Agile Certified Practitioner. (ACP) Preparation Course

•Let's start with a basic question. Why do we need another approach for running projects, anyway? Isn't a method like the one extensively documented in the PMBOK "Guide sufficient? •The answer is simple: different types of projects require different methods. In our everyday lives, we continually customize (Tailoring) our approach depending on the situation .•The changing needs of those Stakeholders in projects are what forces you to take a specific direction. This is the reason for the emergence of agile projects.

Agile emphasizes on individuals in the project and interactions among them, Documentation is required to track the project baseline, however it does not demonstrate any progress or value. Hence, the emphasis is on the working product, which the business can see and work on. It delivers real value to the project .Agile emphasizes organizations to be flexible and accommodating rather than following definitions of contracts .Plans help improve predictability, hence it is recommended to plan upfront. However, also be aware that the needs of the business can change quickly.

Value-Delivery involves everything necessary to ensure every paying customer is a happy customer : order processing, inventory management, delivery / fulfillment, troubleshooting, customer support,…., etc. Without Value-Delivery, you don't have a business, Value-based delivery is the most important of all PMI ACP testing areas.

Once the stakeholder map or stakeholder register is created, the team should classify stakeholders based on their power and interest in the project and devise a strategy to deal with them appropriately. Shown Figure shows a 2x2 power-interest grid and the corresponding strategy in dealing with them. Some stakeholders might not aware about Agile practices. So educating stakeholders about Agile is important to understand the approach, address any concerns and guide their expectations. •Its essential to have a shared vision between customer and all stakeholders. This will overcome the gap between what the customer wants and how the team understand the project description.

Agile leaders recognize that individuals are the ultimate source of value,1 and they strive hard to create an environment that boosts performance, productivity and stimulates positivity. Generalizing specialist means that the team is not only having expertise in their domain, but also a wide exposure to the business areas and technical domains in which they work. Agile emphasizes on having a motivated and empowered or self managed team, who takes complete ownership for the projects out come .It leads to flexibility that can be leveraged to move members, and formation of high performing cross functional teams.

In waterfall or traditional planning plan is created up front and re planning is done primarily in response to exceptions to the plan and change request . In Agile planning, plan is not as any kind of planning, it s called adaptive planning. In adaptive planning the planning is an ongoing process which provide multiple approaches to proactively update the plan.the flexible approach provides increased adaptability ” which increases the ability to deliver value to the customer .

We should understand well what is the difference between a risk and a problem (issue) , so that we can identify solutions for each case. At any project the longer the a defect is left uncovered, the more expensive it will be to fix .That's why Agile is emphasizing that failing fast is much better than failing late in a project. Consider embracing iterative and incremental approach for product development that lets teams to respond and adapt to changes more seamlessly. This can significantly reduce the cost of change and remove most of the unnecessary overhead. Agile mindset tends to resolve issues as early as possible, Daily stand ups, iterations reviews and retrospectives are practices aiming to identify issue early and work on its solution.

The ultimate goal of any software product is to meet the needs of the business and yet remain commercially viable to maintain. Over a length of time we expect to see customers’ needs evolve and that should be reflected in features of the product. From this context comes our talk about continuous improvement in order to keep pace with customers' expectations due to the developments that occur in the labor market .The goal of Agile teams is to create a sustainable operating rhythm that delivers quality software in the hands of the customer at periodic intervals. And the most critical aspect is that, with the iterative delivery model, customers get an opportunity to view intermediate versions of the product as it gets built, provide feedback and request change of direction if required.

how to manage risks

how to manage your project professionally

Cost Control