless Scrum launch or needs to reboot a struggling Scrum implementation, this class lays the foundation for an effective Scrum team. This course lays the foundation of knowledge needed for other, more advanced training such as Professional Product Owner and Professional Scrum Master.

    

Purpose

Professional Scrum Foundations (PSF) is a rigorous two-day course offered to solidify the core principles of Scrum for individuals or teams. Common missteps in the adoption of Scrum have been seen over and over again across industries, companies, and teams. Rather than coaching teams back from a poorly functioning Scrum implementation, PSF exposes these common missteps, increases the awareness of the associated symptoms, and provides prescriptive guidance to avoid going off track.

This practical classroom experience equips attendees to get started with Scrum, to sustain successful habits, and to avoid common Scrum pitfalls. Students learn the basics of Scrum and how to implement Scrum effectively and keep their team practicing healthy behaviors.

Teams implementing Scrum without a fundamental understanding of the framework are far less likely to succeed than those who experience Scrum together in a learning environment. This class deliberately addresses common challenges teams will face in their Scrum adoption by equipping students to mitigate threats that can derail Scrum in some organizations, including:

  • Flexible Timeboxes
  • Delaying bug fixes
  • Unclear definitions of done
  • Measuring effort rather than achievement
  • Subconscious trending towards waterfall
  • Unproductive retrospectives
  • Ineffective Daily Scrum meetings
  • Poorly structured Backlogs
  • Ambiguous or ineffective requirements
  • Uncommitted Scrum Team members
  • Ad-hoc work requests
  • And many others

How Attendees Learn

Understanding the Scrum framework is the beginning of applying Scrum successfully. Using the knowledge of Scrum acquired in the class, students learn how to apply Scrum by actively participating in:

  • Working with a realistic Product Backlog
  • Sprint Planning
  • Decomposing requirements into actionable Backlog Items
  • Effectively estimating Backlog Items
  • Sprint Planning, Sprint Reviews, and Retrospectives

Audience

PSF is appropriate for anyone working on or with a Scrum Team. The course is especially well suited to companies or teams investigating Scrum, those who are currently struggling with Scrum, or those beginning to utilize Scrum in their development environment. 

The PSF course isn’t for everyone.  Well-functioning Scrum teams looking for assistance with advanced topics like scaling Scrum or implementing a rigorous ROI framework will not receive as much benefit from this course. Teams looking to explore more advanced topics should consider the Professional Scrum Master program.

PSF is most effective as a training event for a dedicated team.

Prerequisites

  1. Have been on or closely involved with a project that builds or enhances a product.
  2. Want to know more about how Scrum works, how to use it, and how to implement it in an organization.

Structure

In addition to the subjects noted below, students actively participate in the Scrum process with realistic and practical hands-on exercises that reinforce the learning points. Practicing Scrum ensures that students complete the class with new skills in addition to new knowledge and theory.

The Scrum Framework
Students dive into the Scrum software development framework including, roles and responsibilities, principles, artifacts, and events and time boxes, rules and customs.

Introducing Scrum and Agile
This module discusses the current state of the software industry and Scrum’s role within it. Topics include the origins of Scrum, misconceptions of the framework, the value that Scrum provides, and an exploration of self-organization as a power tool for increasing productivity.

Scrum Planning
Learn practical techniques of planning releases, managing Product Backlogs, keeping Sprints on track, and maintain healthy team behaviors. Although many effective techniques exist for expressing requirements, this module equips teams to discover, express, and decompose requirements as Backlog Items using proven techniques.

Keeping Scrum Healthy
This module focuses on common missteps teams make when adopting Scrum and strategies to avoid them. In addition to discussing typical patterns/anti-patterns in this module, class attendees practice some of the more courageous conversations that commonly occur.

Getting Started
Following an excellent training event, Teams often struggle implementing what seemed so reasonable just a few days ago. This discussion helps attendees plan and prepare to actually be effective with Scrum immediately, marking the PSF as the true catalyst for change and increasing agility within your organization.

Assessments

Outside of class, students have the opportunity to take an assessment of their skills.