Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) + Certified LeSS Basics workshop

Overview

Immerse yourself in this comprehensive programme to earn two Scrum certifications – the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) and the Certified LeSS Basics (CLB). 

You must be in attendance, engaged, and visible on webcam throughout the entire programme to be eligible for the certifications. Any absences will disqualify you from certification.

This Certified ScrumMaster plus Certified LeSS Basics programme covers the what, how, and especially the whys of the Scrum framework for product development – from theory to practice. Topics are primarily covered by small group activities guided by Certified Scrum Trainer Michael James, along with stories and discussion.

The programme covers the background, overview, roles, empirical process control, and the key differences between Scrum and other ways of developing new products. This programme also covers an introduction to Large Scale Scrum (LeSS), which guides the challenges unique to implementing Scrum in multi-team organisations.

Programme content is practical and focuses on the roles of the ScrumMaster, Product Owner, and Development Team, common impacts of Scrum on the larger organisation and common organisational obstacles. At the end of the programme, you will have concrete knowledge of how to implement Scrum and an understanding of why to do it that way.

Basic knowledge of Scrum is expected and some experience is preferred. There will be preparation work required for the programme. Full attendance and participation are required to obtain the CLB certification. To obtain the CSM certification, you must also pass the Scrum Alliance's exam.

Key Takeaways

At the end of this programme, you will be able to:

• Understand how Agile development differs from traditional project management
• Identify the three Scrum roles, responsibilities, boundaries, in-depth
• Learn how to write well-formed Product Backlog Items such as user stories
• Learn techniques for splitting large requirements (e.g. epics) into small specific ones
• Learn Product Backlog prioritisation
• Conduct effort estimation
• Maintain the Sprint Backlog
• Learn the five Scrum meetings (how to, how not to)
• Practice sprint execution for self-organising teams
• Understand the definition of done and the potentially shippable product increment
• Create environments that encourage or impede team self-organisation
• Navigate small group dynamics (the psychology of innovative teams)
• Practice modern Agile engineering practices including test-driven development (TDD)
• Learn lean principles derived from the Toyota Production System
• Learn Product Owner planning and forecasting beyond one sprint
• Explore case studies of Scrum in large organisations
• Explore case studies of Scrum for large-scale development
• Explore case studies of common organisational impediments
• Explore case studies of successful and unsuccessful attempts to introduce Scrum/Agile to organisations
• Understand “Why LeSS?”
• Learn how LeSS is a Scrum-based approach to scaling
• Understand the impact of Scrum and LeSS on the organisational design (structures, policies, etc.)
• Differentiate between dynamics of component teams vs. feature teams
• Understand LeSS roles and their purposes
• Understand why there is one and only one Product Owner (PO) and not so-called team Pos
• Learn the LeSS Complete diagram, organising LeSS information in terms of the principles, rules, guides, and experiments
• Learn how LeSS scales over ~8 teams
• Understand there is no blame, people’s behaviour is determined by the system they are in (managers have a responsibility to change the system)
• Learn what you could or should learn about yourself
• Find out what is preventing you from influencing the organisation you are currently in
• Identify the location of major learning resources

Who Should Attend

• Please refer to the job roles section. 
• Targeted to any Public Service Officer who wants a deep understanding of Scrum. This includes team members, Product Owners, ScrumMasters, and other stakeholders. This programme is appropriate for individuals who will be working on Scrum projects or closely with a Scrum team.

Prerequisites

Preparation work is a mandatory prerequisite for taking this programme. You will only be fully registered for the class until prerequisites have been completed and verified.

The preparation work is the six award-winning cartoon e-learning modules found here:
(TIP: Do Modules 2-6 first, then return to Module 1 so its ending quiz makes more sense.)  

It may also be useful for you to review these resources which are referenced in the e-learning:

• https://scrumreferencecard.com/
• https://agilemanifesto.org/

Once you have notified the Learning Partner that you have completed these prerequisites, you will be asked to complete a brief individual assessment which you will need to return before class.

Individual activities and team activities will depend on your understanding of the preparation work. We know that you are very busy, but the preparation work will save you and your classmates time in the long run.