Agile Project Management™ Practitioner Weekend

Agile Project Management (AgilePM®) Course

The APMG-International AgilePM® certification aims to address the needs of those working in a project-focused environment who want to be agile.

Combine flexibility with proven process for successful agile project delivery.

The AgilePM guidance, developed in partnership with DSDM Consortium, offers a practical and repeatable methodology that achieves an ideal balance between the standards, rigour and visibility required for good project management, and the fast pace, change and empowerment provided by effective agile practices.

The focus of agile project management is on developing solutions incrementally enabling project teams to react effectively to changing requirements, whilst empowering project personnel and encouraging increased collaboration and ownership.

The guidance is based on DSDM Consortium's Agile Project Framework and is underpinned by DSDM's eight principles for effective agile project delivery:

• Focus on the Business Need
• Collaborate
• Build Incrementally from Firm Foundations
• Communicate Continuously and Clearly
• Deliver on Time
• Never Compromise Quality
• Develop Iteratively
• Demonstrate Control

Prerequisites

There is carefully-selected pre-course work required for this course which will be sent to the delegates. In addition, delegates will be required to complete a MINIMUM of 2 hours homework each evening which is set by the instructor

Course Goals

• Explain how to lay the foundations for successful agile projects
• Explain how an agile project is managed
• Clarify the different management styles needed for successful agile projects (compared to "traditional" projects)
• Prepare for the AgilePM examinations.

Benefits for Individuals

• Develop a more advanced, applied level of knowledge to gain an understanding of agile and the ability to apply relevant project management methods, leading to successful agile projects.
• Clarify different management styles needed for successful agile projects compared to traditional projects and be able to tailor these to the situation.
• Actively promote trust and close co-operation between the business and developers and gives the business ongoing visibility into what is happening.
• Combine knowledge of more traditional management methodologies with agile to better adapt to a changing business environment.
• Improve time-to-market and project success rates while simultaneously accelerating results by encouraging stakeholder involvement, feedback and effective controls.

Benefits for Organizations

Deliver change faster, at a lower cost and with lower risk by continually validating project milestones against business objectives.

Complements and works with existing corporate processes such as PRINCE2®, quality and audit processes which improves rigour and visibility around project management, leading to a proven track record of successful delivery in a corporate environment.

Simply adopt a tried and tested approach rather than developing and integrating a company-specific agile management process.

Achieve better communication and control over projects and adapt project plans without disrupting the project budget, timescale and scope.

Develop professionalism in employees and include agile certification in employee professional development schemes.

Agile Project Management Course Details:

This course is in two parts: Foundation and Practitioner. The Foundation is for three days including the one-hour multiple choice Foundation examination on the third day while the Practitioner includes a one-day workshop on the fourth day ending with a two hour, scenario based examination.

Course Content

• Choosing the right approach
• The basics of Agile Project Management
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Preparing for an Agile project
• The factors that lead to success
• How to manage an Agile project
• Agile lifecycles
• Processes and Products
• Communication in an Agile project
• Iterative development
• Prioritisation and Time boxing
• Maintaining control in an Agile project
• Managing risk
• Requirements and Estimating
• Agile Planning
• Building in quality

Foundation Level

The Foundation AgilePM certification provides the users of the method with the core principles needed to facilitate a successful project, while allowing a degree of scope and agility that not many other methodologies provide. With a clear, concise and detailed perspective on project productivity, the AgilePM certification is useful to all candidates and competency levels ranging from highly experienced project managers to those new to the industry.

Exam Format

For the 2014 exams aligned to Handbook v2.0

• Multiple choice format
• 50 questions per paper
• 25 marks required to pass (out of 50 available) - 50%
• 40 minutes’ duration
• Closed book.

For the 2010 exams aligned to Handbook v1.2

• Multiple choice format
• 60 questions per paper
• 30 marks required to pass (out of 60 available) - 50%
• 60 minutes’ duration
• Closed book.

Practitioner Level

The practitioner level empowers, encourages and equips you with an in-depth knowledge of not just the certification, but also how to apply and implement these principles into the life of a project manager on a daily basis. Pre-requisites accepted to be eligible to take the Practitioner examination:

• AgilePM Foundation Certificate (either 2010 or 2014 version), or
• DSDM Atern Foundation Certificate, or
• DSDM Advanced Practitioner Certificate.

The practitioner examination is in the "Objective Testing" format of scenario, question and answer booklet.

Exam Format

For the 2014 exams aligned to Handbook v2.0

• Objective testing
• 4 questions per paper, 20 marks available per question
• 40 marks required to pass (out of 80 available) - 50%
• 2.5 hours’ duration
• Open book (restricted to the official manual only) examination.

For the 2010 exams aligned to Handbook v1.2

• Objective testing
• 4 questions per paper, 15 marks available per question
• 30 marks required to pass (out of 60 available) - 50%
• Two hours’ duration
• Open book (restricted to the official manual only) examination.

Course Fee Includes:

• Official Course Manual
• Pre-course material
• Accredited course with accredited industry-leading trainer
• Best quality course materials
• Comfortable and conducive venues with good transportation links
• AgilePM Examinations’ fee and Certificate
• Refreshments
• Free Foundation exam retake guarantee

COURSE OPTIONS

We offer the following learning alternatives:

• 3/4 day Foundation and Practitioner Weekly Courses
• 3/4 day Virtual tutor-led Courses
• 3/4 day Corporate On-site Courses
• 2 x Weekends (Saturdays and Sundays only)

Kindly visit our Resources page, https://www.trainingcreatively.com/resources, for:

• Course Syllabus
• Candidate Exam Guidance
• White Papers

Do call us on 020 8500 4534 (UK) or email us on info@trainingcreatively.com for any other information you need.