Course Taxonomy: Project / Portfolio

Certified SAFe® Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)

  1. Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)
  2. Establishing Strategy and Investment Funding
  3. Applying Agile Portfolio Operations
  4. Applying Lean Governance
  5. Implementing the LPM function
  6. Day 3 Workshop (for private sessions only)

Applied Enterprise Kanban

Part 1: Welcome and Introductions

Summary: General logistics for the class

Topics covered:

  1. Housekeeping
  2. Course Objectives
  3. Introductions
  4. Instructor Bio
  5. Agenda
  6. Kanban Parking Lot

Part 2: The Case for Change

Summary: Gain an overall understanding of the basic principles, and benefits of Kanban along with how it differs from other development methodologies. Review similar methodologies practiced in organizations today. Show how it differs from Scrum as an example.

Topics Covered:

  1. What is Lean
  2. What is Agile
  3. What is Kanban
  4. Why Kanban
  5. How Kanban differs from other methodologies
  6. Difference from Scrum
  7. Kanban Team and Roles

Objectives from Summary:

  1. Benefits of Kanban
  2. How Kanban differs from other Agile methodologies

Part 3: Kanban Overview and Concepts

Summary: Learn the foundation of Kanban concepts, properties, and terminology. Understand the philosophy behind the Kanban framework and how it originated.

Topics Covered:

  1. Kanban's 5 Core Properties
  2. Kanban Emergent Behaviors
  3. General Concepts at High Level

Objectives from Summary:

  1. Kanban Origins and Evolution
  2. The Kanban Concepts, Principles, and Terminology
  3. Understand the Kanban Core Principles

Part 4: Implementing Kanban

Sumamry: The best way to understand Kanban is to go through the process of implementing it. This section goes through the various techniques and ceremonies associated with Kanban.

Topics Covered:

  1. Work Item Types
  2. Card Walls
  3. Workflow
  4. Queues and Buffers
  5. Cadences
  6. Work-In-Progress
  7. Bottlenecks
  8. Issues and Blocked Items

Objectives from Summary:

  1. Visualization of Work
  2. How to Set Up a Card Wall
  3. Setting Work-In-Process
  4. Limiting Work-In-Process
  5. Analyzing the Flow of Work
  6. Learn to Build Visualization Methods like a Kanban Board
  7. Understand Implementation Approaches
  8. How to use Work Item Types
  9. Setting Input and Output Limits

Part 5: Metrics and Reporting

Summary: Kanban needs to report slightly different metrics than traditional or Agile project management. Understand how metrics and reporting differs in Kanban.

Topics Covered:

  1. Metrics Overview
  2. Tracking Work-In-Process
  3. Cumulative Flow Diagram
  4. Lead Time
  5. Trends
  6. Throughput

Objectives from Summary:

  1. Kanban Metrics and Management Reporting
  2. How to use Metrics and Tracking Methods
  3. How to Optimize the Flow of Work

Part 6: Scaling Kanban

Summary: Applying Kanban techniques to other types of efforts. How to track requirements, decouple work, and leverage the Minimal Marketable Release.

Topics Covered:

  1. Scaling Kanban for Different Size Efforts
  2. Minimal Marketable Release
  3. Two-Tiered Card Walls
  4. Swim Lanes

Objectives from Summary:

  1. Understand Considerations for Scaling Kanban
  2. Learn how Kanban is used by Software Development Teams
  3. Using the Minimum Marketable Release to Break Work Down

Part 7: Improvements

Summary: Learn how to recognize opportunities for improvement in your Kanban system and what to do about them.

Topics Covered:

  1. Three Types of Improvement Opportunities
  2. Estimations
  3. Class of Service
  4. Service Level Agreements
  5. Policies
  6. Issue Management and Escalation Policies

Objectives from Summary:

  1. Optimizing Your Kanban System
  2. Practices to Improve Kanban Team Performance
  3. Understand Service Level Ageements

Part 8: Kanban Change Initiative

Summary: Understand the cultural change components of Kanban. Understand the goals behind the Kanban approach to change.

Topics Covered:

  1. Kaizen Culture
  2. Kaizen Mindset
  3. Agile Leadership
  4. Servant Leader
  5. Kotter's Model

Objectives from Summary:

  1. Continuous Improvement Culture
  2. Learn the Role of Continuous Improvement

Part 9: Summary

Summary: Summarize key takeaways.

Topics Covered:

  1. Review Key Takeaways
  2. Review Kanban Objectives Board
  3. Survey Information

Exercises

Summary: In-class exercises help to reinforce the fundamental principles of Kanban and the techniques that will increase its effectiveness. With our exercises, you will learn ways to leverage Kanban and lead your project to success.

Topics Covered:

  1. Review Kanban Emergent Behaviors
  2. Building a Kanban Board
  3. Documenting a Work Flow
  4. Change a Workflow into a Kanban System
  5. Kanban Simulation

Videos

  1. Kanban Pronunciation
  2. High Performing Tree
  3. Building a Kanban Board
  4. Six Sigma Career Day
  5. Changing the World

Fundamentals of SDLC

  1. Overview of the Systems Development Life Cycle
    1. Overview of a Project
      • What do you want to build?
      • Who is going to build it?
      • From Product to Project Scope
      • The SDLC
    2. The Life Cycles
      • Business Analysis Life Cycle
      • Project Management Life Cycle
      • Systems Development Life Cycle
  2. Overview of SDLC
    1. What is it?
    2. History
    3. Overview
    4. Typical Delivery Process
  3. Overview of Business Analysis
    1. IIBA
      • BABOK
    2. Requirements
      • Project vs. Product Requirements
      • Characteristics
    3. System
    4. Stakeholder
    5. Levels of Requirements
      • Business
      • Stakeholder
      • Solution
  4. Overview of Project Management
    1. Project Definition
    2. Generic Project Life Cycle
    3. Project Management Life Cycle
    4. Documentation
  5. Project Management Methodologies Compatible with the SDLC
    1. The Development Spectrum
      • Waterfall
      • Iterative
      • Agile
  6. Project Initiation
    1. Enterprise Analysis
    2. Project Request/Business Case
      • Project Selection
    3. Deliverables
    4. Stakeholder Register
      • Stakeholder Analysis
    5. Risk Register
      • Risk Analysis
    6. Product Vision vs. Project Vision
    7. Project Charter
    8. Objectives, Constraints, Choices
      • Triple Constraints Triangle
  7. Project Planning- The Project Management Plan
    1. Subsidiary Management Plans
    2. Baselines
      • Scope
      • Schedule
      • Cost
    3. Elaborating Requirements
      • Models- Flow, Context, Swim Lanes, Process Flow
    4. Scope Baseline
      • Project Scope Statement
      • Work Breakdown Structure/Work Packages
    5. Activity Definition
    6. Dependency Determination
    7. Estimating
      • Analogous
      • Parametric
      • 3-Point
    8. Schedule Baseline
      • Critical Path Method
    9. Important Subsidiary Management Plans
      • Test Plan
        1. Purpose
        2. Considerations
        3. Test Budgeting
        4. Contents
      • Human Resources
        1. Parts
        2. Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
        3. RACI
  8. Communications
    1. Components
  9. Risk
    1. Qualitative Risk Analysis
  10. Performing the Work (Project Execution)
    1. Developers and Testers
    2. Perform Software Testing
    3. Requirements Traceability Matrix
    4. Levels of Testing
    5. Other SDLC Issue
      • Training
      • Rollout
  11. Closing the Project
    1. Product Acceptance
    2. Project Closing
      • Lessons Learned
      • Project Sign-off
      • Transfer
  12. Agile Overview
    1. Why Agile
    2. The Triple Constraints in Agile
    3. Agile Approach to Planning
    4. Agile Manifesto
      • Agile Principles
    5. Agile Methodologies
      • Scrum Process
      • XP
    6. Agile Planning
      • Levels
      • User Stories
      • Release Planning
      • Product Backlog
      • Sprint Planning, Story Points and Team Velocity
      • Daily Scrum
      • Sprint Review
      • Demo
      • Sprint Retrospective

PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Boot Camp

Part 1: Getting Started

During this kick-off section of the class the group not only covers introductions and course objectives, but they are also taken through an overview of the different Agile methods that are tested on the exam. This section specifically covers:

  1. Introductions
  2. Objectives
  3. Working Agreements
  4. Agile Overview
    • Why Agile?
    • What is Agile?
    • Agile Manifesto & Principles
    • Agile Practices
    • The Agile Team
    • Agile Metrics

Part 2: Tools and Techniques

During this section of the class, the group examines the PMI recognized Tools and Techniques of Agile Project Management. This material represents 50% of the material on the test. This section specifically covers:

  1. Agile analysis and design
  2. Agile estimation
  3. Communications
  4. Interpersonal skills
  5. Metrics
  6. Planning, monitoring, and adapting
  7. Process improvement
  8. Product quality
  9. Risk management
  10. Value-based prioritization

Part 3: Knowledge and Skills

During this section of the class the group explores Agile Knowledge and Skills. This material represents 50% of the material on the test. This section specifically covers:

  1. Agile values and principles
  2. Agile frameworks and terminology
  3. Agile methods and approaches
  4. Assessing and incorporating community and stakeholder values
  5. Stakeholder management
  6. Communication management
  7. Facilitation methods
  8. Knowledge sharing/written communication
  9. Leadership
  10. Building agile teams
  11. Team motivation
  12. Physical and virtual co-location
  13. Global, cultural, and team diversity
  14. Training, coaching, and mentoring
  15. Developmental mastery models (for example, Tuckman, Dreyfus, Shu Ha Ri)
  16. Self-assessment tools and techniques
  17. Participatory decision models (for example, convergent, shared collaboration)
  18. Principles of systems thinking (for example, complex adaptive, chaos)
  19. Problem solving
  20. Prioritization
  21. Incremental delivery
  22. Agile discovery
  23. Agile sizing and estimation
  24. Value based analysis and decomposition
  25. Process analysis
  26. Continuous improvement
  27. Agile hybrid models
  28. Managing with agile KPIs
  29. Agile project chartering
  30. Agile contracting
  31. Agile project accounting principles
  32. Regulatory compliance
  33. PMI's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

PMI, PMI-ACP, PMP and PgMP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Managing Projects with Microsoft 365

  • Introduction to Project Management in Microsoft 365
    • Overview of tools and applications for managing tasks and projects
  • Introduction to Teams
    • Creating Teams
    • Creating Channels
    • Adding Channel Apps
    • Teams Apps
  • Introduction to SharePoint
    • Creating SharePoint Sites
    • SharePoint integration with Teams
  • Permissions Management in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint
    • Microsoft 365 Groups
    • Working with SharePoint Groups and Permissions
  • SharePoint Lists
    • Creating SharePoint Lists
    • Creating Columns
    • Creating and Working with Views
  • SharePoint Libraries
    • Creating SharePoint Libraries
    • Creating Columns
    • Creating Views
  • Document Management Tools
    • Version Control
    • Check In / Check Out Controls
    • Alerts
    • Working with Sensitivity Labels in SharePoint
  • Microsoft Planner
    • Planner Basic vs Planner Premium
    • Creating Basic Plans
    • Creating Premium Plans
    • Working with Microsoft Copilot for Planner
    • Integrating Plans into Teams
  • Microsoft Loop and Loop Components
    • Creating Microsoft Loop Workspaces
    • Creating Loop Pages
    • Creating Loop Components
    • Sharing and Embedding Loop Components
  • Microsoft Project Professional
    • Creating Project Plans
    • Creating Tasks
    • Scheduling Tasks
    • Working with Resources
    • Tracking Project Progress
    • Advanced Task Scheduling Features
    • Sync Project Plans with SharePoint
  • Automating Project Management Processes with Power Automate
    • Working with the built-in Sign Off Process
    • Creating Custom Workflows in Power Automate

ICAgile Project Management (ICP-APM)

The History of Agile

  • Principles of Lean
  • Traditional vs Agile Planning
  • Benefits of an Agile Approach

Agile Principles and Mindset

  • Agile Manifesto
  • Agile Delivery
  • Scrum Framework
  • Scaling Agile 

Reality of Agile Projects

  • Defining Successful Projects 
  • Agile Project Management

Agile Delivery Management 

  • Historical Business Landscape  
  • Value Streams 
  • Product Delivery Organization Model 
  • Developing Team Members and Managing Resources
  • Elements of Servant Leadership 

Optimization 

  • Waterfall Iron Triangle 
  • Learn How to Leverage your Plan to Deliver Quality and Value
  • Learn How Much to Invest Up Front
  • Managing the Flow 
  • Team Effectiveness: Project Metrics 

Agile Governance and Contracting 

  • Compliance Types 
  • Lean Agile Procurement (LAP)

Team Empowerment

  • What it takes to Empower
  • Trust Dimensions
  • Team Dysfunctions 
  • Levels of Authority

Identifying and Communicating Value 

  • Business Model Canvas
  • Product Backlog and Refinement
  • Calculating Business Value
  • Validating Value Delivery